Irish Estates: Peterson Sherlock Holmes Terracotta Watson (P-Lip) (2020) Tobacco Pipe

The Watson from Peterson's Sherlock Holmes collection fittingly enough shares a considerable amount of shaping cues with the Original Sherlock Holmes design. Both display a deeply bent shank and stem combination ending in a defined transition, and the only difference lies in their bowls — the Original poises the quintessential Holmes Calabash bowl, whose curves and flare coincide with Sherlock's eccentric, bohemian personality, while the tall Rhodesian of the "XL17" Watson, presented here, better embodies the doctor's more reserved, gentlemanly nature.

Peterson introduced the Sherlock Holmes series in 1987 with a one-off design commemorating the 100th anniversary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's A Study in Scarlet. Two years later, the Irish marque decided to add a new shape every six months, forming what would eventually become the 18-pipe Sherlock Holmes collection. Each pipe in the collection also showcases Peterson's exemplary silverwork — the firm being renowned for its application of sterling silver, with the Sallynoggin factory's smiths having completed a years-long mentorship stewarded by Peterson's senior craftsmen. The Sherlock Holmes line boasts broad accent bands of the regal metal, etched with the collection's logo, contrasted here against a ruby-meets-auburn stain to accentuate the briar's grain for a traditional appeal.