Castello Sea Rock S 49 Rusticated Calabash 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 Castello workshop crafts pipes in a number of finishes, but if there’s one finish that has come to define to define the venerable Italian make, it’s the Sea Rock. It may well be Castello more than anyone else that has proven that rusticated pipes can be as high-grade as their smooth and sandblasted counterparts. This one shows off the particular pebble-dash approach that helped make Castello—and many other Italian brands—what they are today. Based on the “S” stamping and the absence of a “K” or “k” size notation, this would appear to be one of those early pipes, which I’d estimate to have been made around the mid- to late 1960s. More specifically, it looks to be one of the first Castellos imported to America by Wally Frank Ltd., hence the rhinestone stem inlay (Wally Frank already produced a pipe with a logo similar to Castello’s white line inlay), which is where Castello mania properly took off. The pipe itself is a rather unique iteration of the Sea Rock Briar line (and the shape “49” calabash with it), having a lighter, tan finish, as well as an army mount and stem cut from swirling red Lucite.

The condition is very good. Some slight finish fading and very small, superficial scratches on the pipe’s smooth rim.

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.94 / 23.87mm

Bowl Depth: 1.55″ / 39.37mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g