Dunhill: Ruby Bark (3103) (2021) Tobacco Pipe

This classic Billiard from Dunhill is another great example of the timeless style that's made Dunhill a by-word for excellence for generations. This piece, thoroughly English in character, presents balanced proportions, with a round shank, sloping heel and slightly canted bowl. This is an archetypal Billiard, a Platonic form. Adorned with a silver accent band at the point of transition to a tapered vulcanite stem, this pipe is richly appointed without ostentation. Dressed in Dunhill's much-loved Ruby Bark sandblast, the stummel boasts excellent grain patterns that swirl around the bowl.

Dunhill's Ruby Bark finish is one that's gone through a fairly extensive evolution since its inception in 1972. It began as the Redbark and has always remained a red-stained sandblast, but the color was brightened a few years after its introduction before Dunhill returned to the original, darker hue in 1976. Eventually, though, the Redbark was discontinued in 1987. After a hiatus of several decades, the same ruby-stained sandblast was reimagined in the form of today's Ruby Bark finish, adding to the rich aesthetic crisp accents of sterling silver for a colorful presentation that still retains a high level of formality.