Castello “Castello” KKK Smooth Lovat 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.’

This particular Castello is the workshop’s interpretation of the traditional Lovat shape. But, being an Italian workshop, they have their own idea of what a good Lovat looks like. While the pipe is not a large one, the bowl is larger in proportion to the shank than, say, an English Lovat might be, which gives the pipe’s profile an extra assertiveness. This added heft is counterbalanced by some beautiful bird’s-eye grain, which is brought out by a stain that mixes red, orange, and brown hues. Curiously, this Castello also has a small star (or, technically, an asterisk) just to the top right of the Castello nomenclature. I’m not really sure what this means, and I’ve handled quite a few Castellos in my time. Does it denote something special? If you happen to know, please let me know.

The condition is great. There’s some rim darkening, but nothing I would call major. This pipe came in through our estates trade-in program, and was joined by its original box and sleeve, which will be passed along to the pipe’s next owner.

 

Details:

Length: 5.2″ / 132.0mm

Bowl Width: 0.76 / 19.30mm

Bowl Depth: 1.46″ / 37.08mm

Weight: 1.3oz / 38g