Castello Sea Rock SB 23F Rusticated Apple 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.’

While contemporary Castello pipes are stamped with grading and size codes that take the form of a lowercase “k” (for “Kino” Coppo), and while before that, they were stamped with uppercase “K”s, before the mid-1960s, the workshop used a different system entirely. Sizes were two digits, the first being an “S” (perhaps for “Scotti”), and the second designating the size, starting at “A”. This particular Sea Rock, from some time between the 1950s and ’60s, is an SB size, so on the more compact end of the scale, and is dressed in a version of the Sea Rock finish that is far craggier and more rugged than is found on contemporary Castello pipes. I’m personally a big fan of these earlier Castellos, with their “rough around the edges” quality creating an enjoyable juxtaposition with their classical shaping.

The condition is fair. Some rim darkening, finish fading, and a professionally made replacement stem.

 

Details:

Length: 5.7″ / 144.7mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.13″ / 28.70mm

Weight: 1.4oz / 40g