History of Ardor Pipes
Ardor history begins around 1911 when Francesco, Cornelio, Carlo and Federico Rovera brothers set out to make mid-grade machined pipes. The Ardor name truly starts in 1974 when Angelo and his son Dorelio launched Ardor pipes.
What’s In the Name
Ardor name is a mashup of the father and son team. The AR is from the father’s name Angelo Rovera and the DOR is from the son Dorelio Rovera. Dorelio started working with his dad, Angelo, at the young age of 13. The name is now associated with high-quality pipes. Angelo passed away in December of 1999 and now Dorelio works with his son, Damiano, to pass on the tradition. The Fantasy Models are of the hard, handcrafted work of Damiano. He is quickly making a name for himself in the pipe world.
Quality of Ardor
When Angelo and Dorelio launched Ardor, they didn't want to be known as a mid-range manufacture. So they started producing higher-end handcrafted pieces of art. Some of their pipes are truly pieces of art. To ensure the quality, Dorelio handpicks the briar that will be used for his pipes. This briar is then set aside for four to 10 years to age and dry out. Using special files, each piece is rough hewn by hand. They also have a "secret" way to season the briar to produce their 2700 pipes a year output. They now produce many higher end handmade beauties with people on forums raving about them!
The Many Models and Styles
Ardor offers many different styles or finishes of their pipes. Some of the finishes they offer are:
- Fantasy
- Giove
- Marte
- Mercurio
- Meteora
- Moon
- Nettuno
- Plutone
- Scultura
- Tabacco
- Terra
- Venere
- Venere Due Punti
- Urano
Fantasy
The Fantasy series are sometimes the smaller pipes Ardor handcrafts in a freehand shape. They will usually have a silver band on these beautiful pipes. As you can see below, these vary between colors, shapes, and sizes. However, each one is sure to show off!
Giove
The Ardor Giove series will have a smooth walnut color with good grain. An example is the Giove GF110 pictured below. These will always be in a smooth finish with little to no fills or pits and usually will have a metal band.
Marte
The Marte is available in Marte Liscia (smooth) or the Marte Sabbiata (sandblast). The Marte Liscia will have smooth grain with light color. The Marte Sabbiata will have a sandblasted finish with a black, tan and red/brown color. As you can see in the Marte Sabbiata pictured, it still shows off the grain with the sandblast. Both will usually not come with a band.
Mercurio
The Mercurio will usually have a good grain with an orange stained color and metal band. Pictures don't do this smooth beauty justice!
Meteora
The Meterora pipes have a rustic finish with smooth scales on the bowl. A great example of this is the Ardor Meteora Tobacco Pipe - MT53. You can see on this pipe the finish and fine handwork of the Ardor pipes!
Moon
The Moon pipes are fairly new sandblasted finish pipe. They have unique circles in different colors and a metallic band. The one below has the red circles with a smooth finish on the top of the bowl.
Nettuno
The Nettuno pipes are finished with a smooth black lacquer. Named after a city near Rome, Italy. These pipes are a real treat as they provide a nice cool smoke.
Plutone
Ardor Plutones are finished with a smooth bordeaux / reddish lacquer with a metal band. Our best guess is this is named after the dwarf planet Pluto in the Kuiper belt.
Scultura
The Scultura series is Ardors carved head pipes. They come in many different sculptures, such as persons, animals, and other shapes. Usually you will only find these types of sculptures in meerschaum pipes, however, Ardor makes them out of briar!
Tabacco
The Tabacco finish has tobacco leaves carved in the bowl. As you can see in the picture below, the rustic finish with the leaves standing out on the bowl.
Terra
The Terra Pipe series are harder to come by. You don't see these released very often. This makes these some very sought after pipes. They have a beautiful sandblast finish. These can come in many shapes and with or without a band.
Venere
Ardor's Venere finish has a good grain with smooth honey color. These will have one blue dot on the stem.
Venere Due Punti
These will have excellent grain showing with a honey color stain. These are the cream of the crop of Ardor Pipes. You will notice these will have the two dots on the stem.
Urano
The Urano comes in two finish types. The first is an Urano Sandblast which has a regular sandblast with black color. The other is the Urano Roccia finish. This finish has a deep rustic finish in tan, black or brown/reddish color. As you see in the Urano's below, they can have different finishes and different color stems.
