Brebbia First 1997 Rusticated Calabash w/ Silver Estate Briar, Pipe Unsmoked, 9mm

Description

Named for the company’s home township, Brebbia was founded in 1953 by Enea Buzzi, an alum of Savinelli’s manufacturing division. Still in operation 70 years later, Brebbia is one of Italy’s oldest extant pipe companies, with production still being undertaken using simple lathes and traditional methods of hand finishing. More recently, Brebbia has also collaborated with master artisan carvers from across to design some of its pipes, such as Denmark’s Rainer Barbi, Germany’s Otto Pollner and Holger Frickert, Italy’s Fausto Fincato, and Japan’s Tsuge.

Brebbia’s “First” terminology is a little counterintuitive for Anglophone pipe smokers. While we typically associate a “first pipe” with a beginner’s briar (or cob) Brebbia’s “First” series comprises the workshop’s “top quality” pipes, i.e., in the English sense of “first place.”
The Brebbia First series thus tends toward highly distinctive designs, often adorned with sterling silverware. Arguably the most distinctive, and also likely the most popular, is the “1997” First Calabash, Brebbia’s rendition of that most classic of shapes. This one is the Rocciata variant, referring to its pebble-dash rustication that has long been associated with high-grade Italian pipes (so much so that, with Brebbia pipes, Rocciata pipes are significantly more expensive than their Sabbiata, or sandblasted, counterparts).

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating, having come to us via a new old stock lot from a shop closure in Europe. It is chambered to allow for the use of 9mm filters if desired, and comes with its own adapter if non-filtered use is desired instead.

Details:

Length: 5.3″ / 134.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.88″ / 47.75mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 62g