Dunhill 1984 Root Briar 4103 w/ 18K Gold European Pipe Smoking Competition 1st Prize Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

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.

Slow smoking is a strange sport, especially in a modern age like ours. It is one of the increasingly few human activities (though by no means the only!) where coming last is the only way to win. But it is also widely beloved in the pipe community, and precisely because of those aspects that make it strange to the culture we inhabit. The rules are simple: each person is given a pipe, a pinch of tobacco, and (usually) two matches (the first for a charring light, the second for a true light), and whoever can keep their bowl lit and smoldering away for the longest is the winner. It’s by no means easy, and while a small number of pipe smokers can maintain the careful cadence required to stay puffing for hours at a time, many will find their embers faded before the 30 minute mark.

Suppose one does win a slow smoking competition—what, then, would be a fitting prize for such an individual? A pipe, of course. Slow smoking competitions have been held for decades, and some organizations hold one annually. There are competitions held by smaller clubs, with the first prize often being a modest, but nonetheless well made pipe from a local company or artisan; there are also national competitions, where the awards are a little more high-end. And then there are international competitions, sometimes with hundreds of competitors. It’s these latter events where first place holds the promise of a truly special. In 1984, the European Slow Smoking Competition was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. While I assume there will have been some excellent runner-up prizes (there often are for competitions of that scale), the 1st place prize was none other than a Dunhill Root Briar. This would already be quite a prize, but Dunhill went even further. Not only was the pipe—a classic, group 4 billiard—mounted with an 18 karat solid gold collar, it was presented in a special, custom-fitted cedar wood hard case, seen here.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. It comes with its original presentation case and a small event card from the competition.

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.60″ / 40.64mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g