Mastery of Design: The Lady Abbingdon Cigarette Case, 1963

Cigarette Case
Boucheron, 1963
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

By the later decades of the Twentieth Century, as people realized that cigarette smoking was not as healthful as once thought, the demand for luxurious accessories related to smoking, naturally, diminished.  Nevertheless, high-end jewelers continued to create such accessories for special clients.

This cigarette case was created at Boucheron, London in May 1963 for £300 for Bettine, Lady Abingdon.  The rectangular gold case is adorned with basket weave design and with the applied monogram of Elizabeth (Bettine), Countess of Abingdon

The case in inscribed:  “MADE IN FRANCE, 5031/BOUCHERON.”