Smooth Light Apple (Three Jellyfish) Tobacco Pipe

In creating his brand, Valbruna, Italian artisan Simone Gaudenzi has combined his two passions: pipes and the sea. Before branching out on his own as an independent artisan, Gaudenzi worked under the mentorship of Giancarlo Guidi at the famed Ser Jacopo workshop. There, he developed a keen eye for design and a deep appreciation for the whimsical Pesaro style, which appears prominently in his portfolio to this day. Now the founder of his own brand, he imbues every Valbruna piece with his love of both the pipe-making craft and the sea, with his grading system heavily reflecting aquatic themes, and the brand name itself a reference to the legendary underwater city of the same name.

The size and quality of Valbruna pipes are denoted by Jellyfish; as such, this three-Jellyfish Apple is a commendable piece all around. The plump bowl poses pertly at the fore of an ovoid shank that offers plenty of space to comfortably drape a digit. Tight tendrils of flame grain climb the walls of the bowl and the flanks of the shank, while dense maelstroms of birdseye adorn the rim as well as the top and underside of the shank. These handsome grain patterns are emphasized by a light, smooth finish that also does well to accentuate the stummel's distinctive form.