1995 Castello Limited Edition Trademark Smooth Panel Zulu Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked

Description

Founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti, Castello quickly became known for producing some of the finest smoking pipes in the world. Over the years, the people involved in making Castello pipes has changed – such as Luigi Radice and Sergio Ascorti, who developed their skills in the Cantu workshop before leaving to start Caminetto, or the handing of the reigns of the company to Francisco ‘Kino’ Coppo after Scotti’s passing – but the superlative quality of Castello pipes has not. It is not without reason that Castello is known as ‘the Italian Dunhill.’

While Castello pipes are certainly exclusive, the workshop is less known for its explicitly limited edition offerings. But Castello do make such pipes, and the reason for their relative lack of recognition is likely in part because their limited edition pieces are indeed very limited. Throughout the 1990s, Castello released a special, yearly pipe—something like a Pipe of the Year, as certain other makes offer—with production restricted to only 235 of them across Castello’s various finishes. This one was the 1995 model, a highly unique paneled Zulu shape with a similarly paneled sterling silver army mount engraved with floral motifs and the Castello “castle” logo. This one represented Castello’s Trademark grade in the series, which I find a little surprising, as I personally would have assigned it a “Castello” or “Collection” grade, judging by the striking grain patterns. In any case, this is only the third pipe from the 1995 series that I’ve encountered—this one being the first I’ve seen up close, with the two others being during online research. As such, and to return to what I was saying at the beginning of this listing, this is a very exclusive pipe from an already exclusive make.

Even better, the pipe is completely unsmoked, with its original box and sleeve.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.75 / 19.05mm

Bowl Depth: 1.25″ / 31.75mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g