Every S.T. Dupont lighter carries a reference number, and almost nobody publishes what they mean. Ask what separates a 16201 from a 16216 and you will find forum guesses, mismatched listings, and very little you can rely on.
This page is an attempt at something better: an index of references we have verified ourselves — from lighters we have handled, from original S.T. Dupont catalogue pages, and from guarantee cards and box labels — together with what the digits appear to mean.
Where the reference number is
The reference is not the serial number. The serial is hand-stamped on the base and identifies the individual lighter; the reference identifies the model — its line, its size, its metal and its pattern. You will usually find it in one of three places:
- On the guarantee card, written or stamped in the référence field.
- On the box label, often handwritten alongside an abbreviated description.
- In period catalogues, printed beneath each lighter.
If you are trying to tell a genuine lighter from a copy rather than identify a model, that is a different exercise — see our guide on how to spot a fake S.T. Dupont.
How to read the number
Across the references we have confirmed, a consistent structure appears. Reading a five-digit Ligne 2 number from the left:
- The first two digits give the line and size. 14 for the Ligne 1, 15 for the Ligne 2 Petit Modèle, 16 for the Ligne 2 Grand Modèle, 17 for the Ligne D, 18 for the Gatsby.
- The third digit appears to give the metal. 1 for silver, 2 for gold.
- The last two digits give the pattern. 01 for Grain d’Orge, 16 for Grosse Côte, 30 for Chevron, 40 for Prince of Wales.
The clearest demonstration sits in these five references, which differ from one another in exactly the way the structure predicts:
| Ref | Size | Metal | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16216 | Grand | gold | Grosse Côte |
| 16201 | Grand | gold | Grain d’Orge |
| 16130 | Grand | silver | Chevron |
| 15140 | Petit | silver | Prince of Wales |
| 15240 | Petit | gold | Prince of Wales |
15140 and 15240 are the same lighter in two metals, and only the third digit moves. 16201 and 16216 are the same size and metal in two patterns, and only the last two digits move. 16130 changes size prefix and metal against 15140 while keeping neither pattern.
A word of caution. This is a structure inferred from confirmed examples, not a scheme published by S.T. Dupont. It holds across everything we have checked, and it is a good working tool — but treat it as a strong pattern rather than a law, and trust a card or a box label over any decoding.
The index
Every reference below is one we have seen documented. Photographs are our own, and the table grows as more are confirmed.
| Reference | Model & size | Metal / material | Pattern | Lighter | Box |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14115 | Ligne 1, large | Silver | Étoile |  |
 |
| 14943 2 | Ligne 1 | Solid 18k white & yellow gold | Woven | — | — |
| 14945 2 | Ligne 1 | Solid 18k gold | Vertical stripes | — | — |
| 15140 | Ligne 2, Petit Modèle | Silver | Prince of Wales |  |
 |
| 15240 | Ligne 2, Petit Modèle | Gold | Prince of Wales |  |
 |
| 15578 | Ligne 2, Petit Modèle | Lacquer | Wood effect |  |
— |
| 15590 1 | Ligne 2, Petit Modèle | Lacquer | Laque de Chine | — | — |
| 15592 | Ligne 2, Petit Modèle | Lacquer | Laque de Chine, red through black |  |
— |
| 16121 | Ligne 2, Grand Modèle | Gold | Pointe de Diamant |  |
 |
| 16130 | Ligne 2, Grand Modèle | Silver | Chevron |  |
 |
| 16201 | Ligne 2, Grand Modèle | Gold | Grain d’Orge |  |
 |
| 16216 | Ligne 2, Grand Modèle | Gold | Grosse Côte |  |
 |
| 016430 | Ligne 2, Grand Modèle | Pink gold | The ‘D’ diagonal |  |
 |
| 16507 | Ligne 2, Grand Modèle | Palladium | Textured, c. 2017 |  |
— |
| 16584 1 | Ligne 2 | Lacquer | Laque de Chine | — | — |
| 16590 1 | Ligne 2 | Lacquer | Laque de Chine | — | — |
| 16800 1 | Ligne 2 | Bois précieux | Dark wood | — | — |
| 16801 1 | Ligne 2 | Bois précieux | Burl wood | — | — |
| 16943 2 | Ligne 2 | Solid 18k yellow gold | Woven basket, four diagonals | — | — |
| 16944 2 | Ligne 2 | Solid 18k yellow gold | Woven basket, three diagonals | — | — |
| 16951 2 | Ligne 2 | Solid 18k yellow gold | Blocks | — | — |
| 16952 2 | Ligne 2 | Solid 18k rose gold | Blocks | — | — |
| 16953 2 | Ligne 2 | Solid 18k white gold | Blocks | — | — |
| 17905 2 | Ligne D | Solid 18k gold jacket | Lined | — | — |
| 17907 2 | Ligne D | Solid 18k gold jacket | Grana Riso (rice grain) | — | — |
| 17985 2 | Ligne D | Solid 18k gold | Three-colour vertical | — | — |
| 18940 2 | Gatsby | Solid 18k gold | Barley corn | — | — |
| C18601 | Ligne 2 | — | Recent production, dual flame |  |
— |
| 15113 | Ligne 2, Petit Modèle | Silver | Godron |  |
|
| 16113 | Ligne 2 | Silver |  |
|
|
|
|
1 Read from an original S.T. Dupont catalogue page dated 1983.
2 Solid gold model — see our illustrated reference of solid gold S.T. Dupont models for photographs and detail.
Notes on particular references
14115 — the box tells you. The end label on this Ligne 1’s original box is handwritten with the reference and an abbreviated description including the pattern name. Box labels of this kind are the single most reliable source available to a collector, and they are the reason this entry is certain rather than inferred.
16216 — dated by its own card. The guarantee card accompanying our Grosse Côte example carries the reference in the référence field and a sale date of 7 February 1986, which dates the lighter precisely — something a serial number alone will not do.
016430 and C18601 — the exceptions. Not every reference is five digits. Some carry a leading zero, and later production uses a letter prefix. Both sit outside the structure described above, and neither should be forced into it.
Help us extend it
If you own a Dupont with its guarantee card or original box label, the reference on it is a small piece of information that is genuinely hard to come by. Send us a photograph of the card or label and we will add it here, with credit if you would like it.
For what the patterns themselves look like and how they were executed, see our collector’s guide to S.T. Dupont finishes and patterns. To see the references above on lighters currently for sale, browse everything available.
