A beaten gold band
November 2025
The most successful products from established pipe factories are given extra cachet with a luxurious mounting. This is the case with this tobacco pipe made by Savinelli in Milan. With its wide bowl shape, round bottom and slightly curved stem with wide mouthpiece, it is a typical seventies design that fits seamlessly with the prevailing fashion of the time. The sandblasted finish with dark stained tint together with the black glossy stem, requires a clear caesura to accentuate the materials. This was found in a gold band that was very subtly provided with a fantasy wood grain relief. The gold brings contrast, and that is precisely what made the object chic. This exclusive pipe belonged to a dedicated Rotterdam smoker who did not shy away from purchasing quality at a correspondingly high price. In September 1980, almost 400 guilders were lovingly paid for this pipe, a considerable sum for that time. The consolation is that the gold did not need to be polished, unlike its brass counterparts under a hundred guilders. Above and beyond that, the briar used in this pipe was older and therefore more porous. This guaranteed the pipe a milder taste of the smoke, which was also what our motivated pipe smoker hoped for.
Amsterdam Pipe Museum APM 30.452
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