PCA 2023: El Septimo Geneva

When I wrote about El Septimo Geneva following the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, I wrote the following:

“There was no doubt that at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, El Septimo Geneva President and CEO Zaya Younan wanted to make a big splash. Younan is looking to take El Septimo Geneva to the next level when it comes to ultra-premium cigars.”

Since then Younan and El Septimo have made a series of strategic moves to accomplish this. Over the past year, the company has worked to build its in-house sales team. Meanwhile, El Septimo is also establishing a network of branded lounges across the United States. That being said, this still didn’t stop Younan and El Septimo from once again making a big splash at the 2023 edition of the PCA Trade Show. Last year it was five million dollar one-of-a-kind lighters. This year it was ten million dollar one-of-a-kind ashtrays. These were definitely sights to behold, but there were also several other impressive offerings being showcased by El Septimo.

There are actually three of the ten million dollar ashtrays. There is one representing each of of El Septimo’s three brand collections: The Sacred Arts Collection, the Zaya Collection, and the Emperor Collection. Each can be considered a one-of-a-kind offering. One thing that I am impressed with when it comes to El Septimo’s accessories is how they align most of them to the cigar offering.

From front to rear: Emperor Collection Masterpiece Ashtray, Zaya Collection Masterpiece Ashtray, Sacred Arts Collection Masterpiece Ashtray

Each of the ashtrays has over eight kg of gold and 400 to 500 carats of precious stones, which include diamonds, fine-quality rubies, VS diamonds, and sapphires.

If the ten million dollar price point is out of your range, there will be some more affordable luxury accessories that will be coming from El Septimo. The company is rolling out a series of accessories to complement the Sacred Arts and Emperor Collections. Each of these units will be limited to 500 in production. These will include:

Seven Torch Lighters – SRP $250.00/lighter
- Emperor Collection: Five designs dedicated to Emperors Augustus, Napoleon, Yao, Alexander, and Vartan.
- Sacred Arts Collection: Two designs dedicated to Van Gogh and Rafael
Seven Cutters – SRP $200.00/cutter. Each will match the lighters in the Emperor and Sacred Arts Collections.
Seven Ashtrays – SRP $450.00/ashtray. Each will match the lighters and cutters in the Emperor and Sacred Arts Collections.
Six S.T. Dupont Le Grand Lighters (a.k.a the “Ping” lighters) – SRP $1,500.00
- Emperor Collection: Four designs dedicated to Emperors Augustus, Napoleon, Yao, and Alexander
- Sacred Arts Collection: Two designs dedicated to Van Gogh and Rafael

The company also said it is rolling out three cigar travel cases with cross-body straps. Pricing will be SRP $450.00 per unit.

In terms of cigars, El Septimo has been building a large portfolio of blends. This year, the company introduced one new blend – Empress of Sheba. This is a new extension to El Septimo’s Emperor Collection, a line of cigars that pays homage to various historical rulers. The Empress of Sheba is a 6 x 60 Maduro Gordo and will carry a price point of $20.00 MSRP per cigar. The cigars are presented in 20-count boxes.

Something novel El Septimo is doing is rolling out a “Choose Your Color” packaging option for its boxes. The company is quite proud of its boxes and wants to provide more options for its packaging. The Empress of Sheba will be the first line to offer such an option. This will include purple, white, and green colored boxes.