Castello Trademark 4K Smooth Bent Egg w/ Lucite Mount Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

While the majority of Castello’s house shapes are highly distinctive reinterpretations of briar staples, the 93—seen here—is one of the most unusual designs produced by the Cantu workshop. Together with the 92, 293, and 315, it is one of a veritable genre of strange bents in Castello’s portfolio, with its plump bowl and plummeting curvature evoking the line and bobber of a fishing rod (it is not by accident that the 93’s sister shape, the 293, is known internally as a “Pescatora,” or “fisherman” in English). The other distinguishing feature of the 93 is its Lucite army mount, something that was far common in Castello’s early decades, and which now survives largely through the 93, as well as a few special editions and renditions.

This pipe is completely unsmoked and comes with its original sleeve.

Details:

Length: 6.4″ / 162.5mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 2.01″ / 51.05mm

Weight: 2.1oz / 60g