As my dozen loyal readers know, I am a fan of Zippo lighters, specifically Zippo “Armor” lighters which have a thicker case (1.5x) and a more substantial feel with the added weight. I don’t like Zippos that have an emblem glued on them or any printed designs; I only like the ones with a deep carved case which the thicker Armor case is especially good for, though it is possible to find non-Armor deeply engraved cases such as the middle two below.

These are recent additions to my collection:

This Zippo Armor is date-stamped J 04 (October 2004) and has a dragonfly engraving with the head of the dragonfly represented by a green Swarovski crystal inlay. I’ve never seen this Zippo Armor before, so it may be a very early prototype that had a limited production run, but that’s just a guess.

This is Model 20445 “Turquoise Bear Claw,” date-stamped L 02 (November 2002) … this is not a Zippo Armor, but the case itself is engraved and has a turquoise stone inlay, which I like … this is a .925+ Heavy Silver Plate (electroplated with 99.9% pure silver), which means that whoever had it before me scratched the hell out of it through fierce polishing, but that’s OK, it’s still a beauty. Also the descriptive term “bear claw” is one that we use in my short selling circle.

Date-stamped C 02 (March 2002) .. this is also not an Armor but it is deeply engraved and has a brass finish … I have another called “Sunburst,” which was offered in the 2003 Choice catalog in Europe (?) and is very similar to this though it has a circular design. I’ll post a picture of it separately.

This is an Armor, date-stamped C 04 (March 2004), which I’ve never seen before… again like the dragonfly above I suspect this was some kind of prototype design … it gives me a real Keith Haring vibe that I love … this one is a real treasure.