Castello: 'Castello' Apple (KK) Tobacco Pipe

When Carlo Scotti founded Castello in 1947, he set out to redefine the image of Italian pipes in the minds of pipe buyers at the time. By marketing the handmade aspect of his pipes — in contrast to the plethora of factory-made pipes flooding the market — he elevated the status of his company, while also helping to set the bowl-centric and whimsical shaping ideals now common in Italian neoclassic pipe making. In this pipe, Castello offers a touch of neoclassic Italian playfulness to an otherwise traditional Apple. The tapered stem — full of elaborate, monochromatic swirls — pairs to an acrylic mount of the same colors. Being a push-style mouthpiece makes the base of this stem significantly narrower than it would be had the stem's face matched the circumference of the shank's. The mount at the shank end being of the same color and material as the stem evokes the appearance of a saddle stem at first, making the shank appear shorter than it actually is — thus emphasizing the bowl's height without modifying the classic Apple proportions. The bowl's heel is wide, allowing the pipe to rest upright without assistance. Stained a dark walnut hue, Castello's eponymous smooth finish dresses the stummel, highlighting attractive grain throughout.