Castello Sea Rock 293 4K Rusticated Oom Paul 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.’

The “293” is one of Castello’s most unique shapes. Part bent egg, part Oom Paul, and part Danish freehand, it is one of the few Castello designs to have its own colloquial name: the pescatora. Pescatora is Italian for “fisherman,” which makes quite a bit of sense given how the bowl’s curvature and the flaring of the stem resemble a kind of fish hook. This one is a rather large rendition, and is furthermore dressed in a particularly craggy example of Castello’s signature pebble-dash rustication, the Sea Rock Briar. If you’ve ever wondered why so many Italian pipes are rusticated in a similar fashion, Castello is bound to bear a good part of the responsibility, having crafted high-grade Italian pipes with just such a finish since the late 1940s.

The condition is good. Some charring and finish fading on the rim.

 

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.91″ / 48.51mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g