Dunhill 1999 Bruyere ODB 835 Smooth Large Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

To veteran pipe smokers, Dunhill needs no introduction. Beginning in 1907, Alfred Dunhill began selling Dunhill pipes at the tobacconist shop he owned on London’s Duke Street. Very quickly, these pipes gained the reputation of being the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of pipes due to how expertly crafted they were. Today, Dunhill is likely Britain’s most famous pipe manufacturer, and continues to produce some of the most treasured pipes a smoker can buy.

Thought to stand for “Own Design,” Dunhill’s “OD” was a series of pipes introduced early on in the history of the make, offering shapes that were not available in its standard shape catalog. In Dunhill’s own words, these were “pipes of unusual shapes” which, by the 1950s, had expanded into a roster of “fancies” and “semi-giants.” Production of these pipes continued, intermittently, until the mid-1970s, after which OD series shapes were retired. It wasn’t until 1999 that the OD series finally returned. And, as with another OD pipe we had in recently, this ODB billiard is from that very year. The shape is an 835, a “giant,” or “semi-giant” by Dunhill’s standards, and could be considered an upscaled variation on the make’s LB, or Large Billiard, or LBS, or Large Billiard Slender, shapes. It is also an exceedingly rare ODB, rather than the more common (yet still rare) ODA renditions Dunhill produces. For OD shapes, such as the 835, the third letter in their alphanumeric designation indicates a grade, e.g., “A,” “B,” etc. While this grading system has, at times, been left by the wayside (see John Loring’s article on the post-war ODA), the general rule is that the lower the letter is in the alphabet, the higher the grade of an OD shape, making this one a step up from its ODA counterparts. Looking at the wealth of bird’s-eye shining through the pipe’s wine-red Bruyere finish, I suspect this will have contributed significantly to its additional accolade.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original case, sleeve, inner tube, and promotional materials. There are a couple of slight scratches around the bowl, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 7.0″ / 177.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.86″ / 47.24mm

Weight: 2.3oz / 66g