Italian Estates: Ser Jacopo Gem Series Fiammata (Granato) Paneled Bent Dublin with 18K Gold (Maxima Maxima) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Upon creating his Ser Jacopo brand in 1982, Giancarlo Guidi forged his own aesthetic path, diverging even further from English and French pipemaking standards than his classically influenced northern Italian counterparts like Castello. Guidi found inspiration in fine art and everyday life, with his muses being as diverse as pipes he saw fisherman smoking or those depicted in the art of Van Gogh. Ser Jacopo's Gem Series celebrates the brand's most outstanding pipes that have both stellar grain and outstanding shaping. Their grades, in ascending order, are Smeraldo ("Emerald"), Granato ("Garnet"), Zaffiro ("Sapphire"), Rubino ("Ruby"), and Brillante ("Diamond").

This paneled bent Dublin from Ser Jacopo possesses the typical, bowl-centric shaping proportions of the northern Italian neoclassical style along with the southern Italian Pesaro style's whimsical flair. Stamped with "MAXIMA MAXIMA" on the shank, this pipe is a large Dublin rendition. A cavernous chamber clocking in at just over two and a half inches deep has lots of room for tobacco, making it a great fit for those who like to take long smokes. A thick rim encircles the top of said chamber, topped with red- and black-stained knobs of plateau, while flame grain drips down the subtle curves of the bowl's paneled walls toward the soft heel. Where these panels meet, they form inconspicuous round edges. The bowl's signature Dublin flare becomes more evident in side profile than from the smoker's perspective due to the flanks being wider than the fore and aft. A deeply acute transition joins the bowl seamlessly to the shank, whose panels are more numerous and well defined than the bowl's. The shank's aft is adorned with an 18k gold accent. The saddle stem's shoulders match the polygonal cross-section of the shank before making a concave curve in toward the chastely bent bit. Warm, red-tinted stain reminiscent of garnet dresses the smooth stummel, accentuating the subdued motion of the flame grain encompassing the bowl's perimeter.