A Diamond Cigarette Case Is the Ultimate Old Money Flex
Every vice needs a vessel. Stars like A$AP Rocky and Emma Roberts are reviving vintage smoking accessories like diamond cigarette cases and lighter holders.
A$AP Rocky carries his custom Briony Raymond diamond cigarette case at the Saint Laurent Met Gala after party on May 04, 2026. (Getty Images)
After A$AP Rocky made a case for the return of the diamond-encrusted cigarette case, Emma Roberts carried a custom natural diamond lighter case and minaudière during her wedding festivities, proving that functional luxury is officially back.
From the 1920s to the 1950s, practicality got a glistening sprinkle of extravagance — cigarette cases, lighter cases, and other smoking accessories were treated with the same jeweled excess as vanity cases, compacts, and lipstick holders.
Perhaps the anti-wellness trend of right now, smoking is having something of a cultural moment. Cigarettes are dangling from the fabulous fingers of Charli XCX, Jenna Ortega and Anya Talor Joy. Whether it’s healthy or not, the vice got a rebrand and so did the accessories.
While they may not technically fall within the category of jewelry, these natural diamond objets d’art brought a luxurious touch to the everyday, and were flamboyantly shown off as status symbols, similar to how high-end jewelry was worn during the era.
Meet the Expert
Briony Raymond founded her namesake New York jewelry atelier in 2015. She is a distinguished expert in fine jewelry, renowned for creating custom pieces and curating vintage collections for her A-list clients, from A$AP Rocky and Rihanna to Lewis Hamilton and Sarah Jessica Parker.
“Cigarette and vanity cases have a long history as objects that were both highly practical and incredibly personal,” New York City jeweler Briony Raymond tells Only Natural Diamonds. “The finest examples were made by jewelers in gold, enamel, hard stones, and diamonds, with as much attention paid to the hinges, clasps, and compartments as to the decoration. I have always loved that balance — an object designed to be used every day but made with the permanence and craftsmanship of a jewel.”
A$AP Rocky’s Custom Briony Raymond x Pavē Niteō Diamond Cigarette Case
Following the 2026 Met Gala, A$AP Rocky attended the Saint Laurent after-party at People’s in New York City, carrying over the pieces from his Pavē Niteō collaboration with Codognato that he wore on the red carpet earlier that evening.
On top of his Grim de la Grim 18-karat yellow gold, enamel, and natural diamond skull pendant and gold Codognato diamond, emerald, pink sapphire, and pink tourmaline cross pendant, Rocky added an unexpected conversation-starter to the mix.
Hanging from his wrist on a 19th-century English watch fob, the dapper rapper sported a one-of-a-kind custom cigarette case, handcrafted by New York City jeweler Briony Raymond in collaboration with Rocky’s jewelry brand, Pavē Niteō.
The 18-karat white gold case features an 18-karat yellow gold crackled motif and accents, with an 1880s antique Byzantine medallion on the back and 200 round brilliant-cut natural diamonds scattered throughout the Pavē Niteō monogram and along the crack lines.
“Rocky had a very clear vision for the piece from the outset, from the overall feeling to the way he imagined the different elements coming together,” says Raymond. “We worked closely to bring that concept to life, building the design around an antique Byzantine medallion and balancing its history and character with the functionality of the box. It was important that every detail felt considered, while still staying true to Rocky’s original idea. The result feels precious, unexpected, and completely personal to him.”
When designing the bespoke cigarette case, Raymond looked to vintage examples for inspiration. “They provided a wonderful point of reference,” she says. “But the goal was never to reproduce a historic design. It was to create something with that same sense of permanence and craftsmanship that still felt entirely modern and specific to Rocky.”
The Diamond-Dusted Evolution of the Cigarette Case
A pouch or box designed to hold cigarettes, the cigarette case and other smoking accessories spiked in popularity in the 1920s through the 1950s. The Roaring Twenties saw the pipeline of diamond-embellished purses expand to the category of diamond-clad cigarette cases and vanity cases. Intricate gold, platinum, and silver boxes, frequently embellished with gemstones and natural diamonds, were elaborately crafted to transport cigarettes in the chicest, most elegant manner.
Carried by both men and women, the sparkling case was a clear-cut expression of one’s place in society — pulled from a gentleman’s pocket or a lady’s pocketbook to offer a smoke to one’s entourage. Cigarette cases also offered plenty of room to engrave a sentimental custom message for a loved one, making them a popular gift.
While a large number of these once incredibly popular boxes have been melted down to sell for their hefty gold content, many still reside within impressive private collections, like the gem-set gold Cartier cigarette cases as seen in the landmark Christie’s auction of Princess Margaret’s belongings.
These stunning diamond smoking accessories became a significant cultural touchstone of the era. Cartier’s famous Panthère motif even originated in the form of a cigarette case.
In 1917, Louis Cartier gifted Belgian-born French jewelry designer Jeanne Toussaint an onyx cigarette case. That’s when we see the first full-figural motif of the iconic big cat appear in the Maison’s design repertoire. Paying homage to Toussaint’s pet name, “Panther,” or “Panpan,” the panther is seen crawling between two cypress trees, rendered in platinum and embellished with natural diamonds, onyx, emeralds, and rubies.
One year later, in 1918, Toussaint joined the Cartier Paris team in the accessories department. By 1925, she had been promoted to head of the department, designing small luxury objects such as handbags, leather goods, vanity cases, cigarette cases, letter openers, lighters, fountain pens, and more. Then, she was appointed head of the new “S” (silver) department.
Furthering the Cartier Panther motif, Toussaint ordered the design of a vanity case from the jewelry house, crafted in gold and black Canton enamel and again featuring the diamond panther, further establishing the creature as her personal signature.
In 1932, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel launched what is considered “the world’s first high jewelry collection,” titled Bijoux de Diamants. Bringing her revolutionary approach to fashion into natural diamond jewelry. Among the pieces identified from the landmark collection are the usual suspects, like necklaces, bracelets, rings, and more, along with a cigarette case set with diamonds both inside and out.
Why Diamond Lighter Cases Became the Perfect Companion
When Emma Roberts tied the knot with Cody John this summer, the actress was spotted carrying a custom lighter holder with a matching minaudière from Julia “Juju” Ferentinos, vintage curator and founder of the jewelry brand Juju Vera. Given as a wedding gift, the gold lighter case was engraved with Emma and Cody’s initials and the date of their nuptials, set between two rows of natural diamonds, with a tassel at the bottom.
Luxury diamond lighter cases originally took off like wildfire during the Art Deco era of the 1920s and 1930s. Leading jewelry houses from Cartier to Lacloche Frères left their mark on smoking accessories, transforming these bejeweled baubles into high jewelry-adjacent status symbols, much like their cigarette case counterparts.
Crafted in precious metals, enamel, and pavé diamonds, and often engraved with a little sentimental something, these shining relics continue to command top-tier prices when they hit the auction block.
How the Cigarette Case Inspired the Minaudière
A small, bedazzled clutch or vanity, the Minaudière is meant to hold little cosmetics and tiny necessities. The accessory was patented in 1933 by Van Cleef & Arpels. An iconic creation from the Maison, the Minaudière has become a jewelry staple, statement-making enough to stand on its own.
In 1933, Van Cleef & Arpels created the Minaudière after being inspired by a friend and client, Frances Gould, wife of American railroader Jay Gould, who rushed to a meeting with Charles Arpels and threw her loose necessities into a tin Lucky Strike cigarette case — using it as a makeshift purse on the spot.
Van Cleef & Arpels transformed the idea into a small, elegant, rectangular metal box crafted from precious materials like Stryptor and gold. Combining several essential accessories into one, the Minaudière came replete with storage compartments for cosmetics, a lighter, a mirror, and more, offering women an improved iteration of the beloved 1920s vanity case. It was an instant hit.
