THORENS · EST. 1883
THORENS Lighter History
Our story began in Sainte-Croix in 1883.
Explore our lighter history through patents, models and original archives.
1883
The Swiss Jura
Our beginnings
in Sainte-Croix.
Hermann Thorens founded our business in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland, manufacturing music boxes and musical mechanisms. Phonographs and gramophones followed.[S8]
1913–1920
Our first lighters
The Original
Single Claw.
We began lighter development in 1913; our Original generation dates from 1914. Hermann Thorens’s US patent 1,359,003, filed in 1919 and granted in 1920, records the lid-operated hook that drives the ignition wheel.[S2][P1]
1923–1934
A decade of patents
Fuel. Windguard.
Double Claw.
Our Swiss patent record covers a liquid-fuel reservoir in 1923, a side-fastened windguard in 1928, an extendable wick in 1931 and paired driving arms in 1934.[P2][P3][P4][P7]
1947–1949 · In print
Our name
across the Atlantic.
Advertisements preserved by Keith Wright record our lighters in the Youngstown, Vancouver and Pittsburgh press.[S4]
*Publication dates follow Keith Wright’s archive attributions.
1953
Our catalogue
Our historic
lighter models.
Our March 1953 export list includes Original, Sport, Vedette, Companion, Blizzard, Lucky and Jubile, with nickel, chromium, gold and sterling-silver finishes across the range.[D1]
1958–1963
Our later historic range
Music and
new fuel systems.
Our 1958 table-lighter sheet presents Nuit de Lune and Distinction. The 1961 price list includes Distinction with an 18-note musical movement. Gasomatic followed in the 1960s, dated circa 1963 by collector references.[D1][S2][S3][D2]
1960s–2014
Changes and returns.
The historic production era ends.
We place the Paillard combination in 1962/1963. Historic lighter production is commonly recorded as ending in 1964; the audio business separated from Paillard in 1966.[S1][S22][S4]
The audio business restarts.
We distinguish the 1999 insolvency of Thorens Audio Vertriebs GmbH from our lighter history. The official audio chronology dates Heinz Rohrer’s takeover and restart to 2001.[S1]
A new chapter for the mechanical lighter.
In 2024, we began a new phase of the THORENS lighter revival under Hermann Thorens SA. The programme brought the mechanical lighter heritage into a contemporary collection and a renewed international business.[S5]
As set out in our official statement, contemporary production is carried out through Hubei Thorens Metal Co., Ltd. in China, and thorenslighter.com is operated by Thorens Accessories Inc. in the United States as the official online representative of Hermann Thorens SA.
A heritage carried forward.
The new chapter follows the earlier family-led return. Its purpose is to keep the mechanical lighter relevant: as an object to use, maintain and collect, with its history visible in the movement of its parts.
Our current collection
Inside the mechanism.
Our lighters in collections
THORENS in
collectors’ hands.
We find our lighters in collector records from a 1994 exhibition to present-day public discussions. Surviving models, accessories and documents remain in independent archives.[C1][C2][C3][S4]
Facebook group access may require login or membership.
We reproduce CollectionHero’s third-party eBay sale records. These are individual historical listings; we have not independently verified the transactions.
With our thanks
To those who
preserved our history.
We thank Keith Wright, Frank Dutton, Lighter Library, OTLS, the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, THORENS GmbH’s archive, and the collectors and contributors credited below. By preserving objects, documents and knowledge, you have helped our history endure.
Explore the documents
Our archive.
Patents · nine verified documents
We distinguish filing, registration and publication dates. The register credits individual inventors separately from applicants and assignees.
| Document | Filed | Registered / published | Named party | What it documents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 1,359,003[P1] | 12 Jun 1919 | 16 Nov 1920 · granted/published | Hermann Thorens | Lid-operated hook drive; Single Claw mechanism. |
| CH 102352[P2] | 19 Jan 1923 | 1 Dec 1923 · published | Hermann Thorens | Fuel capacity and liquid-fuel reservoir. |
| CH 126260[P3] | 27 Jul 1927 | 1 Jun 1928 · published | Hermann Thorens | Windguard with a side fastening. |
| CH 149160[P4] | 21 Jun 1930 | 31 Aug 1931 · registered; 2 Nov 1931 · published | Hermann Thorens Société Anonyme | Extendable wick tube; German priority 14 Apr 1930. |
| CH 149231[P5] | 24 Jul 1930 | 31 Aug 1931 · registered; 2 Nov 1931 · published | Hermann Thorens Société Anonyme | Household lighter with trigger-linked cover; German priority 17 Mar 1930. |
| CH 155553[P6] | 29 May 1931 | 30 Jun 1932 · registered; 1 Sep 1932 · published | Hermann Thorens S.A. | Slider-controlled rotating latch. |
| US 1,904,299[P8] | 16 Mar 1931 | 18 Apr 1933 · granted/published | Adolf Weissenburger; assigned to Hermann Thorens S.A. | Movable wick holder; German priority 14 Apr 1930. |
| US 1,925,933[P9] | 27 Jul 1931 | 5 Sep 1933 · granted/published | Henri Py; assigned to Hermann Thorens | Self-aligning wick cap; Swiss priority 1 Aug 1930. |
| CH 167577[P7] | 11 Apr 1933 | 28 Feb 1934 · registered; 1 May 1934 · published | Hermann Thorens Société Anonyme | Two driving arms; round illustrated embodiment. |
Model families · nineteen entries
We use “documented by” for confirmed availability. Approximate dates remain marked as such. Our contemporary generation numbers are separate from this historical classification.
| Family / model | Date supported here | Evidence and limits |
|---|---|---|
| Original / Single Claw | Development 1913; Original generation from 1914 | Our retrospective; mechanism independently documented in the 1919/1920 US patent.[S2][P1] |
| Original table forms / Flared | 1920s family attribution | Broad family dating only; no precise first-sale year established for Flared.[S2][S11] |
| Storm | 1927/1928 patent context | Windguard patent; both Single Claw and Double Claw examples survive.[P3][S12] |
| Flambo · Maco · Petit | Circa 1930 | Collector index dating; primary launch notices not established here.[S3] |
| TELEFLAM | 1930/1931 patent context | Extendable wick; US patent granted 1933.[P4][P8][S13] |
| Oriflam | Circa 1931 | Collector attribution; also present in our archived parts sheet.[S14][D1] |
| Original / Double Claw | 1933/1934 collector attribution | Two-arm patent in a round body; rectangular Double Claw documented in 1947 parts list.[S15][P7][D1] |
| Moon / Round | 1930s | Round silhouette in brand retrospective; 1933/1934 patent illustration.[S2][P7] |
| Matchlite · Alluma | Circa 1934 | Collector index; exact commercial introduction unconfirmed.[S3] |
| Lucky · New Oriflam | Circa 1935, tentative | Collector dating; Lucky securely documented in 1947 parts list.[S3][D1] |
| Vedette | Circa 1938, collector attribution | Clearly offered in March 1953 export price list.[S3][D1] |
| Jubile | Mid-1940s; documented by 1947 | Listed in 1947 parts sheet and 1953 export catalogue.[D1][S10] |
| Sport / Sports | 1940s attribution; documented 1953 | Two Sport sizes in March 1953 export price list.[S3][D1] |
| Companion · Masterpiece | Circa 1949 family attribution | Companion confirmed by 1953 catalogue; Masterpiece introduction remains disputed.[S16][D1] |
| Blizzard | Documented March 1953 | Named and illustrated in supplied export price list.[D1] |
| Nuit de Lune · Distinction | Post-war family; documented 1958/1961 | Dated catalogue evidence; musical Distinction listed in 1961.[D1][S17] |
| Gasomatic / Gazomatic | 1960s; circa 1963 attribution | Our archived brochure undated; GASOMATIC is the spelling on the original artwork.[D2][S18][S3] |
| Centurion | Early 2010s; return documented by 2014 | Family-led small-series programme before 2024; exact launch day unconfirmed.[S4][S19] |
| Contemporary revival collection | 2024 onward | Our new programme described in our official statement; modern model launch dates require separate product records.[S5] |
Further documents and photographs
Corporate chronology and dating notes
1927 / 1952. Our original business became Hermann Thorens SA in 1927 and was renamed Thorens SA in 1952. Frédéric and Paul Thorens joined during the 1920s and later assumed general management.[S22]
1962 / 1963. The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland dates the Paillard combination to 1962; the current official audio history uses 1963. We retain both years.[S22][S1]
Double Claw. Collector dates differ. We use the 1933 filing and 1934 publication of CH 167577 as evidence for the illustrated two-arm round design, without assigning every rectangular variant the same launch date.[S10][S15][P7]
Further verification. We continue to seek the original patent linked to a reported 3 February 1914 base-mark date and the 2008 publication behind the reported five-million production total. Neither is used here as a verified headline claim.
Image provenance. We identify the hosts and contributors of external photographs. Source credit does not establish commercial republication permission. Our contemporary photographs document current products and work; historical images remain identified as archival material.
Sources and acknowledgements · forty-four references
We thank the authors, archivists, institutions and contributors behind these sources. We retain their links and the specific evidence used in our account.
Official audio-business chronology; founding, Paillard, insolvency and audio relaunch.
Brand retrospective; 1913 development, Original from 1914, broad model generations.
Collector chronology. Approximate dates are not treated as documented launch dates.
Newspaper clipping attributions, a reported 2008 production statement, and a reproduced 2014 letter.
Brand account of the 2024 revival and contemporary manufacturing and operating structure.
Commercial-register information and reproduction of the 8 June 2011 incorporation notice.
Entity-creation date: 3 June 2011; CHE-398.245.414.
Official historical background, pp. 1–2.
Secondary overview consulted for comparison; audio-business history.
Independent collector comparison; some dates conflict with other catalogues.
Surviving variants, servicing material and collector dating.
Single Claw and Double Claw windguard variants.
Collector identification of the extendable-wick model and its patent context.
Model identification and mechanism reference.
1933/1934 dating and surviving Double Claw examples.
Post-war family and associated patent illustrations.
Table models, including musical Distinction variants.
Undated 1960s advertising and surviving example.
Centurion and the collaboration with La Nationale.
Wider company history; consulted for disputed audio restart dates.
Research lead only. Group contents could not be inspected; no historical claim relies on private posts.
Marianne Berlinger Konqui, 2011, revised 10 October 2012. Family succession, 1927 incorporation, 1952 renaming and later companies. Gives 1962 for Paillard, whereas thorens.com gives 1963.
Nicole Staremberg; German translation Barbara Erni; revised 17 October 2011. Founder biography and life dates.
Hermann Thorens; filed 12 June 1919, granted 16 November 1920.
Adolf Weissenburger; assigned to Hermann Thorens S.A.; movable wick holder.
Henri Py; assigned to Hermann Thorens; self-aligning wick cap.
CH000000102352A_all_pages.pdf; date and mechanism checked against the original scan.
CH000000126260A_all_pages.pdf; date and mechanism checked against the original scan.
CH000000149160A_all_pages.pdf; date and mechanism checked against the original scan.
CH000000149231A_all_pages.pdf; date and mechanism checked against the original scan.
CH000000155553A_all_pages.pdf; date and mechanism checked against the original scan.
CH000000167577A_all_pages.pdf; date and mechanism checked against the original scan.
1.pdf, 10 pages. Selected sheets reproduced below with page-specific captions.
Gazomatic.pdf, 2 pages. The printed product name is GASOMATIC; the brochure itself is undated.
Page 3 reports the 29 October 1994 New England show and John Hale’s Thorens table combination.
Page 7: a classified advertisement seeks Original Single Claw repair kits.
Public collector discussion, 18 August 2025. Oriflam repair intentions are a commenter’s account, not an independently verified completed restoration.
Community dating discussion; offered as further reading, not as a primary launch-date authority.
Archive records an eBay sale on 2 October 2023, item 314861135914. Seller describes a 1920s 800-silver Single Claw. Original transaction not independently verified.
Archive records an eBay sale on 27 November 2019, item 283690509748, Alpacca Single Claw. Original transaction not independently verified.
Archive records an eBay sale on 28 July 2020, item 303635614901; seller describes 800 silver, untested/as-is condition. Original transaction not independently verified.
Current product corresponding to the first disassembly photograph; identification supplied by THORENS and checked against the store product record.
Current product corresponding to the second disassembly photograph; identification supplied by THORENS and checked against the store product record.
Five photographs supplied by THORENS: two disassembly displays, company wall, Steampunk welding work and Double Claw assembly. Photograph dates and location are not independently established.