Ronson's Lighters

Ronson is best known as an American company that gained world wide fame for high quality Cigar/Cigarette Lighters.

In England, Ronson also had a large factory making gas lighters in the town of Leatherhead, Surrey. The factory was between the east bank of the River Mole and Randalls Road.

History

The Ronson company started as The Art Metal Works in 1886 by a man named Louis V. Aronson. Louis was an exceptionally gifted man who at 16 years old received a U.S., Patent for a metal plating process he developed and which had an immediate commercial value.

Not only was he able to sell his patent for a very good price, he also retained legal rights to use his own process commercially. He took proceeds from the sale to open The Art Metal Works in New York city. The following year he moved his factory to Newark, New Jersey. Before long the company was producing lamps, book ends, statues and other decorative items for home and office use. There was a high level of attention to producing a quality product which appealed to the buying public. As a result, there is great demand in today's collector market for early Ronson products.

Louis Aronson applied for a patent in 1913 for a "Liter" (lighter) for which he later received the patent. Over the next few years many additional lighter patent applications were submitted and granted to Mr. Aronson. In 1926 he released his newly created Banjo lighter with "Automatic operation". This meant that with one press of the thumb the lighter would light and when released the flame would be snuffed out. The Banjo lighter was a great success for Ronson and shortly after the release demand far exceeded supplies. Louis Aronson was quick to realize the potential for the new design and continued to experiment with new lighter styles and other applications for his invention. Louis Aronson received exclusive patent rights for the automatic style lighter.

Lighters were marketed under the Ronson name, which was a modification of his family name Aronson (A-Ronson). Ronson lighters were produced to high standards and were very reliable. Demand for Mr. Aronson's lighters exceeded production at first but under his leadership Ronson produced an impressive variety of Lighter styles to satisfy the public demand. Many of his early lighters are desirable and demand high prices for their collectible, artistic and historic significance. More about Collectible Ronson products at: http://www.vintage-ronson.com

During World War II, the plants were switched to 24-hour ammunition production, but returned to producing lighters after the war.

Following WWII Ronson branched out into domestic appliances such as shavers and later cooking appliances. The company expanded to include the Australian market where Ronson appliances are still sold today. The name exists as a reputable Australian brand although this arm of Ronson is now separate to the Ronson Lighter company.

In the late 1970s, with production costs rising and cheap disposable lighters appearing on the market, Ronson's decided to discontinue production in Leatherhead, England. The plant closed in the early 1980s, the workers arriving one morning to find the gates shut.

Today

The Leatherhead factory was torn down in the 1980s, and the site is now a Mole Valley council business park.

At some point American and European operations split into two companies. The American branch offers cheap butane disposables, a few refillable inexpensive butane lighters, and the Windii (a Zippo clone) along with its ubiquitous fluids and flints. The European branch offers a full range of butane lighters that appear to be stylish, priced in the Colibri or better range. The European Ronsons do not appear to be distributed in North America.

Ronson Plc [http://www.ronson.com/en/index.php] operates from the UK in offices located in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire.

The American branch [http://www.ronsoncorp.com/index.cfm] is located in Somerset, New Jersey.

Ronson lighters are still sought after, due to their storied history.

In a recent legal battle, Ronson lighters were outlawed in Malaysia.

As of 2007, a documentary entitled The Legend of Ronson has been announced by acclaimed director David Gordon Green for release sometime in 2010.

Miscellanea

During World War II, Sherman Tanks were nicknamed "Ronsons" by German tank crews because of their propensity for catching fire when hit by German tanks.

Bobby Thompson of Job for a Cowboy exclusively uses a Ronson lighter.

Pedro Nava (politician), though not a smoker, exclusively uses a Ronson lighter.

William Taft was known for carrying a solid gold Ronson in his vest pocket, once proclaiming, "This Ronson has done a great service to America!"

Craig Marduk from Tekken 4 carries a Ronson lighter.

The torch for the 1956 Summer Olympics torch relay was lit by a Ronson on 2 November, in Athens.

In the chapter "Sloprano" in Conker's Bad Fur Day, the boss fight is initiated when Conker steals the the Great Mighty Poo's Ronson lighter and he becomes enraged.

In the Supreme Court Case R. A. V. v. City of St. Paul, the court wrestled with a First Amendment issue brought up when Robert Viktora was charged for lighting a burning cross with a Ronson lighter.

In , Dr. Sid can be seen holding a Ronson lighter in three frames in the Zeus station.Fact|date=August 2008

In John Le Carre's Smiley Trilogy, the lighter Karla retained from George Smiley is described as "Just an ordinary Ronson".

Indian politician Jawharlal Nehru owned two Ronsons. His rival Subhas Chandra Bose did not own any - a fact he famously regretted while in Nazi Germany.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson, in one of his infamous touchdown celebrations, lit a jersey of the opposing team with a Ronson.

John Wayne once punched a man in the face when he tried to light his cigar without a Ronson.

James Bond is revealed in the novels to have used a Ronson lighter.