English Estates: Dunhill Shell Briar with Silver Army Mount (573) (1976) Tobacco Pipe

Dated to 1976, this Billiard from Dunhill features a tall, upright bowl that rises at the fore of an arrow-straight shank-and-stem arrangement. The shank end bears a sterling silver army mouth that fits a tapered, push-style stem of jet-black vulcanite. The military mount and the stem allow for the composition to be easily broken down, even while the pipe is still hot. The flash of the silver really pops against the muted tones of the stummel's Shell Briar sandblast, which here accentuates the natural grain orientation of the briar quite well.

The Shell Briar's addition to the Dunhill catalog was a pivotal moment in pipe-smoking history. Before 1917, pipes with sandblasted finishes had never been made, and Alfred Dunhill's innovative mind created arguably the most popular finish for pipes today when he unveiled the Shell Briar. With its dark, reserved color palette and delightful texture, it's no surprise that it's still wildly popular over a century later.