In a cinematic moment where art meets eccentricity, British luxury house dunhill has unveiled a striking piece of craftsmanship for Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Phoenician Scheme. True to Anderson’s unmistakable aesthetic—where whimsy blends with exacting detail—the bespoke jewel-adorned smoking pipe becomes a visual and narrative anchor in a story steeped in deception, inheritance, and high-stakes adventure.
At the heart of this stylized tale, Benicio del Toro’s character Zsa-zsa Korda bequeaths his fortune to his daughter Liesl, a young nun portrayed by Mia Threapleton. In a gesture both intimate and symbolic, he gifts her the dunhill pipe—an object of both sentiment and artistry. The piece plays a small but poignant role, reinforcing the film’s recurring motifs of heirlooms, legacy, and eccentric lineage.
Drawing inspiration from 19th-century American corn cob pipes, dunhill’s refined interpretation takes the rustic form into the realm of the extraordinary. The carved bowl is encased in an 18-carat gold frame, its surface adorned with meticulously set semi-precious stones that glint like gilded corn kernels. It’s a tactile homage to the past, reimagined with elegance and wit, and crafted by hand through the combined expertise of a master pipe maker and jewellery stone setter from The White Spot—dunhill’s storied pipe-making division.
Alfred Dunhill’s legacy as a pioneer of gentleman’s accessories lives on in this singular object. Since the early 20th century, his White Spot pipes have embodied a quiet sophistication—a trait perfectly suited to Anderson’s surreal, refined world. The piece is not only a film prop but a symbol of dunhill’s enduring relationship with cinema, and its ability to translate heritage into moments of modern storytelling.
With The Phoenician Scheme, dunhill deepens its ties to the silver screen, adding this rarefied artifact to a growing catalogue of cinematic collaborations. From tailoring for some of film’s most iconic characters to crafting objets d’art with narrative power, the House continues to weave elegance, heritage, and imagination into the visual language of cinema.
