So I just picked up what I believe to be an old Savinelli Punto Oro, numbered shape 1011 EX--a classic Billiard shape. It's a beauty.

Somewhere in the last few years I came to believe that four-digit Savinelli's are dated to pre-1965 (excluding the non-pareil and dry system lines). Yet when I went searching this evening to confirm this, I couldn't find any sort of confirmation on line.

So, you guys that have been doing this for a while, when do the four-digit Savinelli's date back to?

I regret that I don't know the answer to your question. I just felt like someone should reply to your post, since so many viewed it without commenting. Have you tried www.pipephil.eu? It seems like a fairly comprehensive site about identifying pipes.

Really? No one knows this?

Send Savenelli an e-mail question and they'll tell you.I do know just about everything
but am hazy on some of the minutia.

Winslow

Thanks Winslow, will do.
I'll let everyone know what I find out.

"I do know just about everything
but am hazy on some of the minutia."

Winslow, great quote! I've got to "borrow" it.

Natch

Hey fellas,
Here's the email I got back from the Italian Savinelli Site after I sent them an email. The United States Site's email response person was absolutely no help, telling me the numbering discrepancy was the difference between European and North American Savinelli pipes (totally a lie).


"Dear ,-Nathan Mattia.
We wish thank you first for your interest in our product and our
company. It is always a pleasure to hear from satisfied clients.
You are completely right 4 digit was the old way to mark the pipes
unless than for nonpareil an dry system.
it 's impossible to say exactly the year of production of your pipe but for sure has more than 30 years , because was more
or less 30 years ago that we change in 3 numbers.
sorry for the wrong answer you received from our sister company in USA , but probably who gave you that answer
was not working for us 30 tears ago and so he don't know the real story
Best regards,
Giancarlo Savinelli
p.s.
the change of the number doesn't means the change of the shape.. so 1011 is actual 111 ..
and is supposed to be the same shape.
something in shape can change just because our pipes also for predeterminated shapes are hand made
so small things can be different."

Cool.

Savinelli's USA customer service is notoriously non-existent, so it's nice you got some info out of the motherland.

Great work M76,
Savinelli makes some great smokers as you already know, and their Autograph line has some of the finest sandblast finishes to be found. The punto oro line is a bargain IMHO and they smoke like a dream.
I think that your reply from Italy shows that they really do care about their customers and first hand knowledge about the history doesn't get any better than that. Congrats on some nice research.
Doc

"Once I thought I was wrong,but I was mistaken".

Winslow