Help: Unsmoked & Odd Silver & Gold Clad 1957 Dunhill Billiards

[cosmicfolklore]

Ooooo.... cool. And, I do like the topped rim as well.
Funny Georged... before I saw your post here, I was running it through my mind that it would have had to be elctroplated. They painted a conductive paint onto the surface of the pipe... some of the paints sold to paint those plastic model cars is conductive. Then it would have been submerged into a solution of dissolved copper to build up a surface metal using 5-20 amps or so with a rectifier, and then plated it with gold or silver using an electroplater.

Very cool, but some of the biproducts from electroforming are arsenic and mercury used to dissolve the gold. But, I am sure they sanded the bowl really well after the process.

My wife's friend electroplates those dried cicada shells after they molt and dead bees. She turns them into necklaces that seem to sell really well.

I've just never done the process myself. I just haven't had a reason to buy plating equipment. And, at the commercial level, I just can't afford to dispose of those sorts of chemicals when finished. Last thing I need is the EPA sniffing around my studio.

But, it makes some beautiful pipes.

 

[Humblepipe]

Ooooo.... cool. And, I do like the topped rim as well.
Funny Georged... before I saw your post here, I was running it through my mind that it would have had to be elctroplated. They painted a conductive paint onto the surface of the pipe... some of the paints sold to paint those plastic model cars is conductive. Then it would have been submerged into a solution of dissolved copper to build up a surface metal using 5-20 amps or so with a rectifier, and then plated it with gold or silver using an electroplater.

Very cool, but some of the biproducts from electroforming are arsenic and mercury used to dissolve the gold. But, I am sure they sanded the bowl really well after the process.

My wife's friend electroplates those dried cicada shells after they molt and dead bees. She turns them into necklaces that seem to sell really well.

I've just never done the process myself. I just haven't had a reason to buy plating equipment. And, at the commercial level, I just can't afford to dispose of those sorts of chemicals when finished. Last thing I need is the EPA sniffing around my studio.

But, it makes some beautiful pipes.

I appreciate this, cosmic. I was wondering how they would have metal plated the pipes. Thanks for the info!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I appreciate this, cosmic. I was wondering how they would have metal plated the pipes. Thanks for the info!

There was a time when every town and city had multiple jewelry stores, and each jewelry store had multiple bench jewelers. Every region also had jewelry designers and a small factory of sorts where jewelers did assembly line style work. My father owned several stores and a small factory where he made jewelry for the stores and also distributed for other stores in our area. So, jewelers were about as prolific as electricians, especially by the 70's when gold was dirt cheap and the cost of gold swung up sharply in the 80's. Jewelry was almost a get rich quick biz.
So, many of these English pipemakers worked with jewelers in the UK, some were jewelers. Ian Walker and I had a conversation about this, when he visited the Briary, as he was a jeweler also before he came to pipes. So, it was very common for these British pipemakers to either work with a jeweler, have a jeweler in house, or the pipemakers were jewelers themselves.

Also, Skip, the owner of the Briary was also a jeweler before he inherited his pipe shop and also started making pipes, as his dad was also a jeweler before starting the shop. So, when I first walked into the Briary and Skip fished me for what I did for a living, he immediately started visiting my store about as often as I visited his. Jewelers and pipes shops seem to have a symbiotic thing.

 

[Honkytonk Man]

Ooooo.... cool. And, I do like the topped rim as well.
Funny Georged... before I saw your post here, I was running it through my mind that it would have had to be elctroplated. They painted a conductive paint onto the surface of the pipe... some of the paints sold to paint those plastic model cars is conductive. Then it would have been submerged into a solution of dissolved copper to build up a surface metal using 5-20 amps or so with a rectifier, and then plated it with gold or silver using an electroplater.

Very cool, but some of the biproducts from electroforming are arsenic and mercury used to dissolve the gold. But, I am sure they sanded the bowl really well after the process.

My wife's friend electroplates those dried cicada shells after they molt and dead bees. She turns them into necklaces that seem to sell really well.

I've just never done the process myself. I just haven't had a reason to buy plating equipment. And, at the commercial level, I just can't afford to dispose of those sorts of chemicals when finished. Last thing I need is the EPA sniffing around my studio.

But, it makes some beautiful pipes.

Thanks Cosmic,
I thought that the "gold leaf" might have been applied and then coated with a lacquer.

I had no idea the process you described existed, it is indeed prety cool!
Appreciate it!

 

[Humblepipe]

FYI... these are live on eBeast now.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I’ve copied below a section from the description. It is from Les Wood and explains how the pipes were coated - exactly how our resident maestro metal head @cosmicfolklore said

"The process that is needed to plate them was not easy. First you needed to get the surface on the pipe to take an electrolytic solution, you need to do that or the silver or gold would not adhere to the bowl's surface, it's the same now if you plate anything with silver or gold as it would normally be on a metal surface, not wood. I have to say these look right to me. Without telling the customer, (original buyers's of these pipes) the reason that the top of the bowl is left with no plating on is that plating is carried out with a solution of potassium cyanide and it would not have been a nice thing to run inside of the bowl. the stamping looks right except no shape number which is not unusual if the pipe was not standard production as it bypassed the system".

 

[AJL67]

Here’s some stuff pulled from the other thread. Interesting that this pipe was also from 1957 and decorated in the same style (gold covered shell, with smooth briar rim).

Unknown Dunhill :: British Pipes

Hello guys, i have this golden (i suppose) dunhill pipe that i want to know more of! There is only one text on the back "DUNHILL MADE IN ENGLAND Z" or 7. or something similar i dont get. I've googled all night without success :( Can you help me identifying this?

pipesmagazine.com

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Selling there for $50? Hell I'm a fair guy, I'll give you 75 for that one!

 

[Humblepipe]

Selling there for $50? Hell I'm a fair guy, I'll give you 75 for that one!

That window has closed LOL.

 

[mso489]

These pipes look more upbeat and cheerful than the average White Spots today. They have a lively colorful look that gives room for creativity.

When Dunhill cranked up the prices beyond what most consumers wanted to spend, it gave the brand a kind of formality that undid some of the enjoyment.

Remember, Dunhill pipes were always high-priced on the market but played second fiddle to the Kaywoodie line, back in the 1950's. And both those brands were within reach of the average working person with family expenses.

 

[Humblepipe]

Are these unsmoked?

They're gaudy and fun. I wish I had the dosh to buy them—I have a few suits that these would match for a fun pipe and suit ensemble.

Gaudy is right. Although I am connected to them, they are way too much pipe for me LOL. Fun to watch though...

 

[TheIronMonkey]

They would good on you, brother - LOL. Yes, unsmoked.

The gold pipe would go well with my gold suit. I have a silver one (and shoes) for the other. I guess I’d better start saving up.

 

[Humblepipe]

The gold pipe would go well with my gold suit. I have a silver one (and shoes) for the other. I guess I’d better start saving up.

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Oh yeah!

 

[Ahi Ka]

The gold pipe would go well with my gold suit. I have a silver one (and shoes) for the other. I guess I’d better start saving up.

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Heck I’m so tempted to give them to you just so we can see you repping them in the ways thread! Hey now that I think of it I have a spare tanshell I could include to match your iron monkey after hours birthday suit

 

[ashdigger]

Cha

The gold pipe would go well with my gold suit. I have a silver one (and shoes) for the other. I guess I’d better start saving up.

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Change your name to Oscar.