Design Berlin Amber II Half Bent 9mm Briar Pipe DBP035

• Overall Length: 149mm
• Overall Height: 37mm
• Bowl Height: 37mm
• Bowl Diameter: 44mm
• Bore: 20mm
• Weight: 44g
• Filter: 9mm

The Design Berlin Amber II DBP035 is a handsome half-bent with one feature that rather refuses to be ignored: that splendid golden stem.

Design Berlin has used a richly marbled acrylic for the mouthpiece, combining honey, butterscotch, cream and little darker flecks into a pattern reminiscent of natural amber. Look closely at the photographs and there is a surprising amount going on in it, with larger pale pieces interspersed among the deeper golden material. Each side catches the pattern differently, and the crisp white DB emblem stands out nicely against it.

The bowl is considerably more restrained, and that's probably a wise decision. This is a Half Bent Billiard, with a tall, near-cylindrical bowl, gently rounded heel and a subtle rise through the shank into the curved mouthpiece. It is an old, dependable pipe shape given a rather more colourful suit of clothes.

The smooth brown finish has been kept light enough to show the briar underneath. This particular example displays broad streaks of grain along the bowl and shank, interspersed with darker patches of figuring. The reverse side is especially attractive, where the grain runs upwards along the height of the bowl.

A broad polished metal mount provides the dividing line between the briar and amber-effect acrylic. Against all those warm brown and golden tones, the bright metal works extremely well and gives the transition from shank to stem a clean, defined appearance.

Internally, the DBP035 is drilled to accept 9mm filters, continuing a system that has long featured prominently among Design Berlin's pipes.

Design Berlin traces its roots to Pfeifenstudio Hartmann, founded in Berlin in 1948 by Hubert Hartmann. Lothar Schirwitz joined the business in 1954, and the DB Design Berlin name followed in 1975. Over the decades the company became particularly associated with German pipe design and the widespread use of 9mm filtration.

The Amber II DBP035 is a cheerful departure from the black stems that dominate so many pipe racks. It still looks unmistakably traditional in shape, but that marbled golden mouthpiece gives it enough character to make you look twice.