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The founder of the brand, Simon Tissot-Dupont was born in Savoy in 1847. S.T. Dupont owes its initials to him.
Simon
founds a carriage company which is destroyed in a fire in 1872.
Unabashed, the same year he buys a workshop which makes leather
briefcases for diplomats and businessman.
In 1884, Simon
Tissot-Dupont becomes the supplier of one of the world’s largest shops
– Les Grands Magasins du Louvre – while maintaining his private
clientele.
Simon Tissot Dupont hands over his company to his
sons in 1919, Lucien and Andre, who, tading under the name of Les Fils
de S.T. Dupont (the Sons of S.T. Dupont) relaunch the activity. The
activity was focused on high quality travel cases and accessories.
Highly qualified craftsmen are called upon and patents are taken out to
protect industrial secrets. 250 workers and 17 separate trades are
involved in the manufacture: goldsmiths, woodworkers, engravers,
leather craftsmen, enamel workers, locksmiths, etc.
S.T. Dupont transfers its workshops from rue Dieu in Paris back to the family’s hometown of Faverges in Savoy in 1924.
In
1929 Lucien Tissot Dupont is invited to New York by Louis Cartier to
present his travel cases in their 5th Avenue shop. On the ship going to
New York he learns about the Cash and the ensuing panic on Wall Street.
Upon his return to Paris, in response to this crisis, he decides to
move even further upmarket and cater to clients unaffected by the Crash.
Up
to 10 exceptional travel cases are turned out of the workshops every
month. The master craftsmen work on the most noble of materials:
crocodile skin, gold and silver, ivory, and tortoiseshell. S.T. Dupont
becomes supplier to the establishment: kings, emperors, maharajahs,
ambassadors, and bankers are its clients.
Since then, Dupont
went on to produce lighters, pens, wallets, watches, and of course,
fragrances. The first S.T. Dupont fragrance for men and women was
created in 1998 and was extremely successful.
S.T. Dupont is a leader in high quality leather goods and accessories as well as other fine goods such as perfumes and colognes. |