Metro Cigar News Holiday 1998: Atoll

Atoll on the rise...

Every day new products reflecting the cigar market make their way into retail stores. Many of these gadgets do not have long shelf life, and wind up on the "cutting room floor". However, there are always a few quality items that catch our eye. Atoll Cigar Accessories happens to be one of them.

Atoll Enterprises, Inc. of Malibu, California, was designed by Cyril J. Brizard, a Frenchman who immigrated to America and the Silicon Valley. No newcomer to the inventors scene, Cyril has designed many innovative products from "Cryo-Gymnastics," an exercise for inactive facial muscles, to LA Stripes, a colorful shoelace replacement for children.

On a trip home to Malibu, a friend suggested making a travel humidor, and in 1996, the first case was introduced, The Transidor TM, a transportable patented humidor. Made of solid aluminum, hand brushed, engraved and anodized, the exterior is covered with high quality leather and topped with a variety of exotic hardwoods. The interior is lined with laminated Spanish cedar wood that holds the proper degree of moisture to ensure perfect cigar preservation. The pocket cases, which have quickly become a "must have" by celebrities, work in your pocket the way a little humidor would. An ultra thin cedar veneer known as San-ply™ separates the leather from a paper thin sheet of aluminum which completely seals the moisture in the container without affecting the leather. Aluminum plates are placed between the leather and the veneer to prevent the cigars from being crushed in transit.

Each piece created by Atoll is hand crafted, and "touched" by Brizard himself as he hand inspects each piece personally. You can even find him sanding the fine woods himself for the finishing touch of many of Atoll's humidors.

Every 8 to 12 weeks, Atoll presents a new collection with dozens of different leathers and at least 24 different colors, each exotic and unique in own way. Some of the fine materials used to create Atoll's upcoming limited edition products are ostrich leather, pink ivory (not from Elephants) a fuschia color, silk-feeling wood, red coral, silver and turquoise inlays.

Among the many custom cases created by Brizard, are those made exclusively for cigar manufacturers such as Arturo Fuente, Dunhill, Tony Borhani and many more. They have also been part of numerous charity and high profile events such as Friars Club dinners, the 50th Cannes Film Festival, the Best of LA Festival and Arnold Schwartzenegger's Schatzi on Main Restaurant. Celebrities including Milton Berle, Michael Jordan, Joe Pesci, Paul Sorvino, and Salma Hayek (the list goes on and on), all enjoy the cedar lined pocket cases designed by Atoll.

Available in 9 countries including Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, Geneva, Singapore, the Bahamas, and of course, the Unites States, all Atoll products are made in the USA.