Cuban auction brings in over $1.7 million

Live auction of seven custom-made humidors at the Habanos Festival gala dinner raised more than 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million) on Friday evening in Havana, Cuba. The Trinidad humidor, supplied with 100 cigars, and the Cohiba humidor, containing 550 cigars, including the entire Behike BHK series, the Talísman Edición Limitada and the new Novedoso, which has just been announced at this festival and will not be on sale for some time. Each of these installations received winning bids of 300,000 euros, or around 340,000 dollars at current exchange rates. The big winner of the evening was Hamad Al-Shamisi from the United Arab Emirates. Not only did he purchase the Cohiba humidor, he also bought the Montecristo humidor with a bid of 220,000 euros. The large room contained 420 cigars, including the Montecristo 1935 line, the rare Maravillas and the emblematic Montecristo n° 2, among others. After raising his paddle for his final bid of 300,000 euros, Al-Shamisi made his way to the stage. When asked by Cigar Aficionado why he had bought the box, his second winning bid of the evening, he smiled. "Because I like it," he said. Manu Harit, from the UK, bought the Trinidad humidor for 300,000 euros. Unlike the other humidors sold last night, this design will be reproduced in 99 others, each comprising 50 Trinidad 50 Aniversario cigars, a 59-gauge pyramid measuring just over 6 inches long. This is the first pyramid ever produced for the Trinidad brand. "It's a very special piece, and for me it's as important as Cohiba," said Harit. "I also think Trinidad is the best cigar." A Mexican company that imported Cuban cigars into Mexico bought two humidors. They bought the humidor San Cristobal de la Casa for 175,000 euros, a room containing 500 cigars, including the recently announced 1519. The other piece purchased is the Romeo y Julieta humidor, containing 400 cigars, including the Churchill, Wide Churchill, Short Churchill and Fabuloso No. 6. The price is 200,000 euros (226,000 $).  Cai Hua, from Shanghai, China, won the tender for the H. Upmann humidor, which included a selection of 340 cigars, including Sir Winston, the Magnum series, Double Coronas and a special Tacos Imperiales. The Hoyo de Monterrey humidor failed to meet the minimum price in the first round of bidding. It was brought back up for auction this time, it was won with a bid of 160,000 euros ($181,000) by George Xu of Shanghai. The piece came with 370 cigars, including the iconic Double Corona.   Source by Gordon Mott Photo Habanos SA