Cavicchi CCCCC Grade Smooth Billiard w/ Silver Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

In 1974, after growing impatient waiting for a pipe he’d ordered, Claudio Cavicchi decided he would simply make his own pipe instead. The former farmer from Bologna, Italy, spent the next 15 years making pipes, until his work took off and received widespread acclaim. Cavicchi’s pipe-making exploits have only become more renowned in the decades since. Today, Cavicchi’s pipes hold a firm place at the top of an extraordinarily competitive Italian high-grades scene, being as carefully and meticulously crafted as they are beautiful. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that Claudio himself is a world record holding slow smoking champion.

Claudio Cavicchi crafts pipes in a variety of finishes, such as the Sandblast and Brown Smooth, but his highest-grade pipes fall into one of two categories: those graded using “C”s; and the scarce “Perla” and near-mythical “Diamante” grades. Within the former, grades run from one “C” to five “C”s, which are helpfully stamped on the bowl. If you’re familiar with Cavicchi’s output, you’ll know that even a one “C” grade is impressive. A pipe that has attained a full five-out-of-five “C”s, on the other hand, is something very special indeed. In this instance, the lucky recipient has been Cavicchi’s interpretation of an old Anglo-French staple, the pot, though one whose stoutness has been even further emphasized as a means of making the most of some truly excellent briar. Even from a distance, the straight grain running around almost the entirety of its bowl is stunning, and only becomes even more so on a closer look, where the “angel hair” striations become more apparent. As is often the case with Cavicchi’s highest-grades, this pipe also features an extra bit of ornamentation, in the form of a sterling silver army mount.

The condition is great. Very minor inner rim darkening and very light stem chatter.

 

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.86 / 21.84mm

Bowl Depth: 1.61″ / 40.89mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 76g