1500 dollar Savinelli 320

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Oct 7, 2016
2,451
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Amazing thread. No one has seen the pipe in hand, yet most everybody seems to think it is a POS. Nobody knows who the buyer is, but it seems to be assumed that it would be an ignoramus. Savinelli as a company has , by the gist of this thread, lost all of its integrity by chasing the high end (reading between the lines, Chinese) market.
I have bought pipes very close to that price range, back when I could afford it. I am thinking of two in particular that I bought new, smoked and enjoyed. When circumstances changed, I sold them at a very good price, but still a loss. I know where they are now,and the current owner is really,really pleased to have them. He is in his 70's, an extremely successful and shrewd businessman, has been to Italy many times (he speaks the language) and I have seen pictures of him with Franco Coppo, Luigi Radice and Giancarlo Guidi, among other Italian pipe makers, in their workshops and also several shop owners I see that he is Facebook friends with some of the younger Italian carvers. I imagine he has supported their work. I doubt he bought that GDO, but if he did, he would get great pleasure from it, as he has the other pipes in his collection, not all of which are high end by any stretch of the imagination.
But I guess he would be a fool to most of you, and the pipe should only bring him misery and bad luck. Amazing thread.

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
739
I don't believe anyone was bashing Savinelli, or calling the buyer of the pipe a fool, Oldgeezer. I'm sorry if this post offended you in some way. But then people seem to get offended so easily these days and people are too quick to apologize for offending the offended.

 

georged

Lifer
Mar 7, 2013
6,104
16,745
No one has seen the pipe in hand, yet most everybody seems to think it is a POS.
Stop putting words in people's mouths.
It was poorly shaped. Very. The old joke about. "There's still a nice pipe inside that one" is exactly the case. Material removal ended before the many kinks in the lines were removed. That is absolutely, positively a beginner's mistake (or choice).
The briar itself was free of fills or surface flaws, but was otherwise bland in appearance, not striking or dramatic.
Those things don't require having a pipe in hand to see.
In short, it was not comparable with other pipes in the $1500 bracket.
Nobody knows who the buyer is, but it seems to be assumed that it would be an ignoramus.
And again with the word-putting. No insults were delivered by anyone at any time. Any collector is free to spend his money however he likes, just as those who see photos are free to comment on them. What prompted me to do that in the first place is the shape was the subject of the 2016 KC Carving Contest, and that specimen would have not survived into the second round of judging. That seemed remarkable to me for a $1500 pipe. Whatever conclusions someone might make about its eventual purchaser is not in my (or anyone else's) control.
Savinelli as a company has , by the gist of this thread, lost all of its integrity by chasing the high end (reading between the lines, Chinese) market.
ALL integrity? There you go again. I think, "Might want to think about how some of their marketing and pricing is perceived in the US" is closer to reality.
But I guess he would be a fool to most of you, and the pipe should only bring him misery and bad luck.
And finally, you accuse board members of wishing ill upon some anonymous person because they commented unfavorably about a pipe he bought? Really? That's not just a stretch, it's absurd.

 
Jan 4, 2015
1,858
11
Massachusetts
The only person the buyer has to satisfy is himself, the fact that others disagree not withstanding. Nothing here was abusive, just statements of individual perspective. Indignation is unjustified. Knowledgeable people are well within reasonable conduct when they comment on the value of some item as verses it cost. The usual conduct here is candid assessment, not "feel good", and I for one, support that. The ability to count on honest assessment is invaluable to our ability to assess our own perspectives in the light of those of others. When reinforced, it adds weight, when questioned it should cause re-evaluation. I don't need to feel good, I seek the opinion of people that can be trusted and find that to true here.

 

owen

Part of the Furniture Now
May 28, 2014
560
3
A great thread touching on many of the areas of interest around cost, exclusivity, habits and taste of collectors. One thing is sure this Savinelli is be talked about and argued about as if it were a Dunhill.

 

lohengrin

Lifer
Jun 16, 2015
1,198
3
owen: the meaning of your words is that Dunhill pipes are superior to Savinelli?
georged: - In short, it was not comparable with other pipes in the $ 1500 bracket -

On another thread the subject is a Tom Eltang Snail grade cross grain horn pipe whose auction current bid on eBay is $ 1481. It perfectly matches with your statement!
It's rather boring that, everytime the debating subject is price, somebody feels the need, or is forced by somebody's else comments, to remind that each person is free to spend his money the way he prefers. And we should not need to repeat that apparently unworth things can be evaluated lot of money.

This doesn't mean that, in a forum where there are people rather experienced on the subject, we cannot make statements and comparisons in a rather objective way. Above all about a shape that does not have artistic claims twisting all judgement about price.

 

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
28
NY
Interestingly enough last nights rant on the radio show seems to fit this conversation perfectly.
Nobody is bashing anyone we just don't see the reasoning for the price but someone did. Which makes for some good conversation.
Personally I am a big fan of the author shape and I think that golf model Sav in my opinion is a considerably nicer appearing pipe.
It's certainly possible a pipe like that is targeted for a specific collector. I am curious what qualifies it as a 3 star.

 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,213
Ample talk about conspicuous consumption, Savinelli's marketing, the lack of adherence to some idealistic shape standard, etc. to more than justify the characterization of the thread that I arrived at after reading all of the posts. The condesencion is overwhelming, and this is not the first thread where I have seen that. The jeweled Dunhill that a member here is trying to sell for a third party comes to mind.

 

skraps

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 9, 2015
790
6
It's a pipe... it's got two holes and you can smoke tobacco out of it.
Some will like it, some will not. Some will see the value in the price, some will not.
Beyond that, it's not gonna impact my day more than the 30 seconds it took me to write this post.

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
19,051
13,211
Covington, Louisiana
postimg.cc
What I learned:
Italian shapes do not look like traditional shapes and they probably never will. If they stop selling, I guess they'll change the shape. Since this one sold in a heartbeat, that doesn't help. You either like them or you don't.
What I knew:
Forums will always disparage anything well beyond the acceptable price range for that group. Throw your new Ferrari in my MGB forum and most will say that my "Fill in the blank" performs just as well, for a lot less money". Such is forum life. I guess someone showing off their new Bugatti sets off the Ferrari guys, there is always a bigger fish in every ocean.

 
I, for one, enjoyed this thread. I usually find Georged gets frisky and fun when questioned, and usually I find that we are on the same side in one way or another. It's educational. We have to be flexible in our thinking, be willing to bend when needed to get the most from a discussion like this. Without debate, we are all stuck in the ruts of our own ideas.
And, I think that the pipe selling while the thread was active cracks me up beyond belief, ha ha. It's like standing with a group of guys talking about how stupid some guy is dressed, with purple hair and wearing only one shoe, when along comes a few knock-out blondes who throws their arms around him, shower him with kisses, and guide him into their Lamborghini, ha ha. And, we all look at each other and say, "ain't that something?" Ha ha. :puffy:

 

lohengrin

Lifer
Jun 16, 2015
1,198
3
ssjones: - there is always a bigger fish in every ocean -
6u1mxtD.jpg


 

crashthegrey

Lifer
Dec 18, 2015
3,884
3,960
41
Cobleskill, NY
www.greywoodie.com
Completely captured the idea in a single cartoon. Perfect. I, for one, did not bash the pipe or who would buy it. I think it is lovely that people will spend that much on a pipe, it guarantees that the less expensive ones will still have a market. I just didn't see nearly $1,500 worth of pipe in those photos.

 
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