Stefano Santambrogio's pipes are still an insider tip on the German market. They were quite widespread for a while because the pipes were sold by a German wholesaler for smoking accessories. But at that time they were only stamped as "Stefano Exclusive". There hasn't been a German distributor for many years, and so the company almost disappeared from the German market. But then they returned to the full naming: "Stefano Santambrogio" - which also makes the pipes much less anonymous.

Since 1912

It is no longer possible to reconstruct why the German wholesaler then insisted on leaving out the surname. In any case, it will not have been due to a lack of tradition in the brand, because the Santambrogio family has been making pipes since 1912. Stefano of the same name and born in 1865, grandfather of today's Stefano, decided after his own experiences in the pipe factories "Lana" and "Rossi" to buy an old farmstead including a mill in order to set up pipe production there. The company was only electrified in 1926. Before that, the machines were operated with water power. The company reached its heyday in the 1940s, when more than 130 employees worked there and more than 100,000 pipes were produced per year.

The spouse-business

Unfortunately, there is not much left of that nowadays, even though the buildings are still family-owned and are still used for pipe production. Only Stefano Santambrogio himself, with the support of his wife Sara and an employee, makes pipes to this day. He has been doing this since 1981. And one is rightly proud of the production at a historical location. Also on the well-kept craftsmanship and the old wood stocks. Stefano Santambrogio's pipes are largely handmade. Although not "freehand" in the modern sense, since a lathe is also used, it is far from serial production. But every Santambrogio is unique.

Siganture

Pipes made by Santambrogio have always had a certain style. Flowing, harmonious shapes play the main role, modifications of classic shapes without eccentricity. Colored acrylic mouthpieces and applications are often used for this. The rustication technique also has its own "signature". Equal attention is paid to an aesthetic appearance and flawless function. The excellent price-performance ratio is also particularly noteworthy.