Dunhill: Ruby Bark (6202) (2022) Tobacco Pipe

Dunhill's largest standard size designation, Group 6, presents a bowl and chamber of house pipe dimensions, here represented in the English marque's iconic "02" bent Billiard. Such a Group size thrusts the majority of the visual weight forward toward the bowl — the shank and stem gracefully arcing in an elegant flow that contrasts the bowl's firmness but completes a gestural undercurve in concert with the sweeping heel. A substantial briar in hand, this piece epitomizes Dunhill's classic shaping style but in decidedly bold proportions. Paired to a sleek saddle stem, courtesy of the "2" in the second position of the shape code, this pipe is finished in the crisp sandblast, silver accent band, and iconic stain of the Ruby Bark series.

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.