Stanwell Facet Hexagonal Freehand (Jess Chonowitsch design), 1980s (owner-stated)

The Stanwell Facet is a hexagonal freehand whose defining feature is stated in its name: six flat planes wrap the briar bowl in the manner of a cut gemstone. On this example the treatment of those planes alternates deliberately — the front and back faces are sandblasted, exposing a rugged relief texture, while the flanking sides are smooth-polished, so that the pipe presents two contrasting surfaces depending on the angle from which it is viewed. The bowl terminates in a flared smooth rim, and a brass band accents the shank. The pipe is drilled for a 9mm filter, a system common to Danish and German production of the period and intended to cool and dry the smoke stream. Recorded dimensions are 5.5 inches in length, a 1.75-inch bowl height, and a chamber of 0.75 inches in diameter by 1.25 inches in depth, at a weight of approximately 45 grams. The design is attributed by the owner to Jess Chonowitsch, the Danish freehand carver whose work is associated with Stanwell's designer-driven 'Specialty' output; the faceted concept is described as fusing geometric form with the natural figure of the briar, the flat planes serving both as a grip and as a stage for the grain. Stanwell did not employ a factory date code, so the era assignment depends on the owner's account and the Chonowitsch design chronology, yielding an honest bracket of the 1980s as owner-stated.