What is the most expensive meerschaum pipe?

What is the most expensive meerschaum pipe?

Prices for antique pipes can range from $50 to $100,000. The most expensive, according to Burla, are pipes of carved meerschaum, a rare substance derived from the fossilized remains of sea urchins, the best of which comes from Turkey.

How can you tell a real meerschaum pipe?

Examine the color of the pipe. Real meerschaum pipes absorb tobacco tar and oil, which is wicked to the surface by a beeswax coating. Over time a meerschaum pipe’s color turns from creamy white to a rich golden brown or cherry. Check for any “burn out” places on the bowl of the pipe.

Are old pipes valuable?

A clean, well-made pipe in good condition nearly always has value, though markets can vary wildly by area. We’ve seen them sell for only $15, while others can go for upwards of $100. Still others, like a rare and pristine Dunhill can sell for thousands.

Are meerschaum pipes marked?

Some meerschaum pipe artisans were known to sign their creations with their marks or signatures carved into the pipe itself, but not all of them did.

Are meerschaum pipes valuable?

Finding the Value. As with many antiques, a meerschaum pipe is worth what someone will pay for it. They can be found on Internet auction sites from $50 to $1,500. It is easier to date pieces that are signed and hallmarked; these tend to be worth more.

Can a meerschaum pipe be repaired?

AND Meerschaum Pipes does not offer repairs. Meerschaum pipes, in most cases are impossible to repair. In some other cases it requires very customized work, such as replacing only certain removable parts of a pipe. All AND Meerschaum Pipes has life time warranty against any production errors.

Are meerschaum pipes fragile?

1. Your Meerschaum pipe is quite fragile and requires more careful handling than other pipes. Some smokers prefer to handle a Meerschaum only by the stem. Of course, you should always take care not to drop your Meerschaum on a hard surface.

What is the most expensive tobacco pipe?

Russian company Bon-Cadeau has created the mother of all smoking pipes that doubles as an ultra-luxurious hand-crafted jewellery piece. Priced at $85,000, it is said to be the world’s most expensive smoking pipe and a cursory glance at its components quickly reveals why.

Does meerschaum feel like plastic?

It also lends itself to carving because of its ability to be softened, simply, in water alone. The actual material density of meerschaum feels something like a soapy light plastic, but is in fact the result of the fossilization of tiny sea creatures shells its hardness is ranked 2 on the mohs scale of mineral hardness.

Is meerschaum better than Briar?

Pound for pound, meerschaum is more lightweight than briar, so for those who prefer larger tobacco chambers, a meerschaum pipe will tend to be lighter and more comfortably clenched than one of briar of the same dimensions. For these reasons, meerschaum pipes can be smoked more rigorously than briar.

What is the smoothest pipe tobacco?

But if you want the smoothest flavor, go with Silver! It features a medium-bodies taste that is made to perfection. As one of the oldest pipe tobacco brands on the market, Gambler aims to provide fans tobacco blends that satisfy and enhance one’s smoking experience.

Is meerschaum fragile?

Where was the meerschaum pipe made in South Africa?

Meerschaum pipe made in South Africa. Q I hope you can assist me with the following: I have a Meerschaum pipe that belonged to my late Father that I wish to sell. It was bought in a pipe specialist shop in Carlton Centre Johannesburg, South Africa in 1974. The meerschaum pipe case is not in a very good condition.

How can you tell the quality of a meerschaum pipe?

The quality of meerschaum can be distinguished by testing its porosity. Rub a wet finger across the meerschaum, high quality meerschaum will absorb the moisture; low quality meerschaum will not.

Why are meerschaum tobacco pipes so collectible?

You can also find valuable collectible pipes in a lot of estate meerschaum pipes, which have already been used, but hold value because of their durability, rarity, age, or country of origin. Meerschaum pipes are lauded due to their light weight and porous structure, which does not flavor the tobacco the way wood pipes do.

What’s the difference between a pressed and block meerschaum pipe?

There is another method to distinguish block from pressed but only on older, well-used pipes. As the block meerschaum ages with use the white color changes to a mixture of warm browns, yellows, orange, reddish or amber at which time a grain can be appreciated; the pressed meerschaum will not display a grain.

When did they start making pipes out of meerschaum?

A porous mineral, meerschaum is soft enough to be carved but hard enough to be polished, revealing the incredible skill of the artisans who began making pipes out of the material in the 18th century.

Which is better a meerschaum pipe or a block?

Rub a wet finger across the meerschaum, high quality meerschaum will absorb the moisture; low quality meerschaum will not. Block meerschaum (pipes made from a single block of meerschaum) is lighter weight than pressed meerschaum; you should also examine the quality of the carving.

What kind of tobacco is in a meerschaum pipe?

Comes WITH CASE, Meerschaum Pipe Unused meerschaum smoking pipe, orange stem with case. Until you started collecting tobacciana, you always thought meerschaum pipes were an old brand name, carved by men who wore lederhosen and drank beer in the deep valleys of Bavaria.

Can a meerschaum pipe be exported from Turkey?

Today meerschaum is not allowed to be exported from Turkey in its raw, block form, which has spurred new generations of carvers there. In many cases, the characters and subjects of contemporary carved meerschaum are positioned between the bowl, which is often left unadorned, and the end of the pipe’s stem.