Luciano 2012 55 B Smooth Apple Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Those who were around during the 2010s may remember Luciano pipes. They were the creation of Luca di Piazza, owner of the now seemingly defunct Italian retailer NeatPipes, and were very well received when they made their American debut. First produced in partnership with Radice, then by Italian artisan Davide Iafisco, and including some designs co-created with GL Pease, Luciano became a go-to for a high-quality, reasonably priced, Italian pipe. By the end of the 2010s, however, Neat Pipes, and Luciano with it, had all but disappeared, with production presumed to have ceased.

The Luciano brand underwent a number of successive changes in the early 2010s. A dedicated shape chart and set of house finishes were established; production was moved from partnering companies, such as Radice, to Luciano’s own, new on-site workshop; talented, budding artisans, such as Davide Iafisco, were brought in to make Luciano pipes; and quality was significantly improved, with a greater emphasis on individual handicraft. As with some other Lucianos we’ve listed recently, this one comes from during the midst of that transition. It’s a curious design, somewhere halfway between a prince and an apple, dressed in the workshop’s house Brown (hence the “B”) finish. It’s nicely carved, making good use of bird’s-eye and cross-grain around the bowl, lending its hybrid form even more of a distinctiveness.

This pipe is completely unsmoked and comes with its original sleeve. Some minor handling marks, though nothing major.

Details:

Length: 5.8″ / 147.3mm

Bowl Width: 0.83 / 21.08mm

Bowl Depth: 1.30″ / 33.02mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 42g