Dunhill 1999 Shell Briar 4103 Sandblasted Billiard w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

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.

Dunhill pipes are special. This is something that the Alfred Dunhill company has tirelessly worked to make known over the last 120 or so years, whether through poaching the greatest talents of the day, aggressively safeguarding its manufacturing techniques and other intellectual property, and, of course, by producing consistently excellent pipes. But, as the idiom goes, some Dunhills are more special than others. Some hold historic significance or especial provenance, some are of unconventional or rare design, and so on, contributing to their greater value in the present. In terms of pipes that are extra special both in the context of when they were first manufactured and in contemporary collectors’ circles, one notable example would be Dunhills that were mounted with precious metals, such as sterling silver or solid gold. Production of such pipes has always been scarce, often being advertised by Dunhill themselves as an excellent gift or award for the lucky pipe smoker in one’s life. This Shell Briar, made just before the turn of the millennium, sports a 10mm, engine-turned sterling silver collar, which juxtaposes nicely with the more craggy, rustic aesthetic of its signature burgundy sandblast. If it was indeed given as a gift, I imagine the recipient would have been quite pleased.

The condition is fair. Some rim darkening and charring of the inner rim and some finish fading.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.85 / 21.59mm

Bowl Depth: 1.56″ / 39.62mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g