Why Turkish Meerschaum Pipes Are So Expensive
Narrator: Ertugrul is carving out the final details of this meerschaum pipe. And when he’s done, a pipe like this can cost over $300. It’s made of meerschaum, a mineral rock often found in underground mines in Turkey that reach 137 meters deep. The most intricate pipes can take up to two months to complete. Those can go for over $7,000. But meerschaum is fragile, which means Ertugrul can lose all his work at the last minute.
Ertugrul Cevher: Hang on a minute. It broke at the perfect place. It’s the evil eye.
Narrator: So, what sets meerschaum pipes apart from the rest? And why are they so expensive?
Emre Mangaltepe: Smoking from a meerschaum pipe is as good as it can be, because a wooden pipe has a distinctive smell and taste when smoking. But when smoking from a meerschaum pipe, you only get the taste of tobacco.
Narrator: Turkish people have been making meerschaum pipes since the early 1600s. Meerschaum, also known as sepiolite, is a clay-like mineral. It’s lightweight, porous, and heat-resistant, making it ideal for pipe smoking. Its porousness allows it to absorb tar and nicotine, reducing how much is inhaled, which some pipe smokers prefer.
Meerschaum is found all over the world, but the most commercially important meerschaum is mined near Eskisehir in Turkey. It’s locally referred to as “white gold” for its economic and cultural value.
To make meerschaum pipes, artisans first seek the highest-quality meerschaum, known as the “right” grade. The higher the grade, the less prone the meerschaum is to cracking, so they’re willing to pay more than double the price of the lower “sandy” grade.
The right grade of meerschaum is rare and difficult to obtain. Meerschaum is located in underground quarries, and here in Kozlubel, miners have found high-grade meerschaum. Emre now carves pipes, but he got his start in the industry as a miner. He’s taking us 44 meters belowground, where he’ll chisel at surrounding rocks to find suitable meerschaum.
Miners make educated guesses as to where to start, typically near deposits they’ve already mined. The work is physically demanding, and even the strongest laborers can take an hour to remove just one stone. But that’s only if they find it.
Emre Mangaltepe: Sometimes, despite working for days in a mine, no stone comes out.
Narrator: The goal is to find larger meerschaum rocks that are at least the size of a fist.
Emre Mangaltepe: Oh! Very nice! We found a very nice meerschaum stone.
Narrator: This stone can sell for at least $38. Emre says larger meerschaum has higher heat resistance, up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Emre Mangaltepe: Tastes nice!
Narrator: The bigger the meerschaum stone, the more elaborate, and eventually, the more expensive the pipe will be. But artisans like Emre can only make as many pipes as the meerschaum supply allows.
Emre Mangaltepe: Our desire is to buy more, but it’s based more on the amount that comes out. We buy whatever is mined.
Narrator: Though Emre can spend up to $2,200 at a time on raw meerschaum, that’s still not enough to meet the demand for the finished pipes.
Emre Mangaltepe: We extracted the stone of the pipe we will make ourselves. Let’s go to Eskisehir.
Narrator: Ertugrul Cevher is one of the few master pipe carvers in all of Turkey. He’s been making meerschaum pipes for over 50 years. Aside from the cost of the meerschaum itself, the final price of these pipes comes down to skill and craftsmanship.
To start making the pipe, Ertugrul removes any dirt from the stone and cuts around fault lines that may later cause it to break. This sometimes means lopping off three-quarters of the meerschaum stone. He then carves out the rough shape of the pipe. He air-dries the pipe to strengthen it, then drills in guide holes for the mouth and body. Ertugrul refines the pipe again with four different sandpapers to remove any flaws and to ensure a smooth surface. Simpler pipes like these can sell for over $100. But complex pipes, like this Ottoman sultan head, require further handiwork, which can triple the price. Ertugrul doesn’t plan the design for his pieces. He works from memory and feel, so each of his pipes is a unique work of art.
After hand-carving every minor detail, Ertugrul starts shaping the stem. The stem’s materials can vary. Ebonite is used for more expensive pipes, while acrylic is used for more affordable ones. The stem is polished, then fit into the mouth of the pipe. Next, Ertugrul dips the pipes in beeswax, which adds a sheen and further hardens the meerschaum, prolonging its durability. But even when worked by skilled hands like Ertugrul’s, the meerschaum is liable to break unexpectedly at any point in the process.
Ertugrul Cevher: Hang on a minute. It broke at the perfect place. It’s the evil eye.
Narrator: The risk of this happening, especially with complex pipes that can take up to two months to complete, means sometimes Ertugrul’s work is all for nothing. But when he can finish a pipe, it can be sold for top dollar.
Ertugrul Cevher: The most expensive pipe I sold myself was as much as $3,000 to $4,000. You can sell one or two of them in a year.
Narrator: Meerschaum pipes at this price point are typically large, intricate collectibles that are also functional.
Emre Mangaltepe: The majority of the pipes you see here are only the oldest pieces of my collection. Most of them are pipes from the 1800s and 1700s, and they are around 200 to 250 years old.
Narrator: Today, meerschaum pipes are in high demand by collectors and smokers alike. But that hasn’t always been the case. Around the turn of the millennium, a rise in anti-smoking laws and the availability of alternative materials cratered the market for meerschaum pipes. Things took a turn in 2011 with the rise of tourism in Turkey after the Arab Spring. As tourism continued to increase, Emre saw meerschaum pipes regain popularity. And the global pipe industry is set to grow even further, at a rate of 4.5% by 2031. Yet as demand for meerschaum pipes increases, Ertugrul fears the profession can’t keep up.
Ertugrul Cevher: Right now, it may be in its golden period, even though the raw material is expensive. My worry for the future of this profession is the absence of trained craftspeople. Although we currently have a small number of masters in Eskisehir, new masters have recently begun to join the meerschaum profession.
