About MeerschaumMarket
MeerschaumMarket.com is founded, owned, and operated by Burak Servi, a master carver who has dedicated decades to the artistry of meerschaum pipes. Today, MeerschaumMarket.com is a global e-commerce leader specializing in authentic, hand carved block meerschaum pipes.
Meerschaum is an incredibly rare mineral found almost exclusively in Turkey, extracted from deep earth mines ranging from 100 to 300 feet below the surface.
Our Roots: From Workshop to Industry Leader
My entrepreneurial journey began in Turkey. Having been part of our family business since 1989, I officially took over the meerschaum workshop in 2003 with only two carvers helping me. By focusing on uncompromising quality and artistic excellence, I grew our team from two to ten master carvers. Our workshop quickly became an industry leader, producing works of meerschaum art that generated immense international demand from markets as diverse as China and the United States.
Digital Transformation & Global Scale
To meet this global demand and unify a fragmented market, I established MeerschaumMarket.com. What started as a boutique online business selling 10 to 20 pipes has scaled exponentially. Today, our platform hosts over 2,000 unique pieces not only from my own carvings and workshop, but from elite master artists across the region.
Because meerschaum is a natural stone and no two pieces are ever alike, every single pipe is individually photographed and cataloged. It is a massive logistical undertaking, but it ensures our customers receive an authentic, one of a kind work of art.
Strategic Expansion
As our international sales volume rapidly increased, our operational infrastructure needed to evolve. To sustain this exponential growth and better serve our primary markets, I successfully relocated our primary business operations from Turkey to the United States. Through MeerschaumMarket.com, we have successfully bridged the gap between traditional Turkish craftsmanship and a highly specialized global marketplace.
We do not just sell pipes; we are actively preserving an endangered art form by showcasing and supporting the work of master carvers across the industry.
My unwavering commitment to preserving this rare art form has earned global acclaim, including being featured in New York Magazine’s The Strategist for the world class artistry of our exclusive SRV collections.
My brands
I am proud to feature my exclusive collections, IMP and srv, which have grown to become the most prestigious and highly sought after names among pipe smokers and meerschaum pipe collectors worldwide. My Servi Meerschaum brand is also a well known brand, reserved exclusively for wholesale.
What is meerschaum?
Meerschaum is a very rare mineral, a kind of hard white clay. Light and porous structure of the pipe keeps the smoke cool and soft. The pipe itself is a natural filter which absorbs the nicotine. Meerschaum is the most flavorful and beautiful pipe you can own.Because of this peculiarity, meerschaum pipes slowly change their colors to different tones of gold and dark brown. This adds an aesthetic enjoyment to its great smoking pleasure. The longer a pipe is smoked the more valuable it becomes due to the color change. Today many old and rare meerschaums have found a permanent place in museums and private collections.
Pipes are made of high quality Eskisehir Meerschaum which is very well known by experts. Unlike briar, meerschaum does not burn. Meerschaum pipes do not need pre-smoking to have a good quality performance. You can get perfect satisfaction with the very first smoking. Unlike a briar pipe, which must be dried after each smoke, the meerschaum can be smoked many times a day because of its absorbing qualities. Every pipe comes in a completely custom fitted case. All mouthpieces and fitted pipe cases are handmade individually after the production of the pipes. Each pipe is a hand crafted art of the masters.
Why Smoke Meerschaum?
During archaeological researches conducted in order to shed light on this distant past, it has been established, that people knew meerschaum 5000 years ago and used it for various purposes in the course of time.
However, meerschaum became popular throughout the world with the spreading of tobacco-smoking. Very light and porous, meerschaum absorbs great amounts of moisture or gas when subjected to them after having been dried, and retains residues in the moisture or gas and holds them in its texture.
Meerschaum pipes also draw the tar from the tobacco, which is a sticky dark residue left behind when the leaves are burned. Over time, this tar gives the mineral a brownish hue that deepens the more the pipe is used.
