Since I started this thread, over a year ago, I have really explored the world's of French and Italian Pipes. I wanted to share some of my experiences and observations.
First, I have determined the classic French Pipes are my go to choice when it comes to a reliable daily smokers. They are priced very competitively, will usually offer spot on engineering, and are right in my wheel house when it comes to dimensions and weights. Some examples of top notch manufactures (in my opinion) from St. Claude include Sébastien Beo and Chacom. I have especially enjoyed the classic Ropp Pipes smokingpipes.com has been offering.
Now, when it comes to Italian Pipes, I find they dominate the high end market, whem compaired to French Pipes. Once outside of the high end market, I find Italian manufacturers to be more willing to use fills and other techniques to hide imperfections. This does not affect the smoking quality, but obviously affects the esthetics.
Now, I do believe Italians are better at highlighting the grain in a block of Briar. Also, I have found quite a few "smaller" pipes made from Italian manufactures such as Castello and Luciano.
In conclusion, I think French Pipes are a better choice for me for a daily smoker, as I stated above. But there is obviously a lot of room in my collection my high end Italians!