Dunhill: Ruby Bark (4112) (2023) Tobacco Pipe

An uncommon pipe, we have only seen a handful of examples from Dunhill with this shape and finish, which is to say a "12" Stack dressed in the Ruby Bark finish. Dunhill's Group 4 is possibly the smallest of the marque's regularly produced sizes, and makes for a lithe, graceful profile with a light weight, all while sitting nicely in the hand, and this piece is no exception, its slim tapered stem leading to a pencil-thin shank. The bowl is proportionately lean, tall, and poised, lending the pipe an air of charming nobility, magnified by the silver banded accent at the shank end.

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, crisp aesthetic accents of sterling silver for a colorful presentation that still retains a high level of formality.