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Dunhill doctors revive Charatan's

You have to admit that Charatan's was probably the last brand you expected to rise from the dead. But according to some in the know, that's exactly what is happening. What's more, the doctors performing the miracle operation are being paid by Dunhill.

"The quality now - compared to three years ago - is far better. It's far, far superior," says one respected American dealer. "Indeed, it's better than Lane-era from the perspective of workmanship, if not of avant-garde styling. That said, it must be remembered that Charatan was on the cutting edge in the late 1960s, whereas there's been thirty years of development on those themes since then. Picasso's paintings are valuable, Picasso-esque paintings from the 1980s or 1990s are not."

Curiously, the revitalisation of a former rival and intermittent (allegedly unloved) subsidiary appears to be the work of Dunhill, which is back in control of the brand. "As you probably know, we have now taken over Charatan's, Invicta, Simmons, Hardcastle, and minor others," says Marc Burrows of the famed Dunhill store in London's Jermyn Street, where he manages the pipe and tobacco business.

The latest takeover of Charatan's marks the second time Dunhill has assumed over-lordship. The first episode is often viewed as unfortunate. From around 1979 onwards, Charatan's was a Dunhill-owned brand - only to be abandoned to virtual oblivion in the late 80s or early 90s. Charatan die-hards have not forgiven Dunhill for this.

Made by Fromm?

Of course, Dunhill's acquisition of Invicta a few years ago is no longer news. What makes it intriguing in this context is that the Invicta takeover brought one of England's few remaining master carvers into the Dunhill fold - and probably also into the Charatan revival project. "I'm a little sketchy on exactly who is running what, but I think that a lot of the Charatans are being made by Colin Fromm," says the US dealer cited earlier in this article. He adds that Dunhill's revitalisation policy also applies to brands such as Parker and Ben Wade - "with some success, in my opinion."

Is Dunhill trying to restore variety in English pipe-making, now that real competition is restricted to a few one-man shops run by not-so-very-young artisans? Burrows says that the dwindling of the company's traditional rivals in recent decades had little positive effect on its sales. "We have always had our own clientele list and our own market," he explains. "Since the closures of others, we have not seen any increase that I can note."

Can the reputation be redeemed?

Viewed in this light, the rejuvenation of alternative brands and styles may signal a desire to target audiences that wouldn't buy many White Spots anyway. But attempting to restore the fortunes of such a damaged name as Charatan's seems highly courageous. The French-made Charatan pipes of latter years are so frequently portrayed as grotesque caricatures of their London ancestors that it's hard to see how the brand's reputation can recover. Even though some show-goers have already noted the recent quality leap, the message that Charatan is a Dodo has been written all over magazines and the Internet - and may prove impossible to erase.

Besides, many of the older Charatan faithful bear a huge grudge, blaming Dunhill for the original decline of their favourite producer. Certainly, by ridding themselves of the label, the White Spot people passively aided its fall in the 1990s. There's even a strain of popular Charatan mythology which says that Dunhill only ever bought the brand to forsake it. People who believe such accusations may not go rushing to the shops to support a Dunhill-sponsored revival.

(November 12, 2003)

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