Lets See Your High End Collections

[sablebrush52]

Yep, as usual
Not easy to keep a thread "pure and clear".
High end = denoting the most expensive of a range of products.
But that is only Oxford Languages and obviously the definition does not apply to pipes .

I look at high end as the highest quality, regardless of price. I learned at a tender age that a lot of "high end" stuff was anything but and often mediocre to crap, supported by a famous well promoted name, snob appeal, and a complex of human mental and emotional issues.

When I worked in Jewelry I sold Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and Piaget, along with Omega, Bulova, Tissot, and Caravelle. The Tissot carried a better warranty than the high end stuff, and was a very reliable time keeper, as were the Caravelles. The Omegas were about as good a time piece as you could get at the time, excluding the Rolex Oyster Perpetual for diving purposes, and had the same unconditional one year warranty as the Tissots. They also cost about 10% of these grand names in watchmaking and the Caravelles ran about 1/1000%.

If your standard is based solely on $$$ then Patek, Audemars, Vacheron, Piaget, etc are the high end. If your standard is quality of time keeping, the result is going to be different. It's not that these grand names aren't high quality, with the possible exception of Piaget, ust that they're not the only high quality. The Caravelles kept time as well as any expensive watch, excepting Chronographs. But only an idiot would wear one in a shower. Omega and Tissot were backed by an unconditional 1 year guarantee. Regardless of circumstance, except in case of deliberate destruction like taking a hammer to the watch, if you could bring in the physical wreckage, the watch would be replaced free of charge for the first year. We had one customer who thought he's acciently lost his Omega Seamaster overboard and found it 8 months later when he was cleaning out the bilge tank. We sent the rusted movement to Omgea and they sent us a new watch to replace it, no questions asked. Nobody else offered that.

So too with pipes. What is the best quality? That seems to be the running standard rather than what is the most expensive.

However, if I am wrong about this then please feel free to request that my posts to this thread be removed as inappropriate, since none of my pipes are the most expensive to buy. They're just superb examples of quality, or ingenuity and character.

 

[Searock Fan]

I look at high end as the highest quality, regardless of price. I learned at a tender age that a lot of "high end" stuff was anything but and often mediocre to crap, supported by a famous well promoted name, snob appeal, and a complex of human mental and emotional issues.

When I worked in Jewelry I sold Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and Piaget, along with Omega, Bulova, Tissot, and Caravelle. The Tissot carried a better warranty than the high end stuff, and was a very reliable time keeper, as were the Caravelles. The Omegas were about as good a time piece as you could get at the time, excluding the Rolex Oyster Perpetual for diving purposes, and had the same unconditional one year warranty as the Tissots. They also cost about 10% of these grand names in watchmaking and the Caravelles ran about 1/1000%.

If your standard is based solely on $$$ then Patek, Audemars, Vacheron, Piaget, etc are the high end. If your standard is quality of time keeping, the result is going to be different. It's not that these grand names aren't high quality, with the possible exception of Piaget, ust that they're not the only high quality. The Caravelles kept time as well as any expensive watch, excepting Chronographs. But only an idiot would wear one in a shower. Omega and Tissot were backed by an unconditional 1 year guarantee. Regardless of circumstance, except in case of deliberate destruction like taking a hammer to the watch, if you could bring in the physical wreckage, the watch would be replaced free of charge for the first year. We had one customer who thought he's acciently lost his Omega Seamaster overboard and found it 8 months later when he was cleaning out the bilge tank. We sent the rusted movement to Omgea and they sent us a new watch to replace it, no questions asked. Nobody else offered that.

So too with pipes. What is the best quality? That seems to be the running standard rather than what is the most expensive.

However, if I am wrong about this then please feel free to request that my posts to this thread be removed as inappropriate, since none of my pipes are the most expensive to buy. They're just superb examples of quality, or ingenuity and character.

Back in the 70s I inherited a Patek from my dad which I wore for several years. It was an elegant thing and kept good time. However, it was also not automatic or waterproof, which I discovered the hard way. After an expensive repair I sold it and bought a new watch. I wanted something more rugged and thought of a Rolex (I had been the only kid in my high school who wore a Rolex.... and no, we were not rich, my dad and I just liked fine watches). Anyway, after a lot of thought and study I decided to do the unthinkable... buy a quartz watch. I purchased an Omega Seamaster stainless quartz and I've been wearing it for over 30 years. It still looks almost new and keeps perfect time. If I had bought a Rolex I would have spent thousands on servicing it every few years instead of just replacing a battery.

Rolexs are more a piece of jewelry than anything else. They are beautifully made but even they won't keep as good time as a quartz movement. My wife has a two tone Rolex which spends most of it's time on the watch winder while she wears her Fitbit....

 

[Alejo R.]

@Alejo R. Did you buy them from Disney World? It sort of gives a whole new meaning to the term 'Mickey Mouse Pipe'. I have seen these occasionally and I have read that there was a B&M shop in Disney World as well if my memory serves me correctly!

Many years ago while surfing at Pipephill I came across a pipe with a Mickey Mouse logo on it, so I promptly set up an alarm on eBay that alerted me every time one came up for sale. The truth is that they didn't come out very often, but I was able to buy 2. I bought another 2 in Argentina. There was a tobacconist on Main Street USA that was in business from 1971 to 1985, so these pipes were sold in one place (a very special place if you ask me), for a very limited period of time and carry a much appreciated logo on popular culture. These three factors make them highly sought after pipes for collecting.

 

[Searock Fan]

Many years ago while surfing at Pipephill I came across a pipe with a Mickey Mouse logo on it, so I promptly set up an alarm on eBay that alerted me every time one came up for sale. The truth is that they didn't come out very often, but I was able to buy 2. I bought another 2 in Argentina. There was a tobacconist on Main Street USA that was in business from 1971 to 1985, so these pipes were sold in one place (a very special place if you ask me), for a very limited period of time and carry a much appreciated logo on popular culture. These three factors make them highly sought after pipes for collecting.

Interesting story! I doubt Disney would authorize such a thing, so someone must have produced them on the sly. That could be dangerous 'cause Disney has a rep of guarding their rights with a vengeance. Got a pic?

 

[Alejo R.]

Interesting story! I doubt Disney would authorize such a thing, so someone must have produced them on the sly. That could be dangerous 'cause Disney has a rep of guarding their rights with a vengeance. Got a pic?

Previously in this post there are pics
The pipes were sold in Disney property so obviously are a Disney Product.

 

[JimInks]

Here's some of my Rinaldos.

 

[JimInks]

Here's the rest of my Rinaldos.

 

[Alejo R.]

Back in the 70s I inherited a Patek from my dad which I wore for several years. It was an elegant thing and kept good time. However, it was also not automatic or waterproof, which I discovered the hard way. After an expensive repair I sold it and bought a new watch. I wanted something more rugged and thought of a Rolex (I had been the only kid in my high school who wore a Rolex.... and no, we were not rich, my dad and I just liked fine watches). Anyway, after a lot of thought and study I decided to do the unthinkable... buy a quartz watch. I purchased an Omega Seamaster stainless quartz and I've been wearing it for over 30 years. It still looks almost new and keeps perfect time. If I had bought a Rolex I would have spent thousands on servicing it every few years instead of just replacing a battery.

Rolexs are more a piece of jewelry than anything else. They are beautifully made but even they won't keep as good time as a quartz movement. My wife has a two tone Rolex which spends most of it's time on the watch winder while she wears her Fitbit....

Of a good twenty mechanical watches that I have, only one needs service. Most work a life without giving problems. The truth is that with Rolex, if you take them to an official service they have a minimum starting fee of 500 dollars, since they clean, polish and check the tightness mandatory. It certainly doesn't happen often, but if it does it's a pain in the ass. Certainly that does not happen with a quartz, but I estimate that if you take your Omega to an official repair, it will also have a minimum fee and a minimum of work to do.

 

[alwayslit]

And another one coming home.

View attachment 165866

I was looking at this one but realized I had its brother. Glad you were able to get it.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I was looking at this one but realized I had its brother. Glad you were able to get it.

View attachment 166428

Where did you find that one?

I've also got two other acorns from him.

 

[alwayslit]

SP estates in 2020

 

[alwayslit]

Where did you find that one?

I've also got two other acorns from him.

View attachment 166434View attachment 166435

Beautiful pipes! This is another BAW acorn I got in '20 on SP.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Beautiful pipes! This is another BAW acorn I got in '20 on SP.View attachment 166436

He loved working with bamboo.

Unbeknownst to me, he apparently liked stone carving as well.

 

[JimInks]

I forgot this Rinaldo. It's a big pipe.

 

[Chasing Embers]

It's a big pipe.

So you're saying it's a clencher.

 

[JimInks]

So you're saying it's a clencher.

Only for you and Richard Kiel, buddy!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Only for you and Richard Kiel, buddy!

At least he had teeth.

 

[JimInks]

At least he had teeth.

View attachment 166442

So did your twin brother :

 

[Chasing Embers]

So did your twin brother :
View attachment 166445

I still think he's family. Looks just like my dad when he was a young man.

 

[Searock Fan]

Whether in pipes or any other good produced by man, the return on each dollar invested decreases with the amount. That is to say that the difference between a 50 and 100 dollar pipe will be very noticeable (a neophyte with some knowledge of manufacturing will be able to tell which is the best even if he has never seen a pipe before) the difference between a 100 and a 200 It will be noticeable but perhaps less and as the price goes up the differences will be more subtle. It should also be borne in mind that in a visual post there are many features that are not appreciated, such as the perfect mouthpiece, the drilling or the weight of the pipe, to give an example.

It's called the law of "diminishing returns".