I first acquired 1996
humidors (numbered) around 6 years ago. At a guess I have sold 4
complete and 2 broken down in singles. I have also smoked quite a
few of the cigars over the last few years.
Subsequently I purchased
another 1996 humidor which was not numbered and 2 bundles of 1996
(25 per bundle identical to the wheels in the humidor) but with the
different foot and at lower prices than the numbered humidors. The
foot was uncut ie. Salomones I not as per the cut foot of the
Salomones II.
In terms of price/value
of these cigars singles from numbered humidors were previously sold
for £125 per cigar (cut foot) and singles from un numbered humidors
or bundles were sold for £75 per cigar. The price difference simply
due to our purchase price always being lower if the cigars were not
from a numbered humidor. I can never remember a numbered humidor
being sold for the bundle price as this would make no sense.
I have quite an
educated palette as I have been a Havana cigar enthusiast since I
was 15 years old, some 24 years ago.
I taste tested the
cigars from the numbered humidor as well as the humidor that was not
numbered as well as singles from the bundles on at least five
occasions with a few experienced cigars smoker friends/clients and
the consensus of opinion was that the cigars tasted exactly the
same. The appearance was/is excellent. The construction in my
experience is first rate.
I have been told by a
number of people including Brian Ebbessen of Christies that 1996
cigars were available in Casa del Habanos at the Partagas factory
and these were not part of the original 100 that Christoph Wolters
commissioned. I had no reason not to believe Christies and whilst
they are not cigar connoisseurs I do respect their opinions to a
certain extent.
Here is a snip of an
email reply received from Christies:
"1996 Salomones. I know the foot is different as in the original
Salomones I, not the Salomones II in Wolters humidor.
I was under the impression a batch of I's were made at the same time
as Wolter's humidors"
I asked Christies to
help establish provenance and was sent an invoice (scan above) I
matched the signature of Abel with another signature from a
different document relating to another purchase I made in Havana and
the signatures match.
Some time ago I phoned
Christoph Wolters from LCDH in Germany who is a not only a personal
friend but a cigar merchant that I have the greatest respect for. We
had a long chat regarding the 1996 cigars. His opinion was that my
cigars were not the same as his, as his were a limited edition and
he owned the bands. Christoph advised that no more 1996's could have
been made.
Christoph confirmed that
the signature from Abel was correct but the letterhead suspect.
Were more 1996's made at
Partagas and sold privately by Abel? It's possible but I would have
thought a dangerous thing for a man in his position to do.
Did Habanos neglect to
inform Christoph and assure him that only his 100 humidors would be
made but then changed their mind without telling him? That's
possible. The
main problem is that in the world of Havanas and Habanos SA, there
are rarely black and white issues but many differing shades of grey.
Perhaps the communist regime has created that environment. Again I
am not certain but have come across many many anomalies in my
dealings over the years. Many questions go unanswered. Sometimes due
to complacency and sometimes because Habanos and there employees
simply may not know the answers.
With the exception of
client 1 and 2 all other clients that have received from me Partagas
Salomones I and II have been more than satisfied with their purchase
and in point of fact many have reordered.
There are two distinct
issues that need to be addressed:
1) Are the cigars
genuine Habanos S.A .production or fakes?
2) Did we confuse or
mislead client 1 or 2 or anyone else for that matter about what
cigars they were purchasing?
Let me address each
issue individually and fully.
Issue 1)
The scans above show the
original purchase receipt as well as Spanish and English translation
of a letter received from Partagas La Casa Del Habanos which prove
without a doubt that the cigars are 100% authentic. I gather that
when the original purchaser bought the cigars at Partagas LCDH he
put together a letter for Abel to sign to confirm authenticity which
he duly did, not noticing the error on the letter insofar as the
cigars were described as Salomones II when they are clearly
Salomones I.
Whilst in Havana, I
interviewed Abel who clearly remembered not only the cigars being
sold at LCDH but even remembered the particular purchaser of the
bundles that had subsequently been sold by Christies and then to
C.Gars Ltd.
Using an interpreter, he
explained to me that at the time the 1996 were being rolled there
was fierce competition between Faustino and Cueto as to who could
make the best Salomones. Christoph had confirmed that Faustino
rolled all of the Salomones and Abel corroborated. The question
therefore was who rolled the Salomones I 1996 Partagas Especialidad?
When the 5 sample cigars that I brought with me to Havana were shown
to the Partagas production manager, he immediately said "Faustino".
So no question about authenticity.
Abel advised that he
could not tell me anymore about the cigars without checking the
computer records ( I was unaware that records were even held on
computer!) but he assured me that he would do so and write to me
further. I left for London and wondered what and if I would hear
further.
A few days later, I
received a letter from LCDH Partagas signed by Abel in Spanish and
also translated into English. The translation may not be the
clearest but what is clear is that 44 bundles of 1996 Partagas
Especialidad Salomones I were supplied to LCDH Partagas by Habanos
S.A......again...no question about authenticity.
Are the Salomones I any
less valuable than the Salomones II? Well it is really a matter of
personal opinion. I have never been completely convinced of great
collectible value of individual cigars as opposed to complete
boxes/cabinets or humidors ( there are of course a few exceptions
but usually these are much older cigars. It is interesting that 100
humidors were sold but only 44 bundles thus and perhaps making the
1996 Salomones I even more rare (!)
Whilst in Havana, I also
interviewed James Suckling European editor of Cigar Aficionado
magazine who is happy to be quoted, He told me "I clearly remember
the bundles of 1996 Salomones being sold at LCDH partagas"
I also interviewed 3 of
the most serious collectors in the world who I'm afraid must remain
nameless due to their country of residence and they not only
remember the cigars being sold in LCDH Partagas but also had
purchased them and smoked them (and enjoyed them immensely)
The
cigars may not be "everyone's cup of tea" but are nevertheless
100% genuine Partagas 1996 Salomones (albeit I's and not II's) which
were originally the creation of Christoph Wolters and then
subsequently sold at LCDH Partagas
Issue 2)
Client number 1 was
advised over email and ordered the Partagas 1996 cigars over email
not over our secure server order system.
Here is a snip from a
newsletter offering the 1996 singles (please note no mention of a
numbered humidor)
Sent:
Monday, June 30, 2003 6:58 PM
Subject: C.Gars
Ltd. Latest Newsletter
Hi Mr Jones,
Many Thanks for requesting out latest newsletter.
RAREST HAVANAS AVAILABLE NOW!!!! SINGLES AVAILABLE!!!
Partagas Salomones 1996 - single
Description: Partagas Salomones 1996 single cigar - in excellent
condition with very dark wrappers
Price UK: £75.00
Price US: $123.75
http://www.agedcubans.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=2119
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client no.2 ordered over
our secure order system which gives my warehouse team the following
description for "picking" the order:
|
List Price |
Price |
Qty |
Total |
| |
|
Partagas Salomones 1996 single |
£75.00 |
£75.00 |
3 |
£225.00 |
| |
|
Subtotal: |
£225.00 |
|
Surcharge: |
£0.00 |
|
Delivery: |
£0.00 |
|
VaT: |
£0.00 |
|
|
|
Total: |
£225.00 |
Comments :
No Comments
The client receives
the same confirmation automatically.
I believe in December
it was brought to our attention that the £75 priced Salomones I was
linked to an image of a numbered humidor ( of course being sold at a
far higher price complete) with the same description. This error was
immediately rectified and we are grateful to the gentleman who
brought this to our attention.
We have an enormous
inventory of aged and rare Havanas that come into stock and go out
of stock almost daily so products are repeatedly taken off and put
on our websites as and when they are available or are temporarily
unavailable. We use a lot of file photos and cut and paste
descriptions in order to speed up the work of the webmaster
.It is believed that
this is where the error occurred. The error was of course done in
all innocence in fact at a time when Laura who ran the website for
many years was on extended leave and the web work was outsourced.
This is not an excuse but a genuine reason. We should have picked up
on the error faster but as you can see from the description above
that we receive as an order confirmation, there is nothing that
would have brought the error to our attention. It is also fairly
obvious that if there was any intention to mislead no one in their
right minds would offer single as well as a full humidor from the
same numbered humidor. An innocent cut/paste error. No more no less.
If anyone felt mislead I apologise profusely but at the end of the
day a "no quibble guarantee" ensures that the customer is always
satisfied.
With over 2000
products for sale on our online stores, errors can occur. Problems
are addressed and resolved. Customers are satisfied. We can't get it
right 100% of the time yet we do strive to do so. At the end of the
day ...complaints about 6 or so cigars out of the 2 Million plus
cigars that we have sold so far is fairly good going!
Thanks to all who
have shown a genuine interest in this matter. Should anyone have any
further questions I would be happy to discuss over email or over the
phone.
Mitchell Orchant
