Lighters to collect that were used in movies

[VonMagnum]

Here's my WIN lighter I bought that resembles the top/side you can actually see of Rachel's lighter in Blade Runner. I know some think it was a Colibri lighter, but WIN's lighter appears to be a similar design "copy" (as the Japanese have been known to do and WIN has a lot of "similar" lighters). I have no idea which brand was actually used in the movie. I think an assumption of Colibri was made because they made a model (shown in a post above) that has the same top/side that you can see, but so does this one (although perhaps the tortoise shell finish on the sides wasn't there; she holds the damn thing so tight in her hand you can't see but the top and corner anyway).

In any case, I got the lighter for $12+S&H and it's an AWESOME lighter. It's like brand new and uses piezo electric (like a hot water heater) (aka "Electro Quartz" on Colibri) for the spark which visually makes an electric arc spark above the gas nozzle. It uses butane gas and has an adjustable flame from tiny to near-jet blue flame 6+ inches tall (freaky as hell) adjustable with a screw on the bottom). I was going to put it under my Blade Runner 2049 display (don't have room for both movies), but I might have to use this one as an actual lighter. It's sweet. I've got Ronson Jetlite coming as well so I'll see how they compare.

 

[VonMagnum]

Looking closely at the movie snapshot, I get the impression the lighter has a slightly shorter distance to the first air vent on the Colibri versus the WIN lighter. They're not the same viewing angles so I can't be 100% certain, but I think the movie lighter is on the shorter side, which I think would indicate the Colibri is indeed the correct lighter, but they are very similar on the top and have a similar design in general (I think WIN is a modified copy).

Left: Movie closeup
Middle: WIN Electro-Quartz
Right Colibri Electro-Quartz.

 

[VonMagnum]

I did some measuring in Photoshop relative to the top versus the air vents on both and the WIN lighter is much closer to the Colibri than I thought in those terms. Really, neither seem as short as the movie one, but it's such a poor photo blown up (perhaps a 4K capture would show it better? I can't display that here to capture, however. At least I don't think; I don't have a 4K computer monitor, but I do have the 4K UHD disc). It's not impossible it's neither one or a slight model variation or whatever.

Given how much can be seen, I'd say anything close makes a decent display item at least until we know more. I am sure it's not a tortoise shell decorated model (like my WIN) nor do I think the real one had "Dolly" written on the side, but I guess when they're that hard to find, you take what you can get for now.

When my Dunhill Rollagas arrives here, I'm not planning on drilling into it to install a red LED just to match the movie one better. I know in Tomorrow Never Dies, they used two different Dunhill Unique Sport models. When he's got it out to light it, I believe it's a vintage 1920s/30s wick model and when they show the red LED it's a modern gas version (which look mighty similar at a glance). This is pretty common in movies. Look at the two very different Staff of Ra head medallion designs used in Raiders of the Lost Ark or the Serpent diamond in Conan The Barbarian (the one in the holder appears to be a red lit Waterford Crystal Paperweight that was probably Amethyst colored while the necklace is something else). I went ahead and ordered one (pretty reasonable price in like new condition online).

The Heart of Ahriman in Conan The Destroyer appears to be Tiffany diamond shaped paperweight made during the early 1980s (looks identical to my eyes) for that matter. I just bought one on eBay to use with a light base display. Even if it's not exact (or off in size slightly), it sure looks like it to me and will make a nice display piece (my home theater is more for "decoration" than collecting, although I've seemed to drift into collecting somehow in recent months....

 

[Oxford]

The TND lighters were all petrol wick lighters. They made five in total. Not gas or turbo. They were part of the Dunhill AD 2000 range back then. They were all 100% identical in gold plate with vertical lines. Three had LED’s and two were working lighters. Dunhill didn’t make gas versions of the Sports unique until 1999 which was three years after they shot that scene.

 

[VonMagnum]

The TND lighters were all petrol wick lighters. They made five in total. Not gas or turbo. They were part of the Dunhill AD 2000 range back then. They were all 100% identical in gold plate with vertical lines. Three had LED’s and two were working lighters. Dunhill didn’t make gas versions of the Sports unique until 1999 which was three years after they shot that scene.

Well, OK then. I was just going by this site: Dunhill Unique Gold Lighter that claimed otherwise

Quote from above linked site:

( From Dunhill Unique Gold Lighter )
In the pre-title sequence of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) uses a gold Dunhill lighter.

The lighter looks and works like a normal Dunhill Unique Sports lighter, but is modified by Q to work as a grenade. At the terrorist arms bazaar on the Russian border, Bond first offers a guard a light with the lighter and then he uses it as a grenade.

The design of this lighter model is very old, from the 1920s, and has hardly changed ever since. The version used by Bond has a wind guard to protect the flame. The model numbers, according to the website BondCollection.com.ar, are the Dunhill QL 1402 (used in the shot of Bond lighting the cigarette) and Dunhill QL 2000 Unique Sports Turbo (the lighter laying in the snow), but we haven't found another confirmation of this.

It doesn't mention the Dunhill AD 2000. Oddly, when I do a search for Dunhill AD 2000 lighter, the only thing that comes up are fountain pens. It's oddly difficult to find exact timelines online for all of their lineups short of buying a book on them, perhaps. However, THIS site/page would seem to contradict your information above on when the Sports Turbo became available:

51BidLive-[HUNTSMAN DUNHILL SPORTS TURBO LIGHTER | Lionheart]

51BidLive-[HUNTSMAN DUNHILL SPORTS TURBO LIGHTER | Lionheart]

en.51bidlive.com

From 51BidLive-[HUNTSMAN DUNHILL SPORTS TURBO LIGHTER | Lionheart]

Dunhill produces some of the finest lighters around, collected by enthusiasts the world over, like Huntsman's Chairman.? This windproof, gas sport turbo lighter was introduced to the Dunhill collection in the early nineties.

Perhaps their information is faulty too? I can't find any other time references for the lineups online offhand.

Regardless, I just went over the footage frame by frame and while that site believes the one in the snow is a Sports Turbo, I think there is one thing that gives it away as NOT being a turbo one (as you say above) regardless of whether one actually existed in 1997 or not and that is the missing little wheel on the base of the ignition arm (I've never seen a picture of a Turbo without one). I suppose it could be too low to see in the snow, but I doubt it. At a glance that wheel and the rounded end where a screw goes on the original (and spark wheel at the other end whether single or double) are the easy tells (and on the bottom the extra adjustment screw, where they apparently put the LED in the closeup).

 

[Oxford]

Yes, that info is indeed dodgy. Bond wore AD 2000 cufflinks in both TND and TWINE. In fact I still have the TND ones. They were all part of the same range as the Dunhill Sports Unique. It was one of the first films that I worked on and one that started my collecting hobby so those times are very clear in my mind. It was also the basis from that lighter that went into the idea of the Kingsman lighters. And like those, the LED was activated by using a piece of rigid wire inserted into the body to activate the switch. It was literally hit and miss and they were a pain to switch on and off. Even worse when the bits of wire went awol.

The exact pattern of the lighter I believe was ‘Lines’. I know EON still have two. The batteries were sealed into the unit so I bet they’ve corroded the prop now. As I said, they were 100% petrol lighter - all. I’m pretty sure Dunhill never made a lines version as a turbo either I’m also probably being too generous on them releasing the turbo as early as 1999, it was probably more like 2001 or 2. Possibly the reason for you not seeing the striking wheel on the screen grabs, is due to it being omitted on the day as that was where the access point to the interior switch was located on the SFX versions.

 

[VonMagnum]

I just won an auction for what appears in every way to be a 1920s style Dunhill Unique Sports lighter (like the Bond one above except in silver plating instead of gold) EXCEPT there are no Dunhill "patent" markings on the bottom. It looks like someone possibly painted over them somehow with silver paint or filed it down including the fuel cap (it looks like it's peeling plating or possibly silver paint in the corner but it's silver over a different shade of silver, not the brass underneath. Very odd indeed. There's some brass showing on the very top of the lift arm (I think; it's hard to tell with photographic reflections sometimes) and other areas where it looks like silver paint is peeling off of silver finish...could be a semi-clear stain that just looks like it since it doesn't look like "paint" to my eyes anywhere. I think these thing scared other bidders off as i got it quite low for a Unique Sports (~$37). I've got a spare fuel cap that says Dunhill Unique on it I could swap out. It'll be interesting to get a closer look.

The question is other than that Bond movie with a gold version, did any other movies have a Dunhill Unique Sports lighter in them, particularly in Silver?

Edit: I just won a big lot of 20 lighters (hard to see what some are from the photos, but there's at LEAST 3 Electro-Quartz lighters in there and at least one of those three are Colibri, possibly all three of them plus at least two Ronson Princess lighters, a Ronson Variflame, what looks like it MIGHT be a small Dunhill lift-arm lighter with some kind of fancy design on it; don't think it's an aquarium as that would be worth a fortune, but possibly tortoise or something along those lines and a bunch of other lighters including Handon and some I don't even recognize) from Goodwill of all places. I think I paid $2.35 a lighter when all was said and done). Hopefully, at least a few are from movies (still rewatching my old classics but it will take awhile as I have 73 Bogart movies alone....). All look to be in at least good physical condition and I can fix most other issues. My goodness, Goodwill might be the place to looks for lighters.... There's clearly less bidders than eBay, but updates are not in real time (you have to reload the page, which often is slow so I bid early). I'll see how this turns out.

 

[VonMagnum]

This one is or is at least visually similar to a Dunhill Unique Sport in silver/chrome, but it has no markings on the bottom which made it suspicious, but I got it for under $40 so I figured what the heck). It was a PITA to get working (flint stuck like you wouldn't believe and it's too much a PITA to take apart the spark wheel to push it out from that end so it took some work with a bit). Then, on top of that the flint spring was somehow missing half of it (must have broken at some point). I used the spring from my other Dunhill to test it (which works fine). The silver finish was also peeling and it's chrome underneath (I'm just going to remove it all so it's even; I'm about 2/3 the way there), which also seems off for a Dunhill (normally brass underneath if not solid in silver) and along with the missing markings on the bottom and a slightly different dust cap than my regular non-sport Unique that has all the markings you'd expect on the bottom, I'm thinking it's some other brand or a fake. But not being a Dunhill expert, I can't say for certain as they made it for many years. But it makes a nice display piece regardless and clearly works fine with a spring installed.

Edit: Fully cleaned up now and I found a way to make the short spring work. Working well.

 

[VonMagnum]

All Through The Night (1942) with Bogart shows a pocket lighter I don't recognize offhand. It appears as if the top pops up/down with pressure to the side of the lighter (it shows him lower it without touching anything on the top). The closest models I've seen so far are from Thorens. If someone knows what model it is, feel free to let us know.

View attachment 1062659

View attachment 1062658

I believe I've finally identified the lighter here in Bogart's All Through The Night. It's a 1930s era Regens Squeeze Lighter.

 

[VonMagnum]

Looking through Casablanca, I see what looks like a Ronson style lighter in a scene early in the movie. You can only see the top. Given the time frame, it's probably a Ronson Princess, but there were a lot of look-alike lighters made in this style over the years so I can't be 100% sure and you can only see the top for the most part. I also found a use for the (wrong) round stem champagne glass I got with my Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom antidote set (I've since found the correct octagonal stem glass). A round stem version that looks like it is also in Casablanca.

 

[JamesM242]

Would love to ID that chess board too ;-)

 

[VonMagnum]

I've got the squeeze lighter model from All Through The Night coming ($17 with tax and shipping on eBay in an auction with only one other bidder in what looks like mint condition). I can't say the pattern matches or not (too hard to tell), but close enough for me.

 

[VonMagnum]

My Dunhill Rollagas (Kingsman lighter) has arrived. These things are pretty tiny (picture makes them look larger).

 

[VonMagnum]

I finally got my authentic flints and gas in for the Dunhill Rollagas lighter (Kingsman). Here it is lit (flame is adjustable with control on back (fine) and on the bottom (course)).

 

[VonMagnum]

My 1930s vintage lighter (same model as from All Through The Night (Humphrey Bogart 1942)), a Regens "squeeze" lighter came in today. I have to say it's one of the better deals I got on eBay in the sense it's like brand new (I didn't have to do anything but add lighter fluid) and only cost me about $11.50 plus S&H (about $17 total). It's a pretty neat design in that like an IMCO Super 6700, you can pull the central part of the lighter out the bottom and use it as an oil lamp/candle. It opens and lights at the same time when you squeeze it and shuts again when you let loose your grip.

Movie Shot Closed:

Comparison Open/Lit: (I apparently didn't squeeze it quite hard enough (right) as it's not open all the way as Bogie's lighter (flame interference of the snuffer and not quite back as far as in the bottom color picture. You pull the part at the bottom middle down and it comes out like in the bottom right photo in color). Bottom left shows the side profile lit (lighter head is back all the way there). It just got filled with fluid so it's a bit higher in flame height than when it settles a bit.

 

[VonMagnum]

This one came in a few days ago. I'm pretty sure I saw this one in a movie somewhere....

 

[VonMagnum]

I just got this one today. It's the same brand and model lighter (1980's Dunhill Unique gas lighter) used in James Bond License To Kill except it's gold striped and not engraved from Della and Felix Leiter. It's not cheap either, although I got it at less than half the price typically seen on eBay for this model in this condition (pretty much mint). I made an offer and dickered and he took the money. It's a darn pretty lighter, but you can get a Corona Old Boy in new or at least mint condition ($100-150) for less than I paid here that looks hella similar (almost the exact same size as well) and comes with a tamper for pipes and an angled flame (that still works fine for cigarettes, candles, incense, etc.) and even less for a Chinese imitation version ($17-40).

Imitation Corona Old Boy pipe lighter (for comparison) I picked up on the (relative) cheap. It's quite pretty too and so far works fine (and I don't worry about taking it with me, although I still put it in a protective pouch so I don't scratch it with my keys or something):

 

[VonMagnum]

This lighter SHOULD have been used in a movie (and might have for all I know yet). It's freaking beautiful (Ronson Varaflame STARFIRE) from the 50s or 60s). I just got it in today. It's in mint condition and worked like new with the original flint freed up and it fueled up with some high quality Dunhill butane. Not bad for $14.

 

[VonMagnum]

Kingsman, eat your heart out. This blue/gold version is way cooler....

 

[VonMagnum]

Kingsman, eat your heart out. This blue/gold version is way cooler....

Or maybe Black and Gold instead?