Gigi Fiamma Smooth Bent Billiard Estate Briar Pipe, Unsmoked, 9mm

Description

Gigi pipes occupy an interesting position in the history of Italian pipe-making. The story begins with the founding of Sociedade Rovera, a pipe-making company in Varese, Italy, by the Rovera family. As members of the Rovera family left to start their own ventures, the dynasty associated with the name would be split into several companies; Angelo Rovera created Ardor with his son Dorelio; Federico created Fe.Ro; Massimilliano created Mario Rovera; Fiorenzo created Gardenesa; and Giorgio created Giorgio Rovera, along with partners Angelo and Adele Bianchi. In 1964, Luigi Crugnola, nephew of the Bianchis, took over the Giorgio Rovera make and changed its name to his own – Gigi.

“Fiamma” is Italian for “flame,” with “fiammata” being roughly translatable to a sudden blaze. This is why, on higher-end Italian pipes, such as Castello’s or Viprati’s superlative smooth finishes, instead of “flame grain,” you’ll find “fiammata.” The same principle seems to apply to this Gigi. Though I haven’t been able to find this Fiamma series as being currently sold anywhere, from handling a fair few Gigi pipes in my time, this is one of the finest-grained I’ve handled so far (though I would call this one a straight grain rather than a flame), and the addition of a sterling silver band would further confirm my hypothesis. As I’ve said before, this isn’t your average Gigi.

This Gigi is also completely unsmoked, with an original (slightly flaked) bowl coating to help ease the break-in process. This Gigi is chambered for 9mm filters as standard, but should accommodate an adapter for non-filtered use if the buyer prefers.

 

Details:

Length: 5.6″ / 142.2mm

Bowl Width: 0.74 / 18.79mm

Bowl Depth: 1.58″ / 40.13mm

Weight: 1.6oz / 46g