Hotel Nacional ashtray legitness?

[Kham]

Since I did not have the chance to buy one Hotel Nacional's ashtray at my last visit in Cuba in September 2019, I decided to buy one online from a canadian reputable source, at least I think so!

 

Is it just me or the lettering is off? I got the medium size too and it is not that heavy...

 

Maybe is it because it is pre Castro, or pre embargo or whatever? 😂😂😂😂

 

Still look good though and I did not pay THAT much since it was sold as imperfect...

 

Anyway, I can't wait to smoke my brand new JLP with the new ugly minimalist band 😂 (please don't tell me that the cigar is as fake as the ashtray).

 

✌️

[NSXCIGAR]

Was it advertised as pre-Revolution? Provenance?

I can tell you the ones I've seen have a different font and the logo is slightly different and larger. The marble looks a little plain. Typically, "Hotel Nacional" is on the colored areas.

There are variations and there are people here who have several and have seen hundreds, so I'm no expert, but my first impression is I'm suspicious.

Here are two from FOH, purchased in Cuba:
 

 

 

 

[HDGSN]

My understanding is there was a switch in the main person that does the engraving before my visit back in 2018.

Yours looks similar to one of mine that I picked up at Nacional.

 

[Kham]

I just wrote to the vendor to have more details... I would be very surprised that this retailer is selling fakes... But we never know!

He was selling the mini and small sizes too.

2 hours ago, HDGSN said:

My understanding is there was a switch in the main person that does the engraving before my visit back in 2018.

Yours looks similar to one of mine that I picked up at Nacional.

Haha the second one is identical! 😂 Since you bought it at the hotel, I'm relieved!

[Cigar Surgeon]

38 minutes ago, Kham said:

I just wrote to the vendor to have more details... I would be very surprised that this retailer is selling fakes... But we never know!

He was selling the mini and small sizes too.

If it was CanadaHumidor then yes it was 100% legitimate. Louis goes down all the time. 

[RichG]

They need to add a hologram to the ashtrays!🤣

[Kevin48438]

How much do these things cost that they would be worth making “fakes”?

[Habana Mike]

I've seen people offering these for $250+

$70 on the island for the large one.

[SigmundChurchill]

Am I missing something here?  These are ashtrays we are talking about, right?   If they look good and they hold ashes, does it really matter?

I have 2 large ones myself.  If I found out they were fake, it wouldn’t change anything for me, as long as the counterfeiters made it look real.

[Mrcpt]

If you don’t mind me asking, what’s the vendor? I’d love to get my hands on one of these, thanks!

[Hammer Smokin']

first result listed on a google search. 

prices, even at discount, are ridiculous for an ashtray. 

but each to their own. 

[NSXCIGAR]

1 hour ago, SigmundChurchill said:

Am I missing something here?  These are ashtrays we are talking about, right?   If they look good and they hold ashes, does it really matter?

I have 2 large ones myself.  If I found out they were fake, it wouldn’t change anything for me, as long as the counterfeiters made it look real.

Why is the Mona Lisa worth so much when you can get a print? We're not really debating the inherent value of genuine articles are we?

How much was paid for your Nacional ashtrays? I can get a knockoff made in Tijuana for $10. Would you send me $70 for it? Why not? Both do the same thing.

2 hours ago, Kham said:

Haha the second one is identical! 😂 Since you bought it at the hotel, I'm relieved!

If by identical you mean not at all, it's identical! 

Not saying yours is fake at all, but it looks nothing like @HDGSN's. Different color scheme, totally different lettering, quality of the marble looks better.

So far, I've not seen lettering like yours on any others. The logo on @HDGSN's looks pretty close if not dead on to yours though. And the marble looks a lot nicer.

[Corylax18]

57 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

first result listed on a google search. 

prices, even at discount, are ridiculous for an ashtray. 

but each to their own. 

You aren't paying that much for the ashtray. You're paying for Freight. I've personally lugged two large and two small ones of the island. $280 wouldn't be enough to convince me to lug another big one off the island.

Another Photo for Reference. I purchased the smaller one in 2017 the larger one in 2018.

[Hammer Smokin']

5 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

You aren't paying that much for the ashtray. You're paying for Freight. I've personally lugged two large and two small ones of the island. $280 wouldn't be enough to convince me to lug another big one off the island.

it "looks" like you are. 

shipping appears to be on top of the cost. 

[Fuzz]

3 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

You aren't paying that much for the ashtray. You're paying for Freight. I've personally lugged two large and two small ones of the island. $280 wouldn't be enough to convince me to lug another big one off the island.

I took one large ashtray home to Aus. It would be very hard to convince me to take another one home. Those things are heavy as hell, and I don't trust multiple airlines to handle my luggage without shattering it.

[Corylax18]

3 minutes ago, Hammer Smokin' said:

it "looks" like you are. 

shipping appears to be on top of the cost. 

Yes, Freight to you is extra.

But, Included in the price is the cost to pay someone to package and carry 7 pounds of Marble in their checked bag from Havana to NYC, Montreal, wherever. 

3 minutes ago, Fuzz said:

I took one large ashtray home to Aus. It would be very hard to convince me to take another one home. Those things are heavy as hell, and I don't trust multiple airlines to handle my luggage without shattering it.

I had mine wrapped in about 4 t shirts, I was more worried about the ashtray shifting and crushing boxes of cigars or bottles of Rum. 

[Kham]

20 minutes ago, NSXCIGAR said:

If by identical you mean not at all, it's identical! 

Not saying yours is fake at all, but it looks nothing like @HDGSN's. Different color scheme, totally different lettering, quality of the marble looks better.

So far, I've not seen lettering like yours on any others. The logo on @HDGSN's looks pretty close if not dead on to yours though. And the marble looks a lot nicer.

Looks pretty similar to me.

 

Yes the vendor is Canada Humidor. One of the co-owner came back to me... Like Cigar Surgeon said, the co-owner confirmed that they personnally bring back the ashtrays from their personnal trip to Cuba.

I tend to believe it, even though the lettering is ugly as hell 😂 their website is considerated very legit in Canada.

[NSXCIGAR]

1 minute ago, Kham said:

Looks pretty similar to me.

I guess we have a different pair of glasses on. Logo is wider, font is different, color scheme different...doesn't make it fake--just pointing it out.

If the vendor is reputable as it appears to be, I wouldn't worry about it. There seems to be enough variation in them to explain it.

 

[Hammer Smokin']

vender is absolutely reputable. 

[benfica_77]

25 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

Another Photo for Reference. I purchased the smaller one in 2017 the larger one in 2018.

What's the size of the larger one? and what is the price in cuba? I like the shape of that one. Future purchase when I go visit one day. 

[Fuzz]

14 minutes ago, Corylax18 said:

Yes, Freight to you is extra.

But, Included in the price is the cost to pay someone to package and carry 7 pounds of Marble in their checked bag from Havana to NYC, Montreal, wherever. 

I had mine wrapped in about 4 t shirts, I was more worried about the ashtray shifting and crushing boxes of cigars or bottles of Rum. 

Same here. Wrapped in shirts and placed as far away as possible from anything fragile. My luggage was over weight (27kg, ashtray, about 100 cigars plus everything else), and I thought I was going to be told to go buy another bag to split my luggage. After apologising in a little broken Spanish, she looked at me and said, "Oh it's ok Mr Lim, I'll just mark your bag as 23kg..."

The little things you can get away with when you're polite and don't blow up at the person checking you in.

[Corylax18]

15 minutes ago, benfica_77 said:

What's the size of the larger one? and what is the price in cuba? I like the shape of that one. Future purchase when I go visit one day. 

I think this is the "Holy Grail" of Hotel Nacional ashtrays. It roughly matches the original ones they had out on the back patio. The marble color is very close to matching the Hotel itself. People started stealing the originals, so they started selling them in the lobby. I passed on the other larger designs on 3 trips before I got lucky with this one. 

Its about 7 3/4" square and 2 1/4" Deep. It was $65 if I remember correctly, but the prices can vary 5-10 cuc. Totally worth it in my opinion. 

[Ryan]

It's real. No worries. That style of lettering was common about 3-4 years ago when I bought the one on the right. I wanted one with some green for St. Patrick's day.

You can see that the lettering is very similar to yours. I'm not a big fan of the lettering to be honest but it is real.

 

Since then they have found somebody to do the engraving a little bit more like it used to be 6 - 10 years ago. 

Here is a picture of the ashtray sales counter at the Nacional , February 2020. You can see a few styles of lettering in there.

[Ryan]

Here are some more of mine. You can see three different engraving styles right there.

I've put the rest away for safe keeping.

[Drguano]

Thought I’d add a couple more to the mix. I bought both at the hotel and lunged them back.