INTRODUCING LORENZO PIPES TO CIGARWORLD AUSTRALIA

***LORENZO PIPES OF ITALY***

ABOUT LORENZO PIPES

It has been said that Italy is a country where art is a way of life. For more than a century, Lorenzo has been making pipes from the best Mediterranean briars renowned for its beauty of grain and remarkably good smoking qualities. Lorenzo di Donato continues the heritage of creating new briar models and finishes today.
The story of the Lorenzo name begins in 1900 with the partnership of two brothers. The Lana Brothers produced briar pipes for the Italian market under their own brand name. In 1920, Romolo Aliverti, the father of the current owners, joined the Lana firm and reached the level of technical director. Two years later, sales of their pipes outside of Italy markets began and demand throughout Europe steadily increased. By 1939, the factory employed 120 workers, a considerable number for the time. When the Lana Brothers merged with the Tagliabue Pipe Manufacturers in 1946, the brand name was changed to Lorenzo by Lorenzo Tagliabue. Within a few years, Lorenzo Pipes were acclaimed as one of the best briar pipes in the world.
The headquarters of Lorenzo has always been located in the picturesque city of Gallarate, in the pipemaking region of northern Italy. In this enviroment, it is no wonder that Riccardo, Romolo Aliverti's son, showed an interest in pipe making. Under his father's watchful eye in 1954, Riccardo began learning the pipe making trade at the age of fourteen. Riccardo succeeded his father as technical director upon his father's retirement in 1973.
Lorenzo Tagliabue retired in the 1983, leaving no heirs who wished to continue the business. In 1988, Riccardo Aliverti and his wife Gabriella purchased all rights to the Lorenzo trademark from the Taliabue family and production of the renown Lorenzo Pipes resumed.
Lorenzo Pipes has a bright future with the third generation of the Aliverti family working for the company. Massimo Aliverti, Riccardo's son, has been has been with the company as sales director since 1991. He works closely with his father and knows all phases production. Fluent in English, Massiomo has established a broad customer base for Lorenzo around the world.
Those who appreciate a quality Italian briar that give years of smoking pleasure, yet is reasonable priced, will find a Lorenzo pipe an excellent choice.

As far as the informations are reliable, Lorenzo's better lines (One Star, Two Star, Three Star, Moscato, Spumante and the Grand Canadian) are made in Italy while the cheaper ones (New Era - Riesling, New Era - Poggio, Angera, Angera Satinato, Cadry, Churchwarden, Filtro, Arena, Cadore, Sport PS and Garden) are made in Albania by Tomori to benefit from the rich deposit of briar in Albania.
The newly issued Lorenzos mostly showed extremely strong forms in designs appealing greatly and massively. Thick, “beefy� walls of the bowls and broad and strong stems were significant for them. As contemporary ads said, these pipes were "Made for real men with strong hands". Many had a flattened bottom to sit on the table. Next to the unusual shapes, the patina effect of the silk mat surface combined with a bold red or a bright orange staining gave the pipes their distinctive look.

**BRIAR**
The majority of pipes sold today, whether hand made or machine made, are fashioned from briar. Briar is a particularly good wood for pipe making for a number of reasons. The first and most important is its natural resistance to fire. The second is its inherent ability to absorb moisture. The burl absorbs water in nature to supply the tree in the dry times and likewise will absorb the moisture that is a byproduct of combustion. Briar is cut from the root burl of the heath tree (Erica arborea), which is native to the rocky and sandy soils of the Mediterranean region. Briar burls are cut into two types of blocks; ebauchon and plateaux. Ebauchon is taken from the heart of the burl while plateaux is taken from the outer part of the burl. While both types of blocks can produce pipes of the highest quality, most artisan pipe makers prefer to use plateaux because of its superior graining.

**MEERSCHAUM**
Meerschaum (hydrated magnesium silicate), a mineral found in small shallow deposits mainly around the city of Eskişehir in central Turkey, is prized for its plasticity which allows it to be carved into many decorative and figural shapes. Along with clay, meerschaum represented the other common medium for pipes before the introduction of briar as the material of choice in the mid-19th century.
Meerschaum is a very porous mineral that absorbs elements of the tobacco during the smoking process, and gradually changes color to a golden brown. Old, well-smoked meerschaum pipes are prized for their distinctive coloring.
In selecting a meerschaum pipe it is advisable to determine if the pipe is indeed carved from a block of meerschaum, and is not made from meerschaum dust collected after carving and mixed with an emulsifier then pressed into a pipe shape. These products are not absorbent, do not color, and lack the smoking quality of the block carved pipe. It is not always obvious. Some collectors believe that some pipes marked "solid block meerschaum" may not be genuine. With no uniform grading authority, it is difficult to be sure in the case of an unknown maker, unless you are purchasing it from a trusted, well informed tobacconist. Be wary of inexpensive pipes from untrusted sources. Also look for the quality of the carving. Better carvers are unlikely to waste time carving composite meerschaum.