Ardor: Urano Bent Apple Tobacco Pipe

Though the Ardor pipes workshop was founded in 1974 by father-son team Angelo and Dorelio Rovera, the pipe making history of the family stretches back to 1911, with the founding of Sociedade Rovera in Varese, Italy. It was at here that Angelo began to carve pipes alongside his father and uncles, starting at the age of 13 in 1958, Ardor's debut into the pipe world marked by a high-standard of craftsmanship that's remained consistent for nearly five decades. Though Angelo passed away in 1999, Ardor is now run by Dorelio, alongside both Damiano and Dimitri, the next generation of Roveras. Ardor's pipes are often typified by their strikingly neoclassical proportions, with each piece offering greatly enhanced substance about the bowl and a reassuring presence in hand. This bent Apple is an appropriately rotund iteration of the classic shape, with a full-bodied bowl that's nearly spherical in silhouette, paired here to a high-licking shank and stem combination which keeps the bowl feeling balanced. Said pairing also lends this pipe a comfortable jaw-hanging posture, though it should feel equally at home when held, offering plenty of texture by way of its dark Urano rustication. A band of silver at the shank end lends the composition some lovely contrast and completes it with a touch of elegance. -John McElheny