Cano A. Ozgener, a Turkish native with a Master's Degree in mechanical engineering, happened across some imperfect meerschaum pipes in his late twenties. Unsatisfied with the quality, he decided to improve them in his spare time. He changed the stemwork, made modifications to the engineering, and began to build relationships with some of the most prominent Turkish carvers to improve the overall quality of the pieces. Soon B&M tobacconists caught on. They'd never seen such quality in a Turkish-made meerschaum pipe on the U.S. market. It changed everything.

As Cano's brand, CAO Meerschaum, gained popularity, so did the meerschaum pipe. The movement continued to grow, not only as a direct result of Cano's eye for quality and technical expertise, but largely because of the work of one extremely talented Turkish artisan: Ismet Bekler. Maintaining a high production and a strict adherence to quality, Ismet's work quickly became some of the most sought after on the market. Be it an intricately adorned classic shape or an evocative figural piece, Bekler excelled at every aspect of the meerschaum pipe. His attention to differing line weights to create contrast and dimension, his understanding of real textures and how they translate onto the porous mineral, his meticulous execution of detail in the eyes and faces of his figurals... this perfection set the precedent for what we view as quality meerschaum today.

In late 2008/early 2009, however, CAO changed hands, and the company shifted their focus to cigars and pipe tobacco, leaving behind the world of meerschaum pipes. But Cano still kept his close relationships with prominent Turkish carvers and continued to purchase high-quality pieces, including those by Ismet Bekler. But these were for his own personal collection, more or less. And then something very unfortunate and unexpected happened. Sadly, Ismet passed away a few years later. But his adherence to quality and craftsmanship lives on in each of his pieces — pieces which collectors will cherish for years and years to come.

And so it seemed that the CAO/Bekler brand was lost, the remaining pieces being fought over on the estate market by collectors around the globe. Or at least we thought. You see, recently we were asked if we'd be interested in purchasing some "new old-stock" CAO/Bekler pipes from before the marque changed hands. Naturally, our answer was yes. And so, now you all have an opportunity to experience the pieces that changed the world of meerschaum pipes as we know it: a number of CAO/Bekler meerschaums, on the site now, all unsmoked, and all signed by Bekler.

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