Claudio Cavicchi: Bologna 2020 Two Pipe Set with Claudio Albieri Leather Presentation Box (03/05) Tobacco Pipe

This is the third year that Claudio Cavicchi and Claudio Albieri have combined their skills for breathtaking sets of superior pipes. Albieri's reputation for quality leather work is unsurpassed, and the presentation boxes he has crafted elevate the sets to stratospheric heights. The comforting chocolate brown and muted red of the supple Italian leather wonderfully complement the two classic shapes that Cavicchi here offers.

Like the other four sets in the Bologna 2020 series, this set maintains a theme with two pipes of related shapes, in this case a smooth Lumberman and a sandblasted Canadian. Those who enjoy straight, classic shapes will find it an irresistible combination. The Canadian is in a dark palette, its sandblasted surface beautifully textured with consistent growth rings stacked up the flanks while the vertical grain peeks through the cragginess in tight tendrils rising to the smooth-polished rim. A smooth ring of briar echoes the rim at the end of the shank before the introduction of the short, tapered mouthpiece, which is jet-black for a unified color scheme of traditional appeal.

The Lumberman offers a light, honey-blonde stain and its grain is simply stunning. As a counterpoint to the Canadian, it presents the same oval shank and bowl shape, and both pipes are quite long and generously proportioned for comfortable smoking, while they differ dramatically in hue and texture. Classic shapes never wane in popularity, and both of these pipes are destined for long careers as the focal point of some lucky collection.