pipestem’s place

Dating

The Early Years. No size or grade stampings. The early Castello pieces were small, mostly carved or sand blasted finishes and stamped with ‘Mi Reserva’ or ‘my Reserve’. The ‘reserve’ nomenclature was only used for the first couple of y ears of production (1947-1949 or ’50). Later, there was an addition of a ‘Reg’ number. The registration number is not for shapes or styles. This number purely and simply refers to the company trademark (registered Castello).

Late 50’s to Mid 60’s. After the registration number was added, an additional marking was included. This consisted of a two-letter stamp SA, SB, SC or SS. This denoted varying size of the pipes.

Late 60’s to Early 70s. Large K. In 1969, Franco Coppo came to Castello. Soon thereafter, the factory began stamping pipes with large ‘K’s. These ‘K’s represented size in rough finishes and grade in smooth finishes. This grading methodology continues today with some minor variation. Another important aspect of this era came in manufacturing technique. During the late 60’s, Castello changed from machine turned, hand finished pipes to completely hand finished pipes.

Mid 80’s. Small k in an oval. In 1984-85, when Franco took over the running of the Castello operation, there was a small change made to the appearance of the nomenclature. Under the reign of Scotti, pipes were graded with one or more ‘K’s, these were about the size of this text, ‘open’ and stamped in a line. The new stamping continues to use the ‘k’s, but they are now very small and enclosed in a circle or an oval.

Today. Small k in an oval with castle marking on some lines. In 1987, the 40^th anniversary of Castello, a new stamp was introduced on some lines of Castello pipes. This consists of a castle stamping with a number inside the castle. The number signifies a year 40= 1987, 41=1988, 42=1989, and so forth. Lastly, in 2007 (the 60^th anniversary), Franco has added “kino” in an oval to place his name on the pipes for the first time. Note. One person (Franco Coppo) grades all Castello pipes. He has viewed and graded the total factory’s production for many years. It is said that the ‘k’ stands for Kino, which is Franco’s nickname.

Finishes

Sea Rock. [Carved black or dark brown]: This is the lowest grade of the Castello line. As a rule, a Sea Rock Castello is stained black with red high lights, although recently there have been some red ‘trademark’ carved and those stained deep brown as with the Old Sea Rock finish.

Old Sea Rock. [Carved brown, sometimes with a darker stained ‘fumed top’]: This line is graded, styled and stamped exactly the same as the standard black Sea Rock, except that all Old Sea Rocks are stained brown. The Old Sea Rock stain color will vary from medium tan to dark brown.

Natural Vergin. (Sea Rock) [Carved unstained, ‘Natural color’]: The Natural Vergin is basically ‘just’ an unstained carved Sea Rock, and is the more difficult carved Castello pipe to acquire.

Old Antiquari. [Sandblasted light tan to medium rust colored brown to black]: Only 10% of the total Castello pipe production is produced in the Old Antiquari series. These can be either crosscut or straight grained pieces and are typically shallow to medium in sandblasting depth. These have, as a rule, been stained a medium brown or rust color, although over the last several years, we are seen more light tan and deeper blasted pieces.

Trademark. [The lowest base grade of all smooth, usually stained deep red in color]: The Trademark series is used for all the standard numbered shapes of Castello and once in a while an extra large or freestyle Greatline piece. Basic Castello shape numbers are usually included on Trademark pipes, as the only smooth grade that includes shape numbers.

Castello. [All smooth light or two toned midline series pipes]: This series is usually the pieces that grade just below a Collection grade and while there is some overlapping, a 2k ‘Castello’ is graded higher than a 4k ‘Trademark’. The grain on ‘Castellos’ is usually good to very good, but seldom excellent as outstanding grain is reserved for the Collection grade. This series can vary in color from a very light natural color to a fairly dark two tone stain. The ‘Castello’ series offers good grain quality, a relatively moderate price range and a good smoking value for its cost.

Collection. [The highest grade all smooth ‘standard’ series]: The Collection series is graded on grain with a 4k piece being the highest graded ‘standard’ Castello available. The collection series is usually used on straight grained briar with a few 2k and 3k pieces available with cross cut/birds eye graining.

Special Finishes or Nomenclature

Perla Nera. An all-smooth, waxed, deep black stained finish that is very, very rare. The finish is similar to Dunhill’s Dress finish and does not show grain.

Epoca. The Castello Epoca series is a hand-sculptured finish that comes in three basic styles. #1: The ‘dripped wax’ model. The wood on these looks like dripping wax with ‘tear drops’ going down the sides of the bowl. #2: The ‘Rock’ style is a hand carved finish that looks like a broken piece of rock. #3: The ‘shingle’ style is not common. It resembles cedar shingles similar to roofing shingles. Very few of these are made.

Flame. The first use of this mark Castello “Flame” was during 2000. These pipes are hand carved with knives and all have flames on the bowl and sometimes up the shank as well. In an interview, Mr. Coppo stated that the Flame was an evolution of the classic Epoca finish.

Sculptured. In 1989, Castello introduced a new variation in style called the Sculptured series. This finish is actually a carved pattern on the surface of smooth finished pipes. This style of carving consists of a spiral or paneled surface that is smooth and shows the grain (unlike an Epoca that is not smooth and generally hides the grain). The production of sculptured pipes is very limited.

Occhio di Pernice. This is a Collection quality piece in a cross cut or birds eye cut.

Greatline. Reserved for special Castello pipes, usually freestyle pieces, but once in a while hand worked standard shapes. The Greatline stamp was once used for only all smooth Collection and above models, but currently is used on all finishes, including Sea Rocks.

Fiammata. Reserved for the highest graded straight grains. Fiammatas can be standard shaped pieces, although it is common in freestyle models as well. Fiammatas come in two ‘basic’ models: Collection-Fiammata (almost always standard shapes), and Collection-Greatline-Fiammata (usually freestyle pieces. A Col Collection-Greatline-Fiammata is the highest graded Castello series, the most expensive series and by far the rarest. Fiammatas are only available in all smooth models and are usually light colored although some are two tone stained.

Stem Logos

Castello uses several logos. First is the white bar logo, originally used in the European market but is currently the standard marking for all Castello pipes. This logo was originally ivory but has been replaced with a plastic. There is no standard size of the white bar. Second is the ‘faux diamond’ logo originally for the USA market but is only occasionally used now. Last is the black dot logo which is used exclusively on white stemmed pipes.

 

Special Series

Aristocratica.  From 1968 to 1979 Carlo Scotti, the founder of Castello pipes, used to give only to his best friends a pipe, blackened on the rim that he called “Aristocratica”.  For almost every pipe given a dedication was left on a special book, and each one was signed both by Scotti and the pipe’s owner. During that period only about 100 Aristocratica pipes were made.  Castello is renewing this tradition in 2008.

Vintage Series.  This is a special assortment of pipes set aside from 1970-2000 in a very limited number of about 20 pieces a year.  These were released in approximately 2002.

 

Credits: Thanks to Bob Hamlin and Mike McCain for their assistance in creating this informal guide to Castello pipes.