We are honoured to announce that we have become authorized dealers of Elie Bleu humidors at our magazine’s official store, FourteenNinetyTwo.com. It is no secret that our team are big fans and always admired the quality and distinguished style of the brand. We are proud to carry their entire line, and you can find every Elie Bleu item that is currently in production on our shop.
For the distinguished cigar aficionado, there is no object of more importance than the humidor. Deceptively simple, yet this object is faced with a daunting task very few humidors end up performing; weather lifetimes of use, as the vessel for delivering the delightfully fragile and finicky cigar across time.
Naturally as one becomes more and more engrossed in the properties of the cigar, their many shapes, shades and temperaments, the larger the appreciation for the what houses them. More than just a wooden receptacle, no piece of furniture could possibly inspire the obsession, frustration and fascination that does the humidor. We’ve all been just as frustrated dealing with a warped lid, or faulty hygrometer, as we relished the fetching of a long-anticipated puro.
Even the most experienced cigar aficionado has trouble resisting the seduction of a full humidor, tinkering or looking for excuses to gaze upon a perfectly arranged collection, each time hindering the cigars from reaching the ideal storage conditions. The age-old catch 22 of having your cake and eating it too, learnt the hard way by every cigar smoker, is probably best mitigated by Zino’s famous transparent acrylic humidors, catering our insatiable gaze. It’s perhaps in this problematic that lies our obsession with the humidor. They are objects that go against the grain of our zeitgeist, test us, and challenge our patience in a culture based on instant gratification and disposability. In the humidor we find some respite from the fast-paced, an often-cruel teacher reminding us that the finest things require generosity with time.
Perhaps lost on some, but investing in a luxury humidor can be understood in an act of faith in the enduring beauty of the object, and its capacity to span time. There is perhaps no company that better caters to or understands this obsession than the craftsmen of the world-renown French manufacturers Elie Bleu. A name becoming less and less obscure each day, Elie Bleu tops the list of the world’s finest producers of humidors.
Founded in 1976, Elie Bleu has been quietly supplying the most powerful dignitaries with the finest cabinets, cases, jewelry boxes, watch-winders, cigar accessories and humidors for nearly half a century. A well-kept secret in the cigar community for some time, an American journalist broke the news of the highly localized brand during the cigar heyday of the 90s, prompting the brand’s first international sales. Decades on, Elie Bleu’s formula of unbeatable quality, exquisite design and durability has earned the brand an unwavering cult following in the world of humidors, unlike any other.
Elie Bleu is rooted in the centuries-old art of Marquetry, the art of applying veneers to an object in creating intricate designs, structures or patterns. The original workshop located in the heart of the Faubourg Saint Antoine, is a stone’s throw away from the historical epicenter of French marquetry and cabinet making excellence. Across the Seine in the 13tharrondissement, lies the Royal Gobelins manufactory, that famously supplied the furnishings and decorations of unmatched beauty that still adorn the palace of Versailles and the residences of Louis XIV. The early to mid 17th century represented the golden era of cabinetry, where the intricate and lavish art movements of French Classicism and Rococo, commissioned by the aristocracy pushed the art of inlaying, marquetry, and cabinet making to unprecedented heights.
Although much time has elapsed, Elie Bleu carries on the legacy of this proud French heritage, with the Sarkozy government bestowing upon the company the high distinction of “Entreprise du patrimonie vivant” in 2009. Elie Bleu just like S.T Dupont, has gained media attention being chosen as the gift of choice for foreign ambassadors and dignitaries by the state, as a shining example of an exceptional distinctly French product. Famous recipients of Elie Bleu products include the Obamas and the Pope.
The very first stage in the construction of the humidor is the sourcing of the wood. This rigorous process of scouting takes an indeterminate amount of time, as only the finest selections of domestic, exotic, and rare woods are imported to be worked upon. All the wood is subsequently air cured for up to a decade, the living material settling into its final form until it’s ripe to be worked on, eliminating any chance of wood warping, or fracturing. Patience is key here, Elie Bleu motivated by quality rather than the “bottom line”; a philosophy that has made their products so sought after by virtue of their limited production capacity.
It’s the unique properties of the wood, it’s tone, essence and distinct grain, that the craftsmen seek out in composing their designs. The pieces are manually sanded and polished 8 times, and multiple coats of veneer are applied bringing out the inimitable fine brilliance of the natural product. Through this painstaking process, it’s the otherwise hidden beauty of the wood that is maximized, the grains and soul of the material pushed to the forefront with a distinct luster produced by the magic number of 8 layers of varnish.
The final product is striking with the veneers assembled to form decorative patterns, a trait attributed to the diversity of precious and rare materials Elie Bleu procures. Royal Ebony, Macassar, Rio Rosewood, Sycamore, Walnut Burl are just a few that are combined with unique inlays of gold, mother of pearl, carbon, and even modified fish skin. Each humidor is equipped with the company’s own hardware, including a classy analog hygrometer and a high-quality humidifier that comes with a 3 year guarantee.
Amongst the more popular humidor collections in the catalogue is Elie Bleu’s “Flor de Alba”, a colourful series paying homage to the golden era of cigars. It is fitting that the company should take the reigns for this project, as there is a French connection behind the famous lithography style on boxes that we’ve learnt to associate with Cuba. According to historical records, a French music sheet shop established in Havana in 1822, was instrumental in pioneering a lithographic style that phased out the old tradition of Spanish Royal seals as demarcations of quality. This early cigar box was transformed from heavily embossed, with many golden seals to the Neoclassical style lithography that has become synonymous with many of our favourite Habanos brands (Punch, Romeo & Julieta, Por Larranaga, El Rey del Mundo etc).
The “Flor de Alba” collection is spirited and colourful, tapping into the timeless designs that have helped elevate the Havana cigar to international levels of grandeur in the mid 19th century. Detailed geometric trim run along the edges of the humidor, while cigar motifs of classical tableaus and palm trees are treated with the finest Marquetry skill. A main crest adorns the top of the lid, while another stretches across the side, acting as seal.
Never shying away from the opportunity to outdo themselves, Elie Bleu is credited with creating what is regarded to be the world’s most exclusive humidor in 2016. Launched for the occasion of Cohiba’s 50th anniversary, the cabinet front doors feature 48 panels of gold gilded tobacco leaves, behind which lie cedar trays housing 50 puros. Inside, the 60 X 177mm Cohiba Anniversario, known as the largest Habano cigar of all time. With the objet d’art numbered one selling for an astronomical $470,000, it is clear that Elie Bleu doesn’t make just any humidor.
