Alright Castello Freaks,
Now that I am on a PAD hiatus, my attention has turned to getting to work on a few estates I picked up along the way intending to restore them. Here is one I scooped up for quite cheap recently, that I am going to get to work on shortly. The nomenclature simply reads "Castello" then under that "Sea Rock Briar" followed by the very faint beginnings of "Made...." that then runs under the silver band.
Given the price, and in looking at the seller's pictures, I assumed the silver band was likely a repair band, since the stamping on the shank runs right underneath it, but I don't see any cracks or damage visible with the tenon and stem removed. In addition to the stamping shown, there is what looks like an "87" stamped on the bottom of the bowl. I dont see any other markings visible.
Does anyone out there with deep knowledge of the brand have any best guess as to when this pipe may have been produced? It sure looks different than the recent shape 87 Castellos. Also, can anyone confirm this is a repair band? (It's gotta be, right?) I am also wondering if this looks like an original stem? It is obviously oxidized as hell, but I have never seen a Castello with a stem like this, and unless there is something under all that oxidation, there is no bar, rhine, or any other symbol visible on the stem anywhere. The band simply has "Sterling" stamped on it.
The seller did say it was a "rare!" pipe, but a certain $9 Canadian whiskey you can buy at the gas station makes that claim as well, hahaha. And as you know, the only words you can trust on ebay are the ones stamped on the pipe (and sometimes not even those!) so I pretty much disregarded that when making the purchase and figured it would be a good junker estate project to practice on.
Any help is much appreciated! Thanks all! Frank
Now that I am on a PAD hiatus, my attention has turned to getting to work on a few estates I picked up along the way intending to restore them. Here is one I scooped up for quite cheap recently, that I am going to get to work on shortly. The nomenclature simply reads "Castello" then under that "Sea Rock Briar" followed by the very faint beginnings of "Made...." that then runs under the silver band.
Given the price, and in looking at the seller's pictures, I assumed the silver band was likely a repair band, since the stamping on the shank runs right underneath it, but I don't see any cracks or damage visible with the tenon and stem removed. In addition to the stamping shown, there is what looks like an "87" stamped on the bottom of the bowl. I dont see any other markings visible.
Does anyone out there with deep knowledge of the brand have any best guess as to when this pipe may have been produced? It sure looks different than the recent shape 87 Castellos. Also, can anyone confirm this is a repair band? (It's gotta be, right?) I am also wondering if this looks like an original stem? It is obviously oxidized as hell, but I have never seen a Castello with a stem like this, and unless there is something under all that oxidation, there is no bar, rhine, or any other symbol visible on the stem anywhere. The band simply has "Sterling" stamped on it.
The seller did say it was a "rare!" pipe, but a certain $9 Canadian whiskey you can buy at the gas station makes that claim as well, hahaha. And as you know, the only words you can trust on ebay are the ones stamped on the pipe (and sometimes not even those!) so I pretty much disregarded that when making the purchase and figured it would be a good junker estate project to practice on.
Any help is much appreciated! Thanks all! Frank
:
