English Estates: Dunhill Root Briar (OXS) (F/T) (4) (R) (1971) Tobacco Pipe

For lovers of Dunhill classics, this Group 4 Root Briar Bulldog from 1971 is calling your name. Ultra-classic in shape, with a tapered conical bowl, twin beadlines, and diamond shank, this version bears the three-character "OXS" stamp instead of a modern 4-digit code, representative of when Dunhill used letters to designate certain shapes. Root Briars are chosen for their fine grain, and this piece is no exception, with a warm auburn stain highlighting striations of flame and cross grain that follow the flanks remarkably well. A handcrafted stem continues the diamond cross-section of the shank long enough to show off the White Spot logo, then reduces crisply to a slender straight saddle configuration.

The highest honor for a Dunhill pipe is to receive the prestigious Root Briar appellation. Root Briars have been coveted by pipe smokers ever since they first debuted in 1931, due to the fact that each pipe must boast briar completely free of even the most minor of blemishes. Dunhill has the strictest of standards and expectations for quality with all of their pipes, and so any block of briar that comes to bear the Root Briar stamp must indeed be superlative.