​

Records indicate that, starting from 2008-2009, Gabriele Dal Fiume's (DG) pipes have used animal marks to indicate shape and finish: a tortoise marks sandblasted, a whale marks smooth and straight-grained, a nautilus marks pipes of a harmonious shape, and a ladybird marks the maker's finest work. Before 2009, a butterfly mark was used together with every grade other than "Dal Fiume" to indicate the best quality attainable within that grade. According to the maker's 2012 statement, these marks do not constitute a strict grading system. The example pipe carries no production-year or serial-number stamp.