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If you read about Syke's recent visit to the Savinelli factory, you know about some of the old, discontinued Punto Oro sandblasts he managed to acquire. What Sykes didn't want to talk about at the time was another lot of Punto Oros he picked up during the same trip, unseen by us before now — even as estates, and discontinued for at least a decade. Yep, Punto Oro Churchwardens.
Roughly translated to 'Gold Point/Dot" in English, one can always discern if a pipe is a Punto Oro by the single gold dot in the top center of the acrylic stem. For many years pipes from the Punto Oro line were sold with two stems - one acrylic and one vulcanite - but, trying to reduce the price to consumers of the already premium line, Savinelli decided to consolidate to one, gold pointed acrylic stem.
As with all of Savinelli's premium lines, only the finest select briar is used. Second only to lines such as the Autograph and Giubleo d'Oro, the hallmark of the line are the high-gloss finishes such as the Natural and Bordeaux, each polished to showcase resplendent and immaculate grain.
Last made a decade ago, and then only in small batches (I highly reccomend Sykes' blog on the Chapuis-Comoy factory for more information on how factories produce shapes in batches), Sykes' discovery of these Punto Oro Churchwardens is quite a coup, as not only are they charmingly elegant pieces in their own right, but they also happen to be as rare as hen's teeth.
As tempting as it may have been for Sykes to snatch up the remaining stock and make out like a bandit selling them as rare, new old stock, that's not how Sykes works. At heart, Sykes is a pipe guy, and simply making a profit from a discovery like this isn't how he operates. With that in mind, he spoke to Sonia Rivolta and Luca Fontana, CEO and export manager, respectively, and we can now offer the Punto Oro Churchwarden as a fixed line product, that is to say, it's back in production and available now on our site.
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Hello .My father passed away 2wks ago.. we started to clean out the house and came across 2 pipes...From what I gather,they are Savinelli...Was wondering if possible I can send you pictures. Hopefully get some info on them..One has a Gold dot the other has Gold Clove5Thanks hope to hear from you [email protected] [email protected] ll814 312 6403 cell