Luciano 2012 Hand Finished 297 D Smooth Egg 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. A sleek, bent egg in a slightly Danish vein, this Luciano shape “297” wears the make’s house Dark finish, which pairs very nicely with a pearly acrylic mouthpiece, giving it a sort of “ebony and ivory” aesthetic.

This pipe is completely unsmoked, with an original bowl coating. Some very slight scratches on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 5.9″ / 149.8mm

Bowl Width: 0.84 / 21.33mm

Bowl Depth: 1.69″ / 42.92mm

Weight: 2.2oz / 64g