| Founded | 1928 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | CST Enterprises LLC 237 West 37th Street 10th floor New York NY 10018 |
| Products | Lighters Jewelry Smoking Accessories Small Leather Goods Writing Instruments Time Pieces |
| Website | colibri.com |
Colibri is a company that specialises in men’s accessories. Now established for over 83 years, Colibri is traditionally known as a lighter manufacturer. Since its inception, Colibri has developed its existing lighter a variety of products including: lighters, jewelry, smoking accessories, small leather goods and writing instruments.
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Colibri was founded in 1928 by Julius Lowenthal. His primary aim was to re-invent the lighter market and to produce an automatic lighter. He succeeded by inventing the semi-automatic lighter. In 1935, Colibri launched the fully automatic ‘Monopol’ lighter; engineered with a Swiss acceleration system. From 1940 and until 1945 Colibri launched the ‘Stormgard’ lighter designed for soldiers fighting in World War II. In 1952, Julius Lowenthal’s son Jack, joins Colibri. Technological advances in 1958 led Colibri to produce a lighter with a visible multiple gas refill and a hydraulic auto-flint system. Colibri released the electric lighter in 1967 and named it the ‘Molectric.’
In 1974, the James Bond film ‘The Man with the Golden Gun’ Colibri supplied the golden gun; constructed from a Molectric 88 lighter, cufflinks, cigarette case and fountain pen. Later in 1974, Colibri sponsors the RAC rally team driven by Henry Liddon and Timo Makinen.
In the 1980s, Jack’s son David joins Colibri which led to the expansion into lifestyle accessories from Swiss watches to cufflinks and pens. In 2001, the Vortex and Trifecta collections were introduced with pyramidal twin-flame and triple flame lighters.
In February 2009 Colibri changed ownership with its head office changed from Providence to New York, USA. They proceeded to relaunch the brand which included three new series to distinguish between products; The Classic (C Series), Design (D Series) and Technical (T Series)
The original 1928 Colibri logo featured simple, bold typeface and later incorporated flames to dot each ‘I’ in the word Colibri. The logo later included an emblem of a lion breathing fire and a simple hummingbird outline. The logo symbolised ‘Lowethal’ (the founder of Colibri) and literally translates in to Lion.
To signify the re-launch of the brand, in 2011 the Colibri logo was re-branded and incorporated a monochrome humming bird symbol (as ‘Colibri’ is also a breed of hummingbird.) Similarly to the small and detailed nature of the hummingbird, this aesthetic is reflected in Colibri’s products. The design of the logo coincided with the brand re-launch and has a sharper design to reflect the 2011 collection.
In 2011, Colibri launched its jewelry range using the C, D and T series for a range of accessories that complement the lighter range. Cufflinks, money clips, pens and leather goods all feature in the range. The Cufflinks consisted of a variety of materials including polished steel and semi-precious stone inlays including: malachite, black onyx, black pearl, mother-of-pearl and peridot. T Series cufflinks included genuine Alligator leather centers in a variety of colors and finishes.
Five new lighter models were launched in the 2011 Las Vegas IPCPR to the C, D and T series collections:
C Series
Diamond – Metallic finishes
D Series
Zephyr – Faceted in a variety of metals
T Series
Monza – Pachmayr texture
Enterprise I – Similar to Enterprise III but with a single flame
Enterprise II - Similar to Enterprise III but with a double flame.
Colibri launched two pens to its 2011 range. Both are refillable rollerball pens and are available in black lacquer and carbon fiber.
Colibri is a worldwide brand, distributed in Africa, North and South America, Asia and Europe.