Stefano Ricci Cigar Cutter — Lapis Lazuli / Palladium

Stefano Ricci Cigar Cutter — Lapis Lazuli / Palladium

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 palladium — a choice that approaches the material from a different direction than gold but arrives at the same conclusion.

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.

Palladium Finishing

Where gold brings warmth to Lapis Lazuli, palladium brings clarity. The cooler tone of the finishing metal does not compete with the pyrite in the stone but instead lets the blue read with greater purity — the contrast is between silver and blue rather than between two gold tones. The result is a cutter that reads as more restrained than the gold version without being any less intentional. For the smoker whose preference runs toward cooler metals throughout their accessories, the palladium version is the natural choice.

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. The stone makes it something to be held deliberately before it is used.

Now available at The Tobacconist of Greenwich.