Italian Estates: Ser Jacopo Gem Series Fiammata Foeda Hawkbill with Silver (Smeraldo) (Unsmoked) Tobacco Pipe

Founded in 1982 by Giancarlo Guidi, Ser Jacopo has built a reputation on crafting high-quality briars that are renowned for their robust proportions and playful shaping cues. The Italian atelier's style has since defined the Pesaro style of pipe making, each of their pipes imbued with a sense of character and reflecting the whimsical creativity that went into crafting them. Ser Jacopo's Gem Series is a unique one, using gemstones to identify its grading, and the line comprises only the best pipes that Ser Jacopo has to offer: with each subsequent gem grading denoting even higher quality. The line, in ascending order comprises Smeraldo ("Emerald"), Granato ("Garnet"), Zaffiro ("Sapphire"), and Rubino ("Ruby"), to Brillante ("Diamond") with this Hawkbill being graded Smeraldo, identified by its tiny gemstone inlaid in the stem. This pipe also belongs to the Foeda series, which specifically defines those pipes fitted to specialized stems that can be rotated 180 degrees: changing the smoking posture to a more "straight" orientation while leaving a playful "hump" near the junction. The shank itself curls out of a wide transition, taking on the Hawkbill's iconic aquiline curvature before meeting the sleekly tapering stem at a band of regal silver. Up front, the bowl stands on an extended, rounded heel whose prominence at the fore admirably supports thick walls as they take on a Dublin-like flare to a broad, plateau-crowned rim. A pair of beadlines just above the transition marks an understated pinch at the waistline of this pipe, further enhancing the bowl's visual prominence. Dressed in a rich, ruby-tinged stain and glossy smooth finish, the stummel here showcases stunning grain, earning this pipe the "Fiammata" stamping: designating only those pipes that showcase incredible flame grain.