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A Conversation Piece: "The Most Expensive Pipe": Difference between revisions
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A Conversation Piece: "The Most Expensive Pipe" (view source)
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[[File:NationalTreasure-Prop-Resin.jpg|thumb|400px|left|National Treasure prop pipe, made of resin to look like distressed Meerschaum]]Then there’s the pipe that commands a high price at auction, because it’s a prop in popular movies and smoked by someone from central casting, such as Sherlock Holmes and his calabash, Gandalf and his churchwarden, and Bing Crosby and his trademark briar. The most recent example is from the 2004 movie “National Treasure.” If you saw it, you’d remember the pipe that was discovered in the frozen wreckage of the Charlotte, a ship that was supposedly lost in the Arctic. Made of resin—its dimensions were 10½” x 1½” x 3”—and made to look like distressed meerschaum, it was used as a key to unlock the ship’s treasure room. It was Lot 252 in London’s Entertainment Memorabilia auction in November 2021. Its estimate was £4,000–£6,000; its realized price: £55,000 plus buyer’s premium, £68,750, or about $90,000. This one-of-a-kind pipe—It’s certainly not for smoking—but the owner has legitimate bragging rights, because it was a centerpiece in a movie that was seen worldwide. | |||
[[File:Duhill-EiffelTower.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Dunhill Eiffel Tower Pipe, courtesy alpascia.com]]Dunhill has been known for producing some rarities, such as the unusual Namiki “Two Carps” pipe, only 25 of which were produced in 2016. You can still buy one for about 20,000 Euros ($23,000). Far more fascinating is Dunhill’s extraordinary, one-of-a-kind Eiffel Tower pipe, designed by product director, Kalmon Hener, manufactured in 2015. The bowl is carved from a single block of flawless briar, the tower hand-cut from sheets of 18kt gold and embellished with 492 diamonds, 140 sapphires, 20 rubies, and a cornflower-blue 3.75-carat Sri Lankan sapphire. A cabinet decorated with an inlaid image of workers building the Eiffel Tower contains the pipe and five rare books about the Paris landmark, including volumes commissioned by Gustave Eiffel in 1900. Read more about this creature at “Extremely Limited Edition Pipes: One of One. The White Spot Eiffel Tower Pipe” (alpascia.com), and Richard Hacker, “Design Portfolio: This Is Not a Pipe,” (robbreport.com). The price is only $3.5 million. Any takers? | [[File:Duhill-EiffelTower.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Dunhill Eiffel Tower Pipe, courtesy alpascia.com]]Dunhill has been known for producing some rarities, such as the unusual Namiki “Two Carps” pipe, only 25 of which were produced in 2016. You can still buy one for about 20,000 Euros ($23,000). Far more fascinating is Dunhill’s extraordinary, one-of-a-kind Eiffel Tower pipe, designed by product director, Kalmon Hener, manufactured in 2015. The bowl is carved from a single block of flawless briar, the tower hand-cut from sheets of 18kt gold and embellished with 492 diamonds, 140 sapphires, 20 rubies, and a cornflower-blue 3.75-carat Sri Lankan sapphire. A cabinet decorated with an inlaid image of workers building the Eiffel Tower contains the pipe and five rare books about the Paris landmark, including volumes commissioned by Gustave Eiffel in 1900. Read more about this creature at “Extremely Limited Edition Pipes: One of One. The White Spot Eiffel Tower Pipe” (alpascia.com), and Richard Hacker, “Design Portfolio: This Is Not a Pipe,” (robbreport.com). The price is only $3.5 million. Any takers? | ||