Castello 2018 Collection Fiammata K Smooth Canadian Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti, Castello quickly became known for producing some of the finest smoking pipes in the world. Over the years, the people involved in making Castello pipes has changed – such as Luigi Radice and Sergio Ascorti, who developed their skills in the Cantu workshop before leaving to start Caminetto, or the handing of the reigns of the company to Francisco ‘Kino’ Coppo after Scotti’s passing – but the superlative quality of Castello pipes has not. It is not without reason that Castello is known as ‘the Italian Dunhill.’

Like the English “flame grain” and “straight grain,” Italians have their own word for briar with exceptional vertical patterning: fiammata. Whether the latter means something closer to “flame grain” or “straight grain” (in English they are slightly different, after all) depends on the pipe maker, but the use of fiammata remains inseparable from the language of especially high-grade pipes, just as its English counterparts are. Castello awards its own Fiammata designation for pipes whose vertical graining exceeds even the standards of its highest-end lines, such as the Collection, with such pipes being elevated into what is essentially their own grade bracket. This one looks to be a gorgeous rendition of the workshop’s shape 33 Canadian, distinguished in this instance not only by its superior grain, but also by the subtle sculpting of the bowl, creating a patchwork of planes for its patterning to weave through.

The condition is very good. Some rim darkening and slight handling marks.

 

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.73″ / 43.94mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g