Dunhill 1973 Bruyere ODA 806 Smooth Apple Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

To veteran pipe smokers, Dunhill needs no introduction. Beginning in 1907, Alfred Dunhill began selling Dunhill pipes at the tobacconist shop he owned on London’s Duke Street. Very quickly, these pipes gained the reputation of being the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of pipes due to how expertly crafted they were. Today, Dunhill is likely Britain’s most famous pipe manufacturer, and continues to produce some of the most treasured pipes a smoker can buy.

Around the mid-century, Dunhill formalized their “OD” series into a set of distinct shapes, each with a three-digit shape code. There were pipes that were, with the Anglo-French tradition, of unconventional design; there were pipes that were, for the time, of unconventionally large size; and there were shapes that could be considered a little of both. The 806 was a little of both, taking the form of a large, straight shape with an especially bulbous bowl somewhere between an apple and an egg. This one wears Dunhill’s signature, ruby red Bruyere finish, though in its lighter, mid-century iteration, rather than the much darker hues taken on by the Bruyere in more recent decades. I find that this older iteration of the finish works especially well on the 806’s ballooning figure—like a good old red delicious in the hand.

The condition is very good. Slight inner rim charring and very slight tooth chatter.

Details:

Length: 6.5″ / 165.1mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.59″ / 40.38mm

Weight: 2.0oz / 58g