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== About After Patents Era == | == About After Patents Era == | ||
Among the brand lovers, there are always doubts as to the quality of the pipes and their relationship with the period when it was manufactured. It is often said that Dunhill only manufactured good pipes until mid-1968 and after that, the quality was compromised. In an article called "The Myth of Brand and Maker in Pipesmoking", Dr. Fred Hanna brings to the light of our consideration what might justify this thought. | Among the brand lovers, there are always doubts as to the quality of the pipes and their relationship with the period when it was manufactured. It is often said that Dunhill only manufactured good pipes until mid-1968 and after that, the quality was compromised. The patents Era ended in 1955, but it is said that good pipes continued to be made until mid-1968. In an article called "The Myth of Brand and Maker in Pipesmoking", Dr. Fred Hanna brings to the light of our consideration what might justify this thought. | ||
<blockquote><q>Dunhill is famous for its oil curing techniques and this is believed to be a source of its peculiar and particular taste and flavor characteristics. On the surface this sounds quite neat and tidy. But just a bit of analysis immediately makes such claims quite suspect. Does every Dunhill have that same character? I could find no evidence for this in the tastings that I have done with Dunhills. One vital question concerns when a particular Dunhill pipe was made. Bill Taylor of Ashton pipe fame has remarked that during all the twenty-plus years that he worked for Dunhill, that he never observed any oil applied to a Dunhill bowl. David Field told me on two occasions that he is convinced that oil curing stopped after 1968, and after that Dunhill pipes were quite different. Thus, Dunhills after the mid-1960s do not appear to have been oil cured at all and, on top of that, their bowls seem to have come from different suppliers.</q> Dr. Fred Hanna.</blockquote> | <blockquote><q>Dunhill is famous for its oil curing techniques and this is believed to be a source of its peculiar and particular taste and flavor characteristics. On the surface this sounds quite neat and tidy. But just a bit of analysis immediately makes such claims quite suspect. Does every Dunhill have that same character? I could find no evidence for this in the tastings that I have done with Dunhills. One vital question concerns when a particular Dunhill pipe was made. Bill Taylor of Ashton pipe fame has remarked that during all the twenty-plus years that he worked for Dunhill, that he never observed any oil applied to a Dunhill bowl. David Field told me on two occasions that he is convinced that oil curing stopped after 1968, and after that Dunhill pipes were quite different. Thus, Dunhills after the mid-1960s do not appear to have been oil cured at all and, on top of that, their bowls seem to have come from different suppliers.</q> Dr. Fred Hanna.</blockquote> | ||
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<center>[[File:Aspas-copy.png|40px]]'''In the 1970s therefore the big expansion began, with the addition to our ‘core’ business of smokers’ products many of the things we were in fact retailing: men’s fashion, jewellery (including writing instruments and watches), fragrance and leather. Our whole distribution arrangements now had to be reorganized. The result was the formation of five different product divisions, each independent with its own management, design team and sales force, and the appointment of different agents for each range. The consequence of this well-planned expansion programme has been dramatic: the previous core business of smokers’ products represented 95% of our sales and profits, with the other 5% being gift merchandise. Now the profile is the reverse.'''[[File:Aspas.png|40px]] Richard Dunhill - Forewords of Balfour, Michael. Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More (Weidenfield and Nicolson, London, 1992).</center> | <center>[[File:Aspas-copy.png|40px]]'''In the 1970s therefore the big expansion began, with the addition to our ‘core’ business of smokers’ products many of the things we were in fact retailing: men’s fashion, jewellery (including writing instruments and watches), fragrance and leather. Our whole distribution arrangements now had to be reorganized. The result was the formation of five different product divisions, each independent with its own management, design team and sales force, and the appointment of different agents for each range. The consequence of this well-planned expansion programme has been dramatic: the previous core business of smokers’ products represented 95% of our sales and profits, with the other 5% being gift merchandise. Now the profile is the reverse.'''[[File:Aspas.png|40px]] Richard Dunhill - Forewords of Balfour, Michael. Alfred Dunhill, One Hundred Years and More (Weidenfield and Nicolson, London, 1992).</center> | ||
Mr. Richard Dunhill also mentions this change in an interview on Jack Webster's show, in 1984 [https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Video_Interview_with_Richard_Dunhill]. | Mr. Richard Dunhill also mentions this change in an interview on Jack Webster's show, in 1984 [https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Video_Interview_with_Richard_Dunhill]. | ||
At the beginning of the 60th decade, the Algerian Briar became scarce, as R. D. Fields said in [[The Art of Sandblasting]], "During the 1960s and ’70s Dunhill could not acquire the Algerian briar." Consequently, the company’s sandblast pipes were much shallower and less distinct. Perhaps, this factor also contributed to the construction of this concept of loss of quality. But as Dr. Hanna argues in his article, "briar from certain regions has different physical qualities, but this does not seem to be related to taste and smoking potential." Loring also mentions this briar change in his book: | |||
<blockquote><q>Since the early 1960's Algerian briar has been largely unavailable to Dunhill and much harder briar (primarly Grecian) has had to be used for the finish. As a consequence since the mid-1960s the Shell finish is generally found with a significantly shallower blast.</q> Loring, J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998).</blockquote> | |||
== About Dunhill Today == <!--T:48--> | == About Dunhill Today == <!--T:48--> | ||