Ser Jacopo Pre-1994 Smooth Apple w/ Briar Insert Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

Ser Jacopo is one of the most famous contemporary examples of high-grade, workshop-made Italian pipes. It also belongs to a very special tradition in Italian pipe-making, having been established by Giancarlo Guidi and Bruno Sordini after the two had left another great Italian workshop, Mastro de Paja. Together, Guidi and Sordini created a brand of pipes that reflected their Renaissance sensibilities – even the figurehead of Ser Jacopo happens to be taken from a painting of a nobleman from centuries past – one that would soon become esteemed for creating unique and beautiful tobacco pipes that smoked just as perfectly as they looked.

Today, Ser Jacopo pipes are distinguished not only by their beautiful designs, but by the presence of a large silver “J” stamped onto their mouthpieces. Only a small sub-set of more affordable Ser Jacopo pipes, such as the La Fuma and Modica, do not feature the silver “J,” instead bearing a red plexiglass dot insert where the “J” would otherwise be. This rather stout, straight grain apple is a Ser Jacopo, but it does not have a silver “J.” Is it one of the La Fuma or Modica sub-brands? No, but to understand why, we must delve into a little history.
When Ser Jacopo was founded in the early 1980s, the logo Giancarlo Guidi and Bruto Sordini chose to use for their mouthpieces was a dot inlay of red sea coral within a silver ring. Unfortunately, this did not last for long. Another Italian workshop sent Ser Jacopo a cease and desist letter accusing the latter of trademark infringement (not unlike the Dunhill vs Sasieni story eight decades prior), which resulted in Guidi and Sordini removing the silver ring, leaving the red coral dot as a compromise. This also, unfortunately, was short-lived as, in the early 1990s, recommendations and regulations were introduced to protect the species of coral Ser Jacopo used (red coral was also widely used in jewelry and was, furthermore, severely threatened by dredge fishing). So, Ser Jacopo switched out the logo again, replacing the red coral with red plexiglass. In 1997, Guidi and Sordini decided to switch the logo again, adopting the silver “J” for main-brand Ser Jacopo pipes and keeping the red plexiglass dot for sub-brands (these sub brands are also not stamped with Ser Jacopo’s Latin mantra, “Per Aspera Ad Astra“). A close inspection of this one shows it to be red coral (a slight misnomer, as it often closer to orange, or salmon). So, it is certainly pre-1997, One thing I’ve not seen Ser Jacopo historians and enthusiasts do is examine exactly when regulations came into effect protecting red coral and other marine life in Italy. Sardinia, for example, a major location for red coral harvesting, introduced legislation restricting this practice in 1989. In 1994, the European Union (of which Italy was, and currently still is, a member state) implemented similar protective legislation. I would, therefore, estimate that coral dot Ser Jacopos are pre-1994, and perhaps even pre-1989 as far as dating goes. I’ll put this one down as pre-1994 until I’ve been able to do more research on the matter (if you made it this far, thanks for reading!)

The condition is very good. Some inner rim darkening and minor finish fading.

 

Details:

Length: 6.2″ / 157.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.92 / 23.36mm

Bowl Depth: 1.58″ / 40.13mm

Weight: 1.8oz / 52g