Radice Rind G O Partially Rusticated Paneled Acorn Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Radice is one of the great Italian workshop pipe makes, belonging to a historic lineage of such workshops. The company began as a family affair, being established in 1980 by Luigi Radice, along with his son, Gianluca, and father, Paolo. But Radice’s pipe making “family” is a little larger than that. Prior to founding Radice, Luigi ran Caminetto, which he had founded with Guiseppe Ascorti in 1968. Prior to Caminetto, Radice had worked alongside Ascorti in the Castello factory, under the supervision of its owner, Carlo Scotti. It’s quite an impressive genealogy, which is clearly reflected in the quality of Radice pipes.

The “G” and the “O” are two designations used by Radice to distinguish the workshop’s more uncommon pipes. These designations can appear separately, or, in this instance, in tandem. The “G” is quite simple; it refers to oversized pipes, i.e., pipes that are larger than the average Radice. The “O” is a little more complicated, as it refers to finishing styles, shaping, or accents that are non-standard for Radice pipes. This is certainly a large pipe, but even if it wasn’t, it would still be highly distinctive. As part of the Rind series, it wears Luigi Radice’s interpretation of a high-grade Italian-style rustication, one which is a little lighter and closer to citrus peel in texture than the stony finishes seen on other Italian pipes. However, in this instance the Rind finish has been only partially applied, in the form of two discs on either side of a paneled, acorn-like bowl. This is not the only design element outside of the norm here, as the stem also includes three inlays of white acrylic and briar at its base. Altogether, it makes for one of the most unusual Radice pipes I’ve yet seen, and almost makes the average Radice pipe look boring in comparison.

The condition is great. Minor wear to the rim and some very slight scratches on the bowl.

Details:

Length: 6.6″ / 167.6mm

Bowl Width: 0.97 / 24.63mm

Bowl Depth: 1.97″ / 50.03mm

Weight: 2.6oz / 76g