Prince

This one was a challenging one because it fell right in the last weeks before we redesigned our grading & pricing system, and I was spurred to do that by this pipe. It was a special order for something that didn't really exist in the grading scale of the time - a prince-shape morta of medium size with a handcut stem. It still doesn't really place in the grading scale well - too big for a Classic (plus it has a considerably nicer handcut cumberland stem) and too small for the 450+ euro Signature pipes. IMO, though, it probably had the finest morta sandblast of the entire year's production - very detailed ring patterns with depth and character despite their being very tight together. In the collection of Rick Newcombe.