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Ok, so we know that there are vast numbers of consumers of counterfeit name brands. Women will buy a Tiffany necklace for $90 to have the name around her neck, to look like a $900-9000 item. They will buy $75 purses that show off Louis Vuitton's name on their shoulder, usually a $500-2000 purse. People do this to make others think that they can afford to have this taste in things. Or, to fulfill some style that they want for themself, knowing that they could never afford one of these items in real life. Or, maybe they don't have any reason at all. Or, whatever...
If you had the opportunity to buy an excellent, well crafted, fake Dunhill for $90, would you? The briar is good, the drilling is spot on (note the play on words), It looks great, and it has all the right nomenclature. It would fool anyone, except maybe the best experts in Dunhill identification. Most likely the only one who will know it is fake, is you. Would you buy it? Explain...

 

griffonwing

Can't Leave
Nov 12, 2014
498
21
Omaha AR
For me, no. It has nothing to do with the name, but the craftsmanship. Well-crafted or not, I would rather the artist put his (her) name on the pipe and sell it to be for 150 than to put someone else's name on it and sell it to me for 90.

 

fishingandpipes

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 24, 2013
654
48
Don't the counterfeit oversized Dunhills that popped up many moons ago sell for even more than non-counterfeits?
If it was one of those, then yeah probably I'd pay $90 for it! I seem to recall some selling for into the thousands. If I recall correctly some collectors trashed their counterfeits upon learning about the scam but years later they soared in value.
These were made with Dunhill briar by prior workers at the Dunhill factory using Dunhill stamps they stole, though. A bit different than China knockoffs.

 

jmatt

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 25, 2014
770
74
Honestly, I have a grand total of zero friends who would even know that Dunhill was supposedly THE brand to have. I also have significantly more friends who would mock me for spending $1,000 on a pipe than would ever be impressed by the fact.
I buy pipes for one reason: I like them.
I like them for two reasons: I like a pipe if it smokes nicely for me. I like a pipe if it visually floats my boat.
Beyond that.....to each their own.

 

agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,412
In the sticks in Mississippi
No I wouldn't. But then I wouldn't pay $90 for a real Dunhill either. First, I typically don't have $90 to spend on any pipe, and second, I have had Dunhills in the past (1980s), and never found them to be any better smoking pipes than the other brands I bought at a fraction of their price. I figure if you'd buy a fake Dunhill, you're mostly interested in the name. Don't get me wrong, I think Dunhill makes very nice pipes, I just don't think they're worth the money, new, used or fake. But hey, that's just my opinion... :roll:

 

yaddy306

Lifer
Aug 7, 2013
1,371
502
Regina, Canada
If you had the opportunity to buy an excellent, well crafted, fake Dunhill for $90, would you? The briar is good, the drilling is spot on (note the play on words), It looks great, and it has all the right nomenclature.
If it's good briar with spot-on drilling and looks great, I'd buy it. I wouldn't care if it was a fake Dunhill or if it was stamped "Great Value" "Made by Walmart".

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,248
108,340
Not me, don't care for Dunhill's in general. Their shapes are too cookie cutter for me.

 

dottiewarden

Lifer
Mar 25, 2014
3,053
57
Toronto
Would you buy it? Explain...
Short answer: No
Why: I live in a country (Mexico) rife with counterfeit products, many of which you named above. I'm not against people buying cheap reproductions, even if the quality is there, but I can't see any reason to fake my way through life. In fact in my social and professional circles it's a requirement to be who you are, with pride and integrity. I would find it utterly embarassing, completely incongruent with my personality and rather presumptuous to use such a product.
Give me a no-name briar that I like and I'll smoke it with pride!

 
Mar 30, 2014
2,853
78
wv
I was going to buy this beauty but I just had a feeling something was a little off.

noHN2aw.jpg


 
Interesting responses. I would have thought that some would have wanted a great smoking pipe at the dirt cheap price, just because of the price point. And, I was hoping to get a response for at least one of our resident Dunnie men, just to get the perspective of someone passionate about the brand.
Me, my first reaction was that I don't care anything about the brand, and I have plenty of great smoking pipes in my rotation. I have been trying to just add pipes that I think of as masterpieces in some regard. I've curbed my PAD since I have amassed a more than sufficient rotation.
But, there is one Dunhill that I wouldn't mind adding...

$_35.JPG


The Cumberland bent bully. I just love that shape and the brindled stem. I'd give $90 in a heartbeat for something just like that, as long as it was great smoker also. Or, maybe I'd get one just to remove the stain and customize it with a band, just to see jaws drop amongst my pipe friends that I would have the audacity to alter (ruin) a Dunnie, ha ha. I joke a lot about how grinding off the nomenclature makes the pipe smoke so much better, ha ha.

 

voorhees

Lifer
May 30, 2012
3,834
937
Gonadistan
Personally, No. I would not buy a fake. Once I paid $10 for a 1926 Dunhill, I figured the real thing can be had for a lot less. I would prefer to spend half(or less) of the cost of a new Dunhill on a custom artisan carver pipe.

 

andystewart

Lifer
Jan 21, 2014
3,973
3
+ 1 jmatt and yaddy. Yes, I would. I buy a pipe for smoking, not parading. If the pipe - fake Dunhill, Charatan, Former, Tao, whatever - had the qualities you describe, then I would smoke it like any other pipe of that standard. For me the issue is not in owning or smoking the fake pipe, it's in claiming that it is something you know it is not and welcoming the supposed kudos it brings. I own a number of decent pipes, including (real) Dunhills and TBH I don't care what make they are; I smoke them for what they offer. 90% of the people I smoke around wouldn't know or care about a high-end pipe, and I would be sure to tell the remainder - my pipe friends - about the item in question BEFORE they could comment, to avoid potential embarrassment on both sides. I love the idea of grinding off the nomenclature!
Andy

 
Yeh, I laugh with my pipe buddies about the nomenclature, because it tickles me that they'll spend the money on a factory cookie cutter Dunhill and claim that they do it just because of the way it smokes. "Great smoke is worth the money."

But, then when I'm like, "well then, grind of the nomenclature if it's just the smoke that matters."

"No way, that'll destroy the pipe."

"Destroy the pipe or the value?"

Ha ha!
The scariest thing that I have to do as a jeweler is tell someone that their ring or pendant has a CZ in it as opposed to a real diamond. They have worn this thing for years, decades sometimes, thinking it's the most beautiful thing ever. And, when I tell them it's fake, it immediately becomes ugly, disgusting, just throw it away. The stone is the exact same thing that they thought was beautiful, but it magically changes in an instant like that.

The emotional response can get out of hand. Me, I fear that I will be suspect in having swapped the stone, like I can do that in five minutes, ha. Them, well, diamonds are not that pretty to me anyways, so it blows my mind that they can change perceptions so fast.
What if you found out that your most expensive pipe was a fake? Would it smoke any less well?

What if you found out your BMW, Mercedes, or Cadillac was really made by Yugo? Would it drive differently?
We are funny creatures. I had one rep insinuate to me that Savinelli makes the stummels for Dunhill. So, putting a spot on the Dunhill makes it so much better than a cheap Savinelli? One well know Danish pipemaker has his pipes made in a factory in Poland and stamps them handmade. Does that make them less valuable? We are funny creatures.

 

voorhees

Lifer
May 30, 2012
3,834
937
Gonadistan
Cosmic, I have seen women lose huge diamonds from their settings and cry like babies. I would much rather it be a great looking CZ and lose that versus a real diamond.

 
When a diamond hits the floor, we do the "Jeweler's Prayer."

Turn off the lights and get on our knees with a flashlight looking for a sparkle in the dust saying, "please dear god, let me find that thing." Ha ha!
But, if the woman knows it's a CZ, would she wear it? I find that most wouldn't, even if they swear that they wear diamonds for beauty over value. They prove it's really value, and I think some things are the same for guys too. Grind the nomenclature off those expensive golf clubs, pipes, cars... If it's for the quality, why not yank off the symbols on the car or motorcycle? Nah, it's the perceived value that matters most.

 
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