Colibri is a company that supplies men's accessories. Founded in 1928, Colibri initially manufactured cigarette lighters, for which they became known. The company later supplied other products, including jewelry, smoking accessories, small leather goods and writing instruments.
History and background
Colibri was founded in 1928 by Julius Lowenthal.[1] In 1935, Colibri launched the fully automatic ‘Monopol’ lighter, which had an acceleration system. From 1940 to 1945 Colibri produced the ‘Stormgard’ lighter designed for soldiers fighting in World War II. In 1952, Julius Lowenthal's son Jack joined Colibri. Colibri produced a lighter with a visible multiple gas refill and a hydraulic auto-flint system in 1958, and an electric lighter, which they named Molectric in 1967.
In 1974, for the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, Colibri supplied the golden gun, which was constructed from a Molectric 88 lighter, cufflinks, cigarette case and fountain pen. Later in 1974, Colibri sponsored the winning Lombard RAC rally team, driven by Henry Liddon and Timo Mäkinen.
In the 1980s, Jack's son David joined Colibri, which then started supplying items such as Swiss watches, cufflinks, and pens.