Castello Collection Great Line Smooth Freehand w/ Silver 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 Guiseppe 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.’

In its early years, Castello had a special “Big Line” series of pipes that were, as one would expect, much larger than their more typical output. The designs of these pipes were also more in keeping with a “freehand” approach to shaping, albeit with a more Italian than Danish aesthetic. In other words, these large pipes featured extraordinary grain patterns (in the case of sandblasted and smooth finished iterations), but didn’t quite look like something that had come out of the Preben Holm workshop. In 1972, the “Big Line” was renamed as the “Great Line,” with the “Big Line” appellation subsequently reserved for pipes that were —to put it plainly—huge. Big Line and Great Line pipes remain in production to this day, though, understandably, they appear in a far fewer number than Castello’s other pipes.

This particular Castello is an example of the latter, and a rather distinguished one at that. As a Collection-grade Great Line, it sits near the top of Castello’s output, distinguished by its superior straight grain and very light, natural finish. But it also has something quite uncommon on Castello pipes, that being an ornate, sterling silver floc, or army mount.

The condition is fair. Some inner rim darkening, scuffs on the bowl, and a slightly un-flush silver mount. These will be factored into the price, which I imagine buyers will find very reasonable.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 1.03 / 26.16mm

Bowl Depth: 2.28″ / 57.91mm

Weight: 2.8oz / 82g