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Home > What's New > Habanos Auction Raises $500,000 For Charity
Habanos Auction Raises $500,000 For Charity
Posted: Tuesday, March 11, 2003
By Michael Moretti and James Suckling
Altadis bought the Montecristo humidor, plus a second lot, for a combined $232,000. |
The latest Habanos auction, held in late February, raised half a million dollars for Cuban charity. The event took part at the gala dinner ending the fifth annual Habanos Festival, five days of drinking, eating, smoking and seeing the best of Cuba. The event featured a slew of special-edition humidors commemorating such respected Cuban cigar brands as Montecristo, La Hoyo de Monterrey, Trinidad, Partagas and Cohiba.
President Fidel Castro was not in attendance, and it certainly had an impact on the auction results, which were smaller than that of the 2002 Habanos auction, which raised $653,000.
Lot No. 1 -- The first humidor, made and donated by renowned Swiss humidor maker Michel Perrenoud, had a capacity of 400 cigars and was decorated by Cuban artist Carlos Boix. It came with a box of cigars from each of these Habanos brands: Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Partagas and Hoyo de Monterrey. It was bought by George Salgredo of Switzerland for $17,000.
Lot No. 2 -- The San Cristóbal de La Habana lot was composed of five cedar cases, which were decorated in leather and old lithographs. They contained 150 San Cristóbal de la Habana cigars. One of the humidors was pyramid shaped, with the original lithograph on which the theme of the festival was based. The lot also included an original painting by Cuban artist Alexis Leyva, known as Kcho. Olivier Muller of France purchased the lot for $18,000.
Lot No. 3 -- The Habanos 2000 humidor was built from solid cedar, and handcrafted by cabinetmakers and carpenters. The humidor was part of a limited series made to celebrate the arrival of the millennium. It contained 2,000 cigars from the 20 brands and vitolas, or sizes, of Cuban cigars that Habanos said are in most demand around the world. It sold to Vahan Boulgourjian and Raffi Boyadjian of England for $60,000.
The intricate Trinidad humidor, lot No. 4, sold for $30,000. |
Lot No. 4 -- Fashioned into the shape of a city colonial church in the Cuban city of Trinidad, the Trinidad Humidor was handmade and intricately detailed in solid cedar and mahogany. It contained 120 Trinidad cigars in three sizes: 40 Fundadores, 40 Robustos Especiales, and 40 Coloniales. Max Gutmann of Mexico bought the lot for $30,000.
Lot No. 5 -- In addition to being the fifth year of Habanos festivals,
the Cubans also celebrated the 510th anniversary of the arrival of the
Habano, or Cuban cigar, to the old world. Lot No. 5 commemorated this event.
Known as the 510 Humidor, it was made from six woods: ukola, pommel, cedar,
eucalyptus, bubinga and sycamore, giving it a multi-colored look. It
contained 100 cigars: 20 Cohiba Espléndidos, 20 Montecristo No. 2s, 20
Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 1s, 20 Romeo y Julieta Hermosos No. 3s and 20
Partagas Royales. The last two vitolas are not available
commercially. Faieq Alzayani of Bahrain bought it for $15,000.
Lot No. 6 -- This lot contained an unspecified number of vintage cigars dating back to the pre-Castro days. A partial box of Hoyo de Monterreys produced in the 1950s and donated by Club Epicur sold to Antonio Anglucci of Italy for $3,500. (Cabañas Superfinos produced in the 1950s, donated by C.Gars Ltd. of the United Kingdom and Conco Communications of Cuba, were stolen before the auction.)
The Hoyo de Monterrey humidor, lot No. 7, was purchased by Altadis. |
Lot No. 7 -- Crafted in cedar and carved with the brand name, the Hoyo de Monterrey humidor recreated a colonial-style piece of furniture. It was stocked with five boxes of Hoyos: two boxes of Limited Edition Particulares, one of Epicure No. 2s, one box of Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo de Dieux and one of Coronas. It did not meet its reserve price; at the end of the auction, Altadis of Spain bought it, along with the Montecristo humidor, lot No. 10, for $232,500.
Lot No. 8 -- A classic piece, complete with the Partagas crests hand-carved into double doors, the Partagas humidor included 125 cigars: 25 Serie D No. 4s, 25 8-9-8s, 25 Lusitanias, 25 Serie C No. 1s and 25 Serie A No. 1s. The Serie C cigars in the humidor were made especially for the festival. Kamal Daswani bought the lot for $20,000.
The double doors of the Partagas humidor, lot No. 8, reveal special cigars. It was purchased for $20,000. |
Lot No. 9 -- Made in honor of the fifth Habanos Festival in solid cedar, this humidor contained vitolas chosen from each of the previous four festivals: 30 Cohiba Gran Coronas, 30 Trinidad Robusto Especiales, 30 Cuaba Salomones, 30 Vegas Robaina Edición Limitadas and 30 Montecristo Cs. Jose Maria Cases of Andorra purchased the lot for $30,000.
Lot No. 10 -- Carved in mahogany and cedar, with silver fixtures, the Montecristo humidor was shaped like a typical chest of the Medieval Age. It contained 100 cigars: 20 Montecristo As, 20 Montecristo Bs, 20 Montecristo No. 2s, 20 Montecristo No. 5s and 20 Montecristo Robustos. It did not meet its reserve, but was purchased by Altadis, along with lot No. 7.
Lot No. 11 -- The Cohiba table service lot was purchased by Mary Balli of Greece for $15,000.
The avant-garde Cohiba humidor, lot No. 12, sold for $40,000. |
Lot No. 12 -- Cedar, mahogany, bronze and silver were used to decorate this Cohiba humidor. Its design resembled the tobacco plant, from its roots to its leaves supporting the silver decorated box. A silver sculpture representing the hand that makes and smokes the cigar sat atop the structure. All the accessories of this case were manufactured in silver. It contained 120 cigars: 20 Cohiba Pirámides, 20 Espléndidos, 20 Robustos, 20 Lanceros, 20 Coronas Especiales and 20 Siglo VI, the new cañonazo size. George Salgredo of Switzerland purchased the lot for $40,000.
In other lots, one Christian Dior crocodile skin handbag sold to Salgredo for $6,000. A humidor containing a bottle of 50-year-old Dalmore Scotch, plus 50 Cohiba Robustos, went to George Fereos of Cyprus.
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