Ashton: Old Church Billiard with Silver (XX) Tobacco Pipe

Founded in 1983 by William "Bill" Ashton-Taylor, who worked as a Dunhill apprentice, the Ashton workshop is lauded for its incredibly high standards of quality and mastery of classic English design principles. Jimmy Craig currently heads the company, having taken up the mantle after Bill's passing in 2009. Since then, he has sustained the Ashton legacy by steadfastly following the founder's philosophy of equally prioritizing all parts of the pipe, and utilizing only the best materials and most pristine finishing. Today, the English marque is known for combining classic shaping and elegant finishing with eye-catching accents and colorful stems. This Old Church Billiard is an excellent example of the English marque's signature style.

The Billiard bowl, rendered in trim, reserved proportions, stands with pert posture at the end of the lithe shank-and-stem arrangement. The shank terminates in an army mount that showcases the marque's exemplary silverwork; this configuration allows the pipe to be disassembled and cleaned. The stummel wears Ashton's iconic Old Church finish, with every fine detail of the briar's grain rendered in a crisp, stimulating texture and dressing it in a warm, earthy hue. This warm hue is strikingly but pleasantly juxtaposed against the pipe's vibrant green stem.