Sasieni Dot Color -- Can It Fade?

[craiginthecorn]

I've seen Sasieni Four Dot pipes with dots which are barely blue to obviously blue. I have just finished restoring this Four Dot Moorgate and I had fully expected the dots to change from oxidized brownish to powder blue, but if they're blue, they're barely blue. And I think I'm just letting myself believe they might be blue. They're more like white.
I've seen a few Sasieni pipes where the seller has claimed that the pipes were so old, the blue dots had faded to white. Does this happen? This pipe is not super old -- probably late 1940s. I'd be surprised if they could have faded that much.
So, was there significant variability in the color of the dots? Do they fade?
This doesn't seem to me to be a replacement stem. It fits beautifully and seems very well made, and it would surprise me that a repairman would go to the trouble of replacing the dots and then use white instead of blue.

 

[georged]

It's not unusual. I also have a definitely legit white-dotted Sasieni.

 

[dmcmtk]

Do they fade?

Yes the do, often noticeably so. Pipe looks great buy the way.

 

[ssjones]

I see more faded than blue. That's in great shape!

 

[donjgiles]

MacBeth color checker.... nice!

 

[dmcmtk]

This pipe is not super old -- probably late 1940s.

I would say 1950's - 60's. The pattern of the dots being the most obvious sign.

 

[craiginthecorn]

Thanks everyone. I knew it wouldn't take long to get an authoritative answer!
For anyone who's interested, here are the photos from the eBay listing. Due to some damage on the rim, I decided to refinish it. I might decide to stain it later, but I kind of liked it natural, which I've seen in photos of other Moorgates like this.

 

[voorhees]

You did a fantastic job. Gonna keep it and enjoy it?

 

[craiginthecorn]

Yep! I plan to keep it. It's my third Four Dot. The other two are fantastic smokers and I'm hoping this will be too. There's a stinger in this one. I guess we'll see how that goes.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Very nice resto! My imagination sees a very faint blue tinge in the photo with the McB card. Maybe a color leak from the blue patch!

 

[craiginthecorn]

Thanks jpmcwr. I zoomed in on the photo which included the ColorChecker and didn't see differences between the dots left to right. If it was a color leak, I'd expect to see the left one looking a bit pink.

 

[dmcmtk]

There's a stinger in this one.

Craig, I stand corrected as to the dating. I like the coloring of the rim, it's a nice contrast to the rest of the pipe.

 

[danielplainview]

I’ve seen them fade to almost white such as yours. I had an 8 dot with the inserts turning to shade of a dark green. Possibly burnt by an overly enthusiastic buffer from a previous owner. This pipe is long gone but I found a couple old blurry pics.

 

[ssjones]

I thought that all of the Rustic finish Moorgates had polished tops but I guess not. Nice job!
Here's a polish top that went thru my bench.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Wow, Dave, if those are "blurry pics", I'd like to see some that aren't! Nice photos; nice pipe.

Thanks jpmcwr. I zoomed in on the photo which included the ColorChecker and didn't see differences between the dots left to right. If it was a color leak, I'd expect to see the left one looking a bit pink.

Oh, darn, I was being whimsical, and should have used a smiley or something.

 

[craig61a]

Most certainly. L to R, Viscount Lacelles mid 40's,Appleby early 50's, Burton Ruff Root 60's 70's. The Burton still has robin's egg blue color, while the others have faded to almost white.
Plastics in the 40's and early 50's were more susceptible to fading and shrinkage than what was available later; indeed it was in its infancy during that period.

 

[craiginthecorn]

That's a handsome trio of Four Dots, Craig!

 

[dmcmtk]

One of my favorite Sasieni shapes (shape 70), the Stamford,

A pre-war Warwick (shape 41),

 

[dmcmtk]

Also a Moorgate, well used, probably dates close to the pipe in the OP. The smooth rim was how it came to me.

That stem could use some TLC...

 

[craiginthecorn]

That Warwick is gorgeous! I think I should stain that rim, now that I've seen a few better photos. Thanks everyone.