Caminetto Business XL Rusticated Cherrywood Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Caminetto was, and is to this day, a decisive figure in the history of Italy’s pipe workshop tradition. After spending time developing their skills in the Castello workshop, Sergio Ascorti and Luigi Radice left to found their own venture, which they named, “Caminetto.” Here, Ascorti and Radice were able to create their own now-classic shapes and finishes, such as the rusticated “business,” and the carved, wax-drip “New Dear.”

Caminetto was, during its first decades, notable for its distinctly rugged and muscular designs, even among the make’s contemporaries and compatriots. This one will have been made between the 1960s and the mid-1970s (evinced by the “bird in flight” stem logo), and is certainly a testament to that. The design is fascinating; it might considered something of a cherrywood (that’s what I’ve gone with), though one with a definite nod to the freehands of Denmark as far as shaping goes. It also has a decidedly assertive fore, with a strong jaw that does remind a little of the Castello 55. All of this is nicely complemented by the Business finish, Caminetto’s weathered, stony rival to the rustication techniques of Savinelli and the aforementioned Castello, though this time in a very different, ruby red stain.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.80 / 20.32mm

Bowl Depth: 1.77″ / 44.95mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 76g