Il Cerchio: Smooth Apple with Ivorite Tobacco Pipe

Il Cerchio pipes are handmade by Angelo del Prete in Pordenone, Italy. Translating to "The Circle" from Italian, the name Il Cerchio references the concepts of balance and consistency that del Prete prioritizes in each of his designs — elevated by his premium craftsmanship and creative aesthetic eye. With a degree in furniture design and decoration and the owner of a tobacco shop, del Prete boasts a longstanding passion for both woodworking and pipes and tobacco, a passion he now leverages as one of Italy's most established artisan carvers. Having received early training from fellow carvers Maximiliano Rimensi of Il Duca and Davide Iafisco, del Prete crafts innovative and reliable pipes, offering distinctive aesthetics alongside meticulous engineering.

Exceptionally versatile in his carving style, del Prete is as comfortable crafting precise renditions of shape-chart standards as he is artfully fashioning creative Freehands. This Apple exemplifies his faculty with traditional designs, embodying harmonious proportions, elegant lines, and sublime finishing. In this piece, the Italian artisan has merged the Apple and Lovat designs to feature a plump Apple bowl on the end of an elongated, cylindrical shank and abbreviate saddle stem. Such an aesthetic choice lends the otherwise muscular and rotund Apple a more refined and streamlined nature in profile, while also keeping the overall design quite lightweight and practical. A trim band of Ivorite furthers the shape's sleek appeal, and the stummel wears a smooth finish and chestnut stain to highlight gorgeous birdseye and cross grain.