Oh boy, where do I begin with this one…

Peterson has been producing meerschaum pipes from the very beginning, even before 1900. They later stopped, only to revive the practice in the late 1960s with pipes made by the Laxey company on the Isle of Man.

The Laxey factory closed in 2001, and Peterson ventured into the meerschaum realm once more in 2007, this time partnering with Turkish meerschaum makers for the extremely rare and sought-after Sherlock Holmes Meerschaum set.

What is even rarer than those Sherlock Holmes meerschaums are classic-shape Turkish meerschaum pipes — I have personally only seen two others.

Now for the kicker: the examples I have seen have all been from 2006 or 2007, so how do we have one from 2003?

My Speculation Station guess is that, after the closing of the Laxey factory, Peterson may have scouted out alternatives in the Turkish market and decided not to move forward with them just yet.

I have to say that this is one of the highest-quality smooth meerschaum pipes I have ever held in my hands, Peterson or not… The materials and craftsmanship are absolutely perfect!

It has also been smoked only a couple of times, and you can already see that peach coloration starting to appear near the rim. If you have watched my videos on YouTube, you will know that this is something extremely rare and sought after, especially by me…

When it comes to the case, it is a small mystery of its own. I don’t think it was the case Peterson originally sold the pipe in, but at the same time I am convinced that it could be the case the manufacturer used for transporting the pipe to the Peterson factory.

The fit is great around the bowl, but you can see that it was more of a generic case and is slightly too long for the pipe.

At this point, you might be wondering why I am not keeping it. There are two main reasons…

The first is the price — for me to keep it, I would have to part with quite a few other pipes.

The even bigger reason is that a smooth meerschaum pipe of this quality could get quite dirty if you are not extremely careful with it, and with me restoring pipes nonstop, I simply never have clean hands. It is that simple.

The pipes go through one final check before shipping, so if you notice any inconsistencies in the carnauba finish or smudges they will be taken care of before your pipe is shipped to you.