Help Identifying "Swiss + Made" Pipe

[Humblepipe]

Gents,

A very good friend has asked me to sell this pipe for him. First, I need to identify the maker. I have handled 1000s of pipes, but very few of them were Swiss made. As the photos indicate, the stamping is as follows; "R u B" (I think) in script - left side of shank, "SWISS + MADE" in upper case block print - right side of shank, "2.9.205" underside of shank. Any ideas? Always grateful for the assistance....

 

[Humblepipe]

Bump...

 

[canucklehead]

Only thing I could find that has swiss+made:

Bru-Bu - Pipedia

pipedia.org

 

[Sjmiller CPG]

That could be a “v” to go with a surname beginning with Von or Van which would go along with it being Swiss made.

 

[Humblepipe]

Thanks, Gents. Both of you add something here.

 

[didimauw]

What I know for sure, is that pipe is beautiful.

Is it unsmoked?

Glad I could help

 

[Humblepipe]

What I know for sure, is that pipe is beautiful.

Is it unsmoked?

Glad I could help

hahaha... it's been smoked, but it is excellent condition. Looks to be a filter pipe.

 

[captainsousie]

Champion pipes also had a Swiss + Made stamp.

 

[captainsousie]

Another Bru-Bu.

 

[Humblepipe]

Interesting... I love these mysteries. Not a lot of Swiss pipe-makers. Must be a way of nailing this down.

 

[captainsousie]

Interesting... I love these mysteries. Not a lot of Swiss pipe-makers. Must be a way of nailing this down.

My opinion? This is a BBK made pipe as it was the largest factory based in Switzerland and, according to Reborn Pipes was renamed to Bru-Bu in the 1930s (quote with attribution is below). I would be willing to bet that the rest with that similar stamp came from the same factory. So, as to the stampings, I would say it was a pipe made for a shop or event that then had its own stamps applied. That was fairly common in the 30s-70s when Bru-Bu was operating.

“In 1932, Mr. Buhofer joined the Brunner family. The company was named Brunner-Buhofer-Kompagnie, and, shortly thereafter, Bru-Bu. Buhofer had made his fortune in the United States but, homesick, returned to Switzerland to search for a new challenge. Bru-Bu’s fabrication program was expanded with many handcrafted wooden art articles: carved family coats of arms, bread plates, fruit scarves, and – more and more – souvenir articles for the expanding Swiss tourism industry. Pipes remained in the program continuously, but the offerings changed from traditional Swiss pipes to the more standard European shaped pipes. Bru Bu is widely known as BBK.” - Reborn Pipes - Steve Laug - Aug. 2014

 

[ohfatty]

Go to pipephil & check out RAINER BARBI'S first stamp. he did work for Brebbia, maybe Swiss also???

 

[verporchting]

BBK? I’ve seen “Swiss Made” stamped on them.

 

[coming to_falling too]

I don't really have anything helpful to contribute, I just wanted to say it looks like a very nice pipe

 

[doctorbob]

SWISS + MADE is a standard country of origin mark used on a variety of Swiss made products, so it doesn't give much information as to who actually made the pipe.

As mentioned above, BBK used that mark, along with others

 

[Humblepipe]

SWISS + MADE is a standard country of origin mark used on a variety of Swiss made products, so it doesn't give much information as to who actually made the pipe.

As mentioned above, BBK used that mark, along with others

I agree. It's the totality of the stamping that might lead to answers (with emphasis on 'might'). The stamping on this pipe is fairly unique, to include the numbers on the underside of the shank. But I did a lot of sleuthing prior to posting the pipe here and I found no answers. Maybe this will prove to be another unsolved mystery...