Savinelli Classica 824 KS Sandblasted Brandy Estate Briar Pipe, Italian Estates

Description

It is probably fair to say that Savinelli is Italy’s most famous pipe brand. Founded in Milan in 1876 by Achille Savinelli, the brand has continuously offered high quality pipes for nearly 150 years. Though various Savinelli lines have come and gone over the years, the brand has always been notable for putting out classically styled pipes with a distinctly Italian twist.

Two things about this Savinelli distinguish it from most others sold today. First, it’s sandblasted; second, its stem is made from ebonite. If you’re familiar with contemporary Savinelli pipes, you’ll know that sandblast finishes and ebonite stems are reserved for the highest-grade pipes the make manufactures (e.g., the Punto Oro or Giubileo D’Oro series). So, what’s the deal with this Classica? Here, some guessing is required. For one, if you look at the stamping, you’ll see that it has a much older iteration of the “Savinelli” nomenclature. But it also has a three-digit (approximately post-1970s) shape code. From handling other Savinellis of this style, I would wager that the Classica was produced a good deal of time ago (probably a couple of decades), is still what would be considered a “modern” Savinelli. As such, “Classica” probably deliberately invoked “classic” Savinelli designs and materials at a time when other series from the make were more like those sold today – more colorful, the majority of them either smooth or rusticated, and with lucite stems. This one, on the other hand, is Savinelli’s classic (though quite uncommon) brandy-lumberman hybrid, the shape 824 KS, wearing a smple brick red stain and fitted with a black ebonite stem.

The condition is very good. There’s some rim darkening, and one or two spots of char from a small slip of the lighter in its previous life, but the pipe remains as elegant as ever, and will no doubt smoke just as well as it ever did, too.

 

Details:

Length: 6″ / 152.4mm

Bowl Width: 0.79 / 20.06mm

Bowl Depth: 1.6″ / 40.64mm

Weight: 1.5oz / 44g