Clipper (lighter)
Clipper is the brand name of a type of refillable butane lighter, designed by Enric Sardà and owned by Flamagas S.A.[1] since 1959.
The lighters are mostly produced in Barcelona (Spain), while others are manufactured in Chennai (India) and Shanghai (China).[2] Clipper has a wide range of lighters, gas refills and other accessories. The first Clipper lighter was made in 1972, and now the worldwide level of production is around 450 million units a year.
Clipper is a division of the parent company Flamagas S.A.,[3] which also distribute stationery and electronics for such brands as Casio and Daewoo[4]
Associations
Some people associate the use of the Clipper lighter with roll-your-own cigarettes. This is due to its removable flint system which is often used by smokers to pack tobacco in roll-your-own cigarettes. It is also often used in the smoking of marijuana because the flint system doubling up as a tamper or "poke" and because its shape allows the user to use the lighter without getting burned.
In popular culture
- British garage artist The Streets used the Clipper lighter as his logo.[5] The lighter (bearing the name of the artist) appears on all album covers bar the first album which in fact featured a Swan lighter. Their merchandise includes branded Clipper lighters.
- The Artist Damien Hirst also used the images of the Clipper lighter in a series of Artworks together with Silk Cut tobacco boxes.
- The authors Anna Hyndman & Graeme Milne wrote and published the novel "Figure of Eight" in 2010, with an original script showing a Clipper lighter as the main character and telling his life in the first person.
- Musician Ed Sheeran refers to the Clipper Lighter in his song "Drunk (song)" with the lyrics "There may be other people like us/who see the flicker of the clipper when they light up"
External links
- Fan Page Clipper Collection
- Flamagas website
- Clipper website
- Super Lighter
- Official Clipper Italy site