Castello Collection Occhio di Pernice KK Smooth Lovat Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

In the world of pipes, Italy is famous for its workshops—institutions that operate at a smaller scale to factories, but in which expert artisans work tirelessly to create pipes entirely by hand. Founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti, Castello is one of the oldest and most renowned of these workshops, and Castello pipes are often spoken of as Italy’s answer to England’s famous Dunhill pipes. Known for its equally high-grade smooth, sandblasted, and rusticated finishes, Castello’s legacy is felt not only in the continued success of the make itself, but also in the various, similarly high-end workshops founded by former Castello craftsmen, such as Caminetto, Radice, and Ascorti.

One of my favorite developments in Castello’s recent history has been a branching out, by the workshop, into new finishes. This includes new finishes used on already established lines within Castello’s portfolio, such as the Collection line. Though somewhat unorthodox for Italian pipes, Castello developed their own version of what could be called a “golden contrast” stain, not unlike those used by British pipe companies (such as BBB) and Danish artisans (such as Tom Eltang) in the later 20th century. In this instance, it’s been applied beautifully not only to a two “K” Collection grade, but to an Occho di Pernice variant, Castello’s extra mark of distinction for pipes with especially good bird’s-eye patterns (occho di pernice being Italian for something like “eye of the partridge”).

The condition is great and the lighting does not do it justice. Gently pre-smoked, just a hint of finish fading on the rim.

Details:

Length: 5.3″ / 134.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.77 / 19.55mm

Bowl Depth: 1.38″ / 35.05mm

Weight: 0.9oz / 28g