Castello “Castello” GG Smooth Hawkbill Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

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.’

Along with the shape “55” pot, the “84” hawbill is one of Castello’s most iconic and sought after shapes. It is a highly distinct design – one emulated by many a pipe-maker, from the great Italian workshops to solo artisan carvers – marked by a plump, round bowl and a figure that eschews the typical “S” curve of bent shapes. Instead, the bowl simply balloons outward from the design’s nadir, creating a side profile that looks, as the name implies, like the beak of a bird of prey. This particular hawkbill is dressed in Castello’s golden “Castello” finish and is a GG size grade, making it far larger than standard Castello pipes but just shy of the magnum proportions found in the Great Line and Big Line series.

The condition is great. Some minor rim darkening.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.59″ / 40.38mm

Weight: 3.3oz / 94g