Dunhill Christmas 2004 Shell Briar w/ Case & Tamper 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.

While special, annual “Christmas” pipes today are most commonly associated with Peterson and Savinelli, there was a time when this trend was dominated by English pipe companies. BBB, for example, made Christmas pipes at least as early as the 1960s, and Comoy’s soon followed. Similarly, Dunhill began releasing its own, limited edition Christmas pipes in 1980 but, being Dunhill, the make went a little further in their celebrations than most. In the 1990s, Dunhill began to add extra thematic elements to these seasonal releases, with 1993-2004 being a series of pipes based on the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas”; 1993 was “A Patridge In a Pear Tree,” for example, 1994 was “Two Turtle Doves,” and so on. This particular Dunhill is the very last in that series, taking on the theme of “Twelve Lords A-Leaping.” In addition to being much larger than the average Dunhill, this pipe featured a very appropriate “crown” of engine-turned sterling silver, alongside its engraved sterling silver collar. As with other pipes in the “Twelve Days” series, the pipe also came with a special, thematic tamper, which in this instance is a highly ornate rendition of the titular leaping lords.

The condition is near mint. Possibly unsmoked, but I’ll err on the side of “very lightly smoked.” The pipe comes with its presentation case, aforementioned tamper, and documentation.

Details:

Length: 6.3″ / 160.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.78 / 19.81mm

Bowl Depth: 1.69″ / 42.92mm

Weight: 2.5oz / 72g