Lighters to collect that were used in movies
- Thread starter VonMagnum
- Start date
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson Rondette Table Lighter (1934)
These are hard to get a hold of for a reasonable price, so I jumped at one that needed some restoration work selling for a fraction of a typical one. So this is a first step WIP Restoration.... (maybe). The lighter was the worst broken POS I've ever run into, bar none. The spark wheel had a chunk out of it and junk stuck to it. The heads were broken off the screws (flint and spark wheel). I trashed it and stole an insert off another Rondette lighter and then fixed another insert with newer pieces for the Rondette pocket lighter.
You can still see the marks for the Art Deco stripes on the front (dented side). Obviously, it once had enamel/paint. The plan is to fill the dents with steel stick, sand it and then create a stencil mask and spray it black (blocked parts will stay chrome for stripes) and spray the other side.
I polished it, but the chrome has seen better days (scratched too). Fortunately, most of it will be covered in paint if all goes right.
These are hard to get a hold of for a reasonable price, so I jumped at one that needed some restoration work selling for a fraction of a typical one. So this is a first step WIP Restoration.... (maybe). The lighter was the worst broken POS I've ever run into, bar none. The spark wheel had a chunk out of it and junk stuck to it. The heads were broken off the screws (flint and spark wheel). I trashed it and stole an insert off another Rondette lighter and then fixed another insert with newer pieces for the Rondette pocket lighter.
You can still see the marks for the Art Deco stripes on the front (dented side). Obviously, it once had enamel/paint. The plan is to fill the dents with steel stick, sand it and then create a stencil mask and spray it black (blocked parts will stay chrome for stripes) and spray the other side.
I polished it, but the chrome has seen better days (scratched too). Fortunately, most of it will be covered in paint if all goes right.
MCINTOSH275
Well-Known Member
¡¡¡Truly an impressive collection 
...!!!
...!!!
VonMagnum
Sr Member
It seems eBay has instituted a required new "feature" whereby making an offer on an item REQUIRES you to LINK a "default payment method" so it can automatically pay for the item if the buyer accepts your offer. I'm not giving eBay control over my bank account (what could go wrong?) or even PayPal (I want to verify every purchase). I don't do it for utilities and I'm sure as heck not doing it for a company whose idea of customer service is to take away the phone numbers so you have to use messaging or nothing at all to complain about anything (no email for suggestions or anything anymore). It's too bad there aren't good alternatives to companies like eBay, Amazon and Google. They are too big for OUR own good at this point and wield far too much power.
I found a Red Ronson Leona lighter finally that isn't in total crap condition (so I can have "RGB" (red, green and blue) to display and I was going to make an offer on it to split the shipping, essentially and I was met with eBay's "new feature" that paints it as a great thing that they want me to link my PayPal account so they basically CONTROL IT. No thanks. I think this one might just hurt eBay's bottom line if they try to force it on everyone. From what I read, it was tested in February as an OPTION to sellers only. I have no idea if it's due to the seller or now an automatic forced option on all sellers. Either way, that crap doesn't fly with me.
I may just end my lighter collecting in general if they're going to force this sort of thing as Etsy is about the only other place I buy any lighters and there very rarely due to their ridiculously bad "search" engine that purposely directs you to items you did NOT ask about rather than the ones you did.
I found a Red Ronson Leona lighter finally that isn't in total crap condition (so I can have "RGB" (red, green and blue) to display and I was going to make an offer on it to split the shipping, essentially and I was met with eBay's "new feature" that paints it as a great thing that they want me to link my PayPal account so they basically CONTROL IT. No thanks. I think this one might just hurt eBay's bottom line if they try to force it on everyone. From what I read, it was tested in February as an OPTION to sellers only. I have no idea if it's due to the seller or now an automatic forced option on all sellers. Either way, that crap doesn't fly with me.
I may just end my lighter collecting in general if they're going to force this sort of thing as Etsy is about the only other place I buy any lighters and there very rarely due to their ridiculously bad "search" engine that purposely directs you to items you did NOT ask about rather than the ones you did.
VonMagnum
Sr Member
The worst part is there is exactly no feedback anymore on eBay so I don't know how anyone could either complain about not wanting the feature or needing it for that matter, so I assume it's an employee of the month type brainstorm or customer service kind of feedback thing (people whining in chats about people abandoning purchases or whatever). The point is they don't care what you the customer want, which is odd when the world is run by sales of goods for the most part. But I suppose without significant competition, eBay is insulated from a lot of that. Where else are you going to go to get that kind of audience? Sadly, it seems to becoming more common everywhere as well from the top on down and I think the Internet is exponentially speeding up the process. Maybe those 1990s conspiracies weren't so crazy, after all. It just took a bit longer than predicted. Next, throw AI (which ultimately might be more dangerous than atomic weaponry to society) into the mix and things are going to be screwed up royally in the next 10 years or so.Yep, not just eBay or other companies you've listed...it seems that this type of model is getting a lot of push back from consumers in general.
Like you; I'll never give-up the control of my bank account to any corporation
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Three more IMCO lighters I don't have on the way....
Plus a German catalytic lighter in brand new condition from the 1930s (You insert the platinum igniter into lighter "wick/cotton" body containing methanol and it reacts and becomes super hot and lights the gas into a flame. That should be interesting).
Plus a German catalytic lighter in brand new condition from the 1930s (You insert the platinum igniter into lighter "wick/cotton" body containing methanol and it reacts and becomes super hot and lights the gas into a flame. That should be interesting).
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Quart De Tour Lighter from France with Esso ad on cap (1950?)
I couldn't find out a lot of information about this lighter (Quart De Tour means Quarter Turn in English) as I only see like 4 total doing Internet searches. It appears to have some kind of reptile leather wrap. I know there's some other lighters named "Nova" and other names that look identical made in France except for the markings on the caps. I changed the wick and packing (ridiculously easy on a lighter this size) and polished the brass bits and it works great and looks nice to me.
(What's ludicrous to me is that in searching for other examples/prices I ran into one for sale at 1st Dibs (big surprise for me as I've seen such examples there before) in black snakeskin for sale at a whopping 44% off (a mere $479!!!) Wow! I must have gotten the deal of the century since I paid $15.92 + shipping for this one from France ($18.33 total). I saw one on a pricing based website and it was closer to what I paid so imagine the nerve of these people on 1st Dibs buying a sub-$20 lighter and putting it up for resale at over $800 and then claiming a 44% off sale at a still obscene ~24x profit. I honestly don't know how they live with themselves.... But hey, that guy is a 5-star "Diamond Star SERVICE" rated so maybe you're just paying for his unbelievable expertise and time wasted selling a $20 lighter.... )
Click for larger photos/slideshow
I couldn't find out a lot of information about this lighter (Quart De Tour means Quarter Turn in English) as I only see like 4 total doing Internet searches. It appears to have some kind of reptile leather wrap. I know there's some other lighters named "Nova" and other names that look identical made in France except for the markings on the caps. I changed the wick and packing (ridiculously easy on a lighter this size) and polished the brass bits and it works great and looks nice to me.
(What's ludicrous to me is that in searching for other examples/prices I ran into one for sale at 1st Dibs (big surprise for me as I've seen such examples there before) in black snakeskin for sale at a whopping 44% off (a mere $479!!!) Wow! I must have gotten the deal of the century since I paid $15.92 + shipping for this one from France ($18.33 total). I saw one on a pricing based website and it was closer to what I paid so imagine the nerve of these people on 1st Dibs buying a sub-$20 lighter and putting it up for resale at over $800 and then claiming a 44% off sale at a still obscene ~24x profit. I honestly don't know how they live with themselves.... But hey, that guy is a 5-star "Diamond Star SERVICE" rated so maybe you're just paying for his unbelievable expertise and time wasted selling a $20 lighter....
)Click for larger photos/slideshow
VonMagnum
Sr Member
Evans UFO Lighter (1950s)
This one has a cute/odd fish theme on the saucer. Stranger yet, I found an Evans matching cup and plate on ETSY that come with a different lighter that looks like a tall tower/pepper mill! It still has the fish pattern along the bottom, though. I assume being Evans those are actually a cigarette cup and an ashtray to go with the lighter, but the cup and ashtray have the same fish pattern on them, yet with a different lighter, it seems stranger yet unless this is an alternate lighter that might come with that set or at least the ashtray.... I do see another photo of one like this with that saucer ashtray out there, but I don't know why they had two different lighters with that pattern.
This didn't light up very well when I tried it at first. I figured I better change the wick and after removing maybe 1 cotton ball worth of cotton, the rest of the lighter was filled with strange seeds/chips. That's like the 5th time I think I've purchased a lighter that is full of what looks like seeds. Can cotton sprout seeds like a potato? I don't think so, but it's a mystery how a lighter ends up with all these seeds in them. I thought maybe it was some illegal plant seeds smuggling the first two times, but these are all different brand and era lighters so it makes no sense, particularly since IF they were they're clearly not getting to their intended destination. It does make it easier to remove the "wadding" though so how can I complain? I put a new wick in and like five giant balls of cotton worth of packing and it works gloriously well now.
Click for larger photo/slideshow
This one has a cute/odd fish theme on the saucer. Stranger yet, I found an Evans matching cup and plate on ETSY that come with a different lighter that looks like a tall tower/pepper mill! It still has the fish pattern along the bottom, though. I assume being Evans those are actually a cigarette cup and an ashtray to go with the lighter, but the cup and ashtray have the same fish pattern on them, yet with a different lighter, it seems stranger yet unless this is an alternate lighter that might come with that set or at least the ashtray.... I do see another photo of one like this with that saucer ashtray out there, but I don't know why they had two different lighters with that pattern.
This didn't light up very well when I tried it at first. I figured I better change the wick and after removing maybe 1 cotton ball worth of cotton, the rest of the lighter was filled with strange seeds/chips. That's like the 5th time I think I've purchased a lighter that is full of what looks like seeds. Can cotton sprout seeds like a potato? I don't think so, but it's a mystery how a lighter ends up with all these seeds in them. I thought maybe it was some illegal plant seeds smuggling the first two times, but these are all different brand and era lighters so it makes no sense, particularly since IF they were they're clearly not getting to their intended destination. It does make it easier to remove the "wadding" though so how can I complain? I put a new wick in and like five giant balls of cotton worth of packing and it works gloriously well now.
Click for larger photo/slideshow
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joberg
Legendary Member
"Le quart de tour" expression refers to car engines: your engine is on in a quarter turn means that your mechanic tuned that engine to its utmost performance (race-car drivers, of courseQuart De Tour Lighter from France with Esso ad on cap (1950?)
I couldn't find out a lot of information about this lighter (Quart De Tour means Quarter Turn in English) as I only see like 4 total doing Internet searches. It appears to have some kind of reptile leather wrap. I know there's some other lighters named "Nova" and other names that look identical made in France except for the markings on the caps. I changed the wick and packing (ridiculously easy on a lighter this size) and polished the brass bits and it works great and looks nice to me.
(What's ludicrous to me is that in searching for other examples/prices I ran into one for sale at 1st Dibs (big surprise for me as I've seen such examples there before) in black snakeskin for sale at a whopping 44% off (a mere $479!!!) Wow! I must have gotten the deal of the century since I paid $15.92 + shipping for this one from France ($18.33 total). I saw one on a pricing based website and it was closer to what I paid so imagine the nerve of these people on 1st Dibs buying a sub-$20 lighter and putting it up for resale at over $800 and then claiming a 44% off sale at a still obscene ~24x profit. I honestly don't know how they live with themselves.... But hey, that guy is a 5-star "Diamond Star SERVICE" rated so maybe you're just paying for his unbelievable expertise and time wasted selling a $20 lighter....
Click for larger photos/slideshow
View attachment 1708355 View attachment 1708354 View attachment 1708352 View attachment 1708353 View attachment 1708351
)
joberg
Legendary Member
"Le quart de tour" expression refers to car engines: your engine is on in a quarter turn means that your mechanic tuned that engine to its utmost performance (race-car drivers, of courseQuart De Tour Lighter from France with Esso ad on cap (1950?)
I couldn't find out a lot of information about this lighter (Quart De Tour means Quarter Turn in English) as I only see like 4 total doing Internet searches. It appears to have some kind of reptile leather wrap. I know there's some other lighters named "Nova" and other names that look identical made in France except for the markings on the caps. I changed the wick and packing (ridiculously easy on a lighter this size) and polished the brass bits and it works great and looks nice to me.
(What's ludicrous to me is that in searching for other examples/prices I ran into one for sale at 1st Dibs (big surprise for me as I've seen such examples there before) in black snakeskin for sale at a whopping 44% off (a mere $479!!!) Wow! I must have gotten the deal of the century since I paid $15.92 + shipping for this one from France ($18.33 total). I saw one on a pricing based website and it was closer to what I paid so imagine the nerve of these people on 1st Dibs buying a sub-$20 lighter and putting it up for resale at over $800 and then claiming a 44% off sale at a still obscene ~24x profit. I honestly don't know how they live with themselves.... But hey, that guy is a 5-star "Diamond Star SERVICE" rated so maybe you're just paying for his unbelievable expertise and time wasted selling a $20 lighter....
Click for larger photos/slideshow
View attachment 1708355 View attachment 1708354 View attachment 1708352 View attachment 1708353 View attachment 1708351
)
joberg
Legendary Member
"Le quart de tour" expression refers to car engines: your engine is on in a quarter turn means that your mechanic tuned that engine to its utmost performance (race-car drivers, of courseQuart De Tour Lighter from France with Esso ad on cap (1950?)
I couldn't find out a lot of information about this lighter (Quart De Tour means Quarter Turn in English) as I only see like 4 total doing Internet searches. It appears to have some kind of reptile leather wrap. I know there's some other lighters named "Nova" and other names that look identical made in France except for the markings on the caps. I changed the wick and packing (ridiculously easy on a lighter this size) and polished the brass bits and it works great and looks nice to me.
(What's ludicrous to me is that in searching for other examples/prices I ran into one for sale at 1st Dibs (big surprise for me as I've seen such examples there before) in black snakeskin for sale at a whopping 44% off (a mere $479!!!) Wow! I must have gotten the deal of the century since I paid $15.92 + shipping for this one from France ($18.33 total). I saw one on a pricing based website and it was closer to what I paid so imagine the nerve of these people on 1st Dibs buying a sub-$20 lighter and putting it up for resale at over $800 and then claiming a 44% off sale at a still obscene ~24x profit. I honestly don't know how they live with themselves.... But hey, that guy is a 5-star "Diamond Star SERVICE" rated so maybe you're just paying for his unbelievable expertise and time wasted selling a $20 lighter....
Click for larger photos/slideshow
View attachment 1708355 View attachment 1708354 View attachment 1708352 View attachment 1708353 View attachment 1708351
)
VonMagnum
Sr Member
I see the server errors were still present when you posted (i.e. it was posting, but giving an error after that point creating duplicates each time you tried again).
As for finely tuned race cars, that's about the most basic lighter design they can make (spark wheel + wick + manual open) dating back to at least 1912 if not 1902 from the examples I've seen. Given others say "Nova" and such things, I guess early marketing decided to go big with something very small. I don't think either is the company name that made them.
As for finely tuned race cars, that's about the most basic lighter design they can make (spark wheel + wick + manual open) dating back to at least 1912 if not 1902 from the examples I've seen. Given others say "Nova" and such things, I guess early marketing decided to go big with something very small. I don't think either is the company name that made them.
VonMagnum
Sr Member
So, it seems the post office lost my ultra-rare IMCO lighter package.... They tried to deliver, but it needed a signature (from Poland) and I wasn't available. I went to pick it up and they can't find it.... Fantastic, right? Hopefully, they find it by tomorrow.... They did give me this one that was going to be delivered tomorrow, though.
Evans Rhinestone Pocket Lighter (1940s/50s)
It's harder to find exact name/dates for Evans lighters, but most sources point to the late 1940s or early-to-mid 1950s for this rhinestone lined pocket lighter. It's a nice looking lighter and after clearing the frozen flint and removing the cement-like fuel cap o-ring, it's a nice working lighter.
Evans Rhinestone Pocket Lighter (1940s/50s)
It's harder to find exact name/dates for Evans lighters, but most sources point to the late 1940s or early-to-mid 1950s for this rhinestone lined pocket lighter. It's a nice looking lighter and after clearing the frozen flint and removing the cement-like fuel cap o-ring, it's a nice working lighter.
VonMagnum
Sr Member
The IMCO Micro Lighter (Year???) showed up today.... I have very little information about it as it has no model number and it's not on any of the IMCO summary posters except as an add-on by someone that had one so I assume it's extremely rare. It's very tiny. I've seen one with the same original "thread" cover, except it was on both pieces and clearly was lost here.
This one looks like the seam was hanging by a thread on the remaining top and since I have no such replacement thread cover to restore it, I decided to just remove it and put on a brand new leather cover on both parts as I have seen photos of covers that looked more leather-like rather than a knit sock. I don't know if that helps or hurts its value, but seeing as I have no intention of selling it any time soon, I'd like a restored look version.
I think it came out pretty well for the most part given my lack of leather cutting skills. It's got a visible seam, but that seems almost unavoidable. I set it (accidentally) so that when the two seams line up, the top comes off easily (it'll even fall off), but when you twist it even 1/16 of a turn, it stays on with sufficient friction that it won't fall off even if you shake it, kind of like an aspirin bottle with a safety cap, oddly enough). I've still got to remove a little bit of glue/cement on the edges, but I want it to fully dry first).
Click on a thumbnail for larger view and slideshow:
Original Cover as it arrived here (Closed/Opened Top View and Lit):
Replaced thread cover with Italian Red Leather (Closed/Open with lighter removed/Lit)
Flash used (Closed/Lit)
Comparison to other tube lighters recently required (IMCO is the smallest -- Shown without flash and with flash)
This one looks like the seam was hanging by a thread on the remaining top and since I have no such replacement thread cover to restore it, I decided to just remove it and put on a brand new leather cover on both parts as I have seen photos of covers that looked more leather-like rather than a knit sock. I don't know if that helps or hurts its value, but seeing as I have no intention of selling it any time soon, I'd like a restored look version.
I think it came out pretty well for the most part given my lack of leather cutting skills. It's got a visible seam, but that seems almost unavoidable. I set it (accidentally) so that when the two seams line up, the top comes off easily (it'll even fall off), but when you twist it even 1/16 of a turn, it stays on with sufficient friction that it won't fall off even if you shake it, kind of like an aspirin bottle with a safety cap, oddly enough). I've still got to remove a little bit of glue/cement on the edges, but I want it to fully dry first).
Click on a thumbnail for larger view and slideshow:
Original Cover as it arrived here (Closed/Opened Top View and Lit):
Replaced thread cover with Italian Red Leather (Closed/Open with lighter removed/Lit)
Flash used (Closed/Lit)
Comparison to other tube lighters recently required (IMCO is the smallest -- Shown without flash and with flash)
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VonMagnum
Sr Member
Ronson Jubilee Sterling Silver Table Lighter (1954)
The Jubilee was Ronson's only production lighter where all of them were made in sterling silver, although the lighter insert is only silver plated. This one was almost black. I thought sterling silver lighters usually didn't tarnish so much, but clearly they can. I imagine it's the conditions it was stored in or something. 20 minutes of polishing with Flitz™ and it shines like new again (other than the little pock marks caused by who knows what). The lighter insert was in bad shape and took some work to get it working again along with the stuck fuel cap. But an hour and a half later and I'm done. The first photo is how it looked when I got it.
Click for larger photos/slidehow:
The Jubilee was Ronson's only production lighter where all of them were made in sterling silver, although the lighter insert is only silver plated. This one was almost black. I thought sterling silver lighters usually didn't tarnish so much, but clearly they can. I imagine it's the conditions it was stored in or something. 20 minutes of polishing with Flitz™ and it shines like new again (other than the little pock marks caused by who knows what). The lighter insert was in bad shape and took some work to get it working again along with the stuck fuel cap. But an hour and a half later and I'm done. The first photo is how it looked when I got it.
Click for larger photos/slidehow:
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