Savinelli Giubileo d'Oro Smooth (121 EX) Tobacco Pipe

Achille Savinelli set out to break the Italian government's monopoly on tobacco when he opened his own smoke shop in Milan in 1876. Though clay and meerschaum ruled the pipe market in those days, Achille had faith that the briar pipes he designed and had manufactured in Varese would make a breakthrough, and he was right. Briar eventually came to rule the market, with Savinelli's pipes being put on display at the 1881 Italian Industrial Exposition and continuing to be manufactured today. The original Savinelli shop still operates to this day a century and a half on.

This "121 EX," a take on the bent Pot, comes from Savinelli's Giubileo d'Oro line (translating to "Golden Jubilee" in English). The line's name reflects the incredible scarcity of the combination of grain and materials needed to produce such a remarkable pipe. Such are the standards that Savinelli estimates only 1 in 20,000 pipes in its selection meets Giubileo d'Oro requirements. It's easy to see how this particular piece got such a designation though — the flame grain on the bowl is beautifully straight, even when it begins to spread back toward the round shank, and the entire stummel is smoothly finished with a light walnut stain that complements the briar perfectly. A lengthy, gently bent saddle stem of vulcanite with high shoulders finishes the piece, the wonderful profile of which is probably enough to sell itself even though the grain is so excellent.