Charatan’s Make Belvedere 4654DC Smooth Skater Estate Briar Pipe, English Estates

Description

While Dunhill may be Britain’s most famous pipe brand, Charatan is not only older, but has the honor of being the first to have made its pipes entirely in-house. ‘Charatan’s Make’ referred to the fact that, at a time when other pipe companies were sourcing stummels and stems carved from other companies before assembling them in their factories and workshops, Charatan made every part of their pipes on the Charatan premises. So began a legacy of high-quality pipe-making under the Charatan name, one whose employees, at one time or another, included Joel Sasieni, and Ken Barnes and Barry Jones of James Upshall fame.

Collectors of Charatan pipes have their preferences for which ‘era’ of the make’s history was or is its best. From my experience, it is the Lane era (1961-77) that has the largest contingent of fans. And it’s hard to argue with those fans; the pipes made during Lane Ltd’s ownership of the make are excellent, in both their aesthetic and functional properties. This one belongs to what is known as the ‘first’ Lane era (1961-65). The shape is classic Charatan, though one that is less common nowadays: the skater. As the name suggests, it is distinguished by its sharp underside, resembling an ice skate.

The condition is great. There’s some minor rim darkening and some very light scratches on the rim’s finish, but nothing major.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.82 / 20.82mm

Bowl Depth: 1.75″ / 44.45mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g