The story from Barcelona
Clipper is a brand of Flamagas, a company from Barcelona. According to Flamasats, the group Flamagas belongs to today, Flamagas started in 1959 making metal lighters under the Flaminaire name. The Clipper followed in the early 1970s (in 1971, according to Flamasats): one of the first plastic lighters in the world, the company says.
The name comes from the English word "clip", which once meant speed. Clippers were the fastest sailing ships before ships had engines. That, too, is how Flamasats tells it.
Today the head office is in Barcelona and the factory in Llinars del Vallès, just outside the city. Flamagas also has sites in Chennai (India) and Ganzhou (China). According to the company, Clipper is sold in more than 130 countries.
The start date is not the same everywhere. Flamasats and the old official Clipper site ("designed in Barcelona since 1971") say 1971. English Wikipedia says 1972, Spanish Wikipedia 1970, and many shops write "since 1959", which is really the year of Flamagas. So we keep it at Flamagas in 1959 and the Clipper in the early 1970s, 1971 according to Flamasats.
How many series are there?
Nobody knows exactly, not even Clipper. The former official site said it plainly: there are so many collections that the brand itself struggles to keep count, and new models come out every month. Each collection there carried the model code too, such as CP11 for the Classic Large.
A series usually has four or eight designs on one idea. In our shop you can see that in the choice on each product: in the Clipper Classic range you often pick the design from such a series, and Clipper put series like these on its own collections page. A Classic 4-pack gives you a whole series of four at once.
How to build a collection
Trying to have everything soon gets out of hand. So most collectors pick one angle. A few approaches that work:
| Collect by | What you look for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Theme | Everything on one subject, across series | Animals, skulls, Christmas, space |
| Complete series | Every design of one series, nothing missing | A 4-pack, or all eight of a series |
| Finish | The same model in other finishes | Clipper lists Solid, Soft Touch, Metallic, Crystal and Printed, among others |
| Model | Every shape Clipper makes | Classic, Micro, Mini Tube, Metal, Jet |
| Licence or souvenir | Series tied to a club, a character or an event | Clipper sells Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Oliver y Benji (Captain Tsubasa) series |
Souvenir series are especially popular in Spain. The Spanish collectors' site todocoleccion mentions Clippers with Naranjito (the 1982 World Cup), Cobi (the 1992 Barcelona Olympics) and Curro (Expo Seville 1992), as well as promotional Clippers from football clubs, savings banks and restaurants.
To see which models exist, read all Clipper models. On the kinds of designs, from funny slogans to animal prints, we wrote the different designs of Clipper lighters.
What makes a Clipper rare?
To be honest: there is no official list of rare Clippers, and we found no production figures published by Clipper. Anyone promising you "the rarest Clipper in the world" cannot prove it. What collectors do look at:
- Is the series still made? Clipper renews its series all the time. A series from a few years ago is no longer in the shops.
- Is the series complete? A whole series together means more to a collector than single pieces.
- Is it a souvenir or a licence? A Clipper tied to an event or a club belongs to one moment by nature.
- What condition is it in? A print without scratches, an unused wheel, and ideally the original packaging.
What an old Clipper is worth is simply what a collector will pay for it. We do not put a figure on it.
Showing your collection
A collection in a shoebox is a collection nobody sees. There are displays made for Clippers:
| Display | Holds | Special |
|---|---|---|
| Fire-Board 8 Clippers | 8 Classic Large | 184 x 93 x 10 mm, with stand, magnetic strip and wall mount |
| Fire-Board 24 Clippers | 24 Classic Large | Three rows, hang it or stand it on a metal stand |
| Carrousel by Clipper | Up to 144 lighters | Rotates; three tiers according to Clipper |
The Fire-Boards are made of recycled black ABS and designed for the Classic Large: smaller or larger models do not fit the slots. The board of eight holds one or two series, for example a 4-pack per row. The board of 24 and the carrousel suit collectors who are further along. The carrousel turns, so you quickly find the design you are after.
Storing without worry
A collected Clipper is often still full of gas. According to Clipper's safety data sheet, lighters should be kept in a ventilated place, not above 50 °C and not in the sun for long. The gas is heavier than air and settles at floor level in a poorly ventilated room. So a display on a sunny windowsill is not a good idea, and nor is a box in a hot attic.
Keep the collection out of reach of children, and note for each series when you bought it. In a few years you will have forgotten, and details like that are what make a collection interesting.
Where to start
Start with what you like, not with what might be rare. A few 4-packs on a theme that appeals to you and a Fire-Board of eight to show them, and you have a start. Still unsure which model to collect? Read which Clipper lighter to choose. Why collectors love Clippers is the subject of our article Clipper for collectors. Every series is under Clipper lighters.
