Smooth Brown Bent Apple (Two Jellyfish) Tobacco Pipe

Ser Jacopo alum Simone Gaudenzi is well-trained in the Pesaro school of pipe making, which emphasizes clean lines and panache in design. Today, Gaudenzi crafts Valbruna pipes in the small town of Gabicce Mare on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, which plays an important role in the company's nomenclature: per Adriatic legend, Valbruna is a lost, sunken city like Atlantis. Gaudenzi ages the briar for his pipes, which are produced in limited quantities. True to his maritime roots, he uses jellyfish to identify levels of quality.

Gaudenzi gave this bent Apple a Two Jellyfish grade, a testament to its striking grain and fascinating design. The bowl is almost Egg-like given its generous rounding and light forward cant, and the straight grain of the bowl fans out in near-perfect formation with the brief, upturned shank out back. The stummel is finished smoothly with a dark walnut stain that contrasts well with the jet-black acrylic of the stem, which is quite lengthy in its stretch back to the bit and plays off the sinuous curves of the stummel quite well. It's a work of great fluidity — appropriate given Gaudenzi's appreciation of all things maritime — and a worthwhile addition to any collection of fine Italian craftsmanship.