Castello Pezzo Unico Collection Fiammata Bent Billiard (27.06.06) (with Presentation Box) Tobacco Pipe

Carlo Scotti brought the Castello brand to life in the late 1940s, crafting his pipes in the same shadow of the Alps as the likes of Savinelli and the Rovera family. Scotti's workshop would eventually yield the independent workshops of Caminetto and Radice, both founded by former Castello artisans, but the Castello tradition continues today with the neoclassic designs that make northern Italy such an influential player in the industry of pipe making.

Of the few pipes that receive Castello's prestigious Pezzo Unico designation — that's "unique piece" if you don't speak Italian — even fewer are sold, as most end up being shown off in Castello's museum. This bent Billiard, however, made it out of the workshop and into our inventory, where its incredible flame grain can become yours. The bowl is a minutely tapered Billiard coated with straight grain all the way around and extending to the shank, with small patches of birdseye on the heel and top of the shank. The straight grain is the true eye-catcher of this piece, stretching all the way from heel to rim on the bowl and finished smoothly to breathe easily. The round shank flares outward lightly on its way to a plateau-topped face into which an offset saddle stem of black acrylic is pushed.

This pipe comes gently cradled in its own softly-lined wooden box, complete with a note from Castello certifying it was crafted with superb Tuscan briar aged for more than a decade and completed on June 27, 2006, representing the full experience of Castello's artisans through its excellent linework and grain.