St. Claude, France: 1865. In the very heart of the very town where the briar pipe first came into existence, the venerable Comoy firm set up a workshop and began a process which led to the noble heath becoming the favorite pipe material the world over. The next 95 years saw two changes in ownership; Comoy-David to George Vincent-Genod in 1923, and again in 1959, with the arrival of Jacques Craen. It was in 1970 that 'Jacky' Craen, became the director of the Société Vincent-Genod, and, that same year, created a new line of pipes named "Genod".

In 2006, a young, highly talented pipe maker by the name of Sebastien Beaud began to carve pipes, and was approached in 2011 by Smokingpipes.com's very own Sykes Wilford, with an eye for introducing and promoting a new brand of high quality, well-engineered French pipes to the US market. The agreement resulted in SPC's Sebastien Beo line. The Beo briars weren't merely well received, they have been the constant recipients of highly positive reviews from our collectors. On the rare occasion where a feedback was less than 100%, though, it was generally an expression of a desire for a greater range of shapes and an availability of larger sizes.

Once again, Sebastien Beaud came through, this time in the form of the Genod briar. Proudly bearing many forms which pre-date Dunhill designs by close to half a century, the Genod pipe lays rightful reclaim to what truly constitutes a "traditional" shape, and boasts a breadth of ranges from 'petite' to near-Giant.