Stefano Ricci Cigar Cutter — Lapis Lazuli / Gold

Stefano Ricci Cigar Cutter — Lapis Lazuli / Gold

The history of Lapis Lazuli is the history of luxury itself. The stone has been mined in the mountains of Afghanistan for over six thousand years. Ancient Egyptians ground it for eyeshadow. Renaissance painters dissolved it into the most expensive pigment available — ultramarine — and reserved it for the robes of the Madonna. It sat in the burial chamber of Tutankhamun. The shade of blue it produces is unlike that of any other stone: deep, opaque, and shot through with the golden glint of pyrite inclusions that make the surface appear to contain its own source of light. Stefano Ricci has set it into a cigar cutter finished in gold, where the warmth of the metal and the depth of the stone arrive at the same conclusion about quality.

Lapis Lazuli

The stone on this cutter is real Lapis Lazuli — not dyed howlite, not synthetic, but the material that carried its own currency in antiquity. The blue is intense and consistent, the pyrite inclusions irregular and unrepeatable, which means no two pieces are identical in the precise distribution of gold within blue. The stone reads differently in different light: in direct sun, the pyrite flashes; in shade, the blue deepens. It is a material that rewards attention paid over time.

Gold Finishing

The gold finishing on the cutter body and hardware is the correct counterpart to Lapis Lazuli. The pairing is ancient — Egyptian craftsmen used it, Byzantine jewelers used it, and the reason is simple: gold and Lapis establish each other. The warmth of the gold intensifies the blue; the blue makes the gold appear richer. Stefano Ricci's execution applies this logic to a precision cutting instrument.

The Cutter

The cutter is designed for the rigors of daily use on premium cigars. The blade mechanism and construction meet Stefano Ricci's standard for the collection, delivering a clean cut without compression or tearing. What sets it apart from the standard collection is the stone: this is a cutter that earns a place in the hand before it earns a place in a pocket.

Now available at The Tobacconist of Greenwich.