The ashtray is the most neglected object in the library. Murmmr, a San Francisco design studio, decided it deserved the same obsession as the cigar itself.
The Object: Cigar is a dome of 5.6 pounds of mouth-blown Czech crystal, set over a base cut to cradle cigars up to a 74 ring gauge. Lower the dome over a resting cigar and it snuffs the smoke gently, starving it of oxygen instead of crushing it, so the cigar can be relit later without bitterness. While it rests, the trapped smoke coils inside the glass like weather.
The making
It was developed with Brian Telford, the third-generation tobacconist behind Telford’s Pipe & Cigar in Mill Valley, and built by fifth-generation European makers: a Czech crystal foundry and a Bavarian glassworks whose client list includes Tiffany, Tom Dixon, and LVMH. The tapper is precision-milled German brass. The footing is hand-finished Portuguese cork.
Fifty sets, individually numbered, each with a letterpress Proof of Originality card. Murmmr keeps the matching half at its headquarters, so no copy can ever pass. Hand engraving of initials is complimentary.
The details
- Maker
- Murmmr, San Francisco
- Price
- $1,250
- Edition
- 50 individually numbered sets
- Materials
- Czech crystal, German brass, Portuguese cork
- Fits
- Cigars to 74 ring gauge
- Extras
- Complimentary hand engraving, letterpress proof of originality
The verdict
- Napa Curator Recommended
- The rare object that improves the ritual it serves. For the library, the terrace at midnight, the hour after dinner.
Concept preview: this page demonstrates the Recommends format. Photography courtesy of the maker; our own photography ships with the full review.