At a golf wing hideaway party/event late one evening at the 2019 Chicago Show, I was approached by a small Japanese guy who spoke excellent English, and another much(!) larger one at his elbow who didn't speak a word of it.
The big guy had noticed that I was using an Old Boy "Room 101" lighter, and wanted to hold it and see it up close, the little guy said. In order to "experience one in person."
"Sure", I said, and offered it to the Big Guy.
Little Guy gently intercepted it, and immediately did a quarter turn and offered it to Big Guy with a bow. (Not just a language intermediary, then, I realized, but a full-on interaction agent of some sort. Apparently Big Guy was some kind of VIP.)
Anyway, he fondled it for a while, held it to the light, flicked it several times (after asking for permission), hefted it, smiled hugely, and finally nodded and handed it back to Little Guy who in turn passed it back to me. Then they both bowed fractionally, turned, and disappeared into the crowd.
I asked someone afterward wtf had just happened, and apparently the "Room 101" brand is a very big deal among collectors in Japan, and the lighters that were adorned by the company (they jazz up all manner of men's personal items with heavy silver & pewter---they also have a line of cigars) were very early limited production, and so rare they're considered unobtanium. Legendary.
The funny part is that the company founder, a guy named Matt Booth, came into my home B&M one afternoon back in 2011 with a case full of them---he was on the road, selling, trying to get his company started---and damn near couldn't give them away. (I ended up buying one mostly because I liked the guy's energy and passion, plus nobody else was interested in his pitch. I guess I felt a bit bad for him.)
What makes them different? They weigh a ton. They're a standard Old Boy, but somehow shrink-wrapped in a thick pewter sleeve. (The weight is why no one was interested that day in the store. "Ornamental but not practical" was their take.)
But, the exact same "block of lead" hand-feel is what made them practically religious objects in the decade afterward in Japan.
Go figure.
The big guy had noticed that I was using an Old Boy "Room 101" lighter, and wanted to hold it and see it up close, the little guy said. In order to "experience one in person."
"Sure", I said, and offered it to the Big Guy.
Little Guy gently intercepted it, and immediately did a quarter turn and offered it to Big Guy with a bow. (Not just a language intermediary, then, I realized, but a full-on interaction agent of some sort. Apparently Big Guy was some kind of VIP.)
Anyway, he fondled it for a while, held it to the light, flicked it several times (after asking for permission), hefted it, smiled hugely, and finally nodded and handed it back to Little Guy who in turn passed it back to me. Then they both bowed fractionally, turned, and disappeared into the crowd.
I asked someone afterward wtf had just happened, and apparently the "Room 101" brand is a very big deal among collectors in Japan, and the lighters that were adorned by the company (they jazz up all manner of men's personal items with heavy silver & pewter---they also have a line of cigars) were very early limited production, and so rare they're considered unobtanium. Legendary.
The funny part is that the company founder, a guy named Matt Booth, came into my home B&M one afternoon back in 2011 with a case full of them---he was on the road, selling, trying to get his company started---and damn near couldn't give them away. (I ended up buying one mostly because I liked the guy's energy and passion, plus nobody else was interested in his pitch. I guess I felt a bit bad for him.)
What makes them different? They weigh a ton. They're a standard Old Boy, but somehow shrink-wrapped in a thick pewter sleeve. (The weight is why no one was interested that day in the store. "Ornamental but not practical" was their take.)
But, the exact same "block of lead" hand-feel is what made them practically religious objects in the decade afterward in Japan.
Go figure.
