Savinelli Punto Oro Super 320 KS Smooth Author Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

It is probably fair to say that Savinelli is Italy’s most famous pipe brand. Founded in Milan in 1876 by Achille Savinelli, the brand has continuously offered high quality pipes for nearly 150 years. Though various Savinelli lines have come and gone over the years, the brand has always been notable for putting out classically styled pipes with a distinctly Italian twist.

When Savinelli opened its Milan workshop in 1948, the first pipes made there carried the “Punto Oro,” or “gold point.” In a move that was likely inspired by Dunhill and Sasieni before them, Savinelli pipes thus featured a dot inlay on the top of the stem to distinguish them as high quality smoking instruments. Over the subsequent decades, and with the release of numerous new Savinelli lines, the Punto Oro (and with it the Giubileo D’Oro) became a designation for some of Savinelli’s highest grade pipes, with only around 1% of Savinelli’s entire output earning this qualification. Even among Punto Oro pipes, however, there are some differences. Some Punto Oro pipes are sandblasted; others wear smooth reddish finishes, such as the Punto Oro Bordeaux and Burgundy; and others feature a much lighter, smooth polished hue. Here we find the Punto Oro Super, first introduced in the 1980s to distinguish pipes with especially excellent flame grain and bird’s-eye patterns—and which are, as a result, even rarer than their counterparts. This one is rendered in one of Savinelli’s most popular and iconic shapes, the 320 KS author. It also features a vulcanite stem, perhaps gesturing to it being a little older than contemporary Punto Oros.

The condition is very good. Minor inner rim darkening and handling marks, and slight residual stem oxidation, though nothing major at all.

 

Details:

Length: 5.5″ / 139.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.22″ / 30.98mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g