Classic Fake Dunhills

[sablebrush52]

One of these fakes turned up on eBay a year or so ago and there was a thread on it. These aren't the Dunhill, Dunhill fakes. They wouldn't have stamped "shell" on a smooth. These are just run of the mill fake Dunhills. Send them back unless you decide to keep them for amusement. Their monetary value is pretty much nill.

 

[deathmetal]

I find it interesting how sometimes fakes can be of good quality:
http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/253519-my-first-vintage-fake-montblanc/

 

[bcharles123]

I find it interesting how sometimes fakes can be of good quality:

Yes. This is a real problem. Back in my watch collecting days, I had a friend who was a detective on counter counterfeiting. He would show us the classic fake Rolexes which sold on the street for $30. They were so obviously fake that the word Rolex would be spelled wrong. People would be buy them as gags or novelties but pretty harmless, although still illegal. Encrusted in diamonds were the best
On the other end of the spectrum , at the collectors clubs or workshops, we would receive lectures and examine very high end fakes. Very hard to tell. Sometimes real cases and dials with fake movements, which were pretty good too. Some of these sold for 50% of the full price or more. Some people would knowingly buy these thinking they could save some money and get the bling. Others were just ripped off.
Dunhill pipes are almost certainly in the same category. Lots of obvious cheap fakes, but some really, really good fakes too. I know I probably wouldn't be able to tell.

 

[georged]

Dunhill pipes are almost certainly in the same category. Lots of obvious cheap fakes, but some really, really good fakes too.

Pipes are handmade/hand-finished items that do not follow the fountain pen, wristwatch, iPhone, clothing, handbag, etc. "appliance" model of counterfeit merchandise.
The bottom line is anyone with the skill and tools to make undetectable Dunhill fakes would do a LOT better money-wise making his own line of pipes. Besides carving chops, he'd also have to know how to make fake stamps and know how to use them in various correct combinations.
And, since a steady stream of fake "new old stock" output would attract attention (because anything made after 1970 or so is worth dramatically less than what was made before that time), he'd have to also perfect an artificial aging process.
And on and on. There are too many other pipe-specific and Dunhill "gotchas" to list.
"But people fake handmade fine art like paintings and sculpture all the time!" you say? That's an entirely different thing because of the money involved. There is fifteen billion dollars in play annually in that game:
http://imgpublic.artprice.com/pdf/rama2014_en.pdf
Going to extremes is worth it when the object is worth six, seven, or eight figures. The most expensive tobacco pipes ever sold, though, don't pay enough in buyer's premiums for Sotheby's or Christie's to even list them.