Jima

Jima is a system pipe that emerged in 1960s France. In place of the single wooden mass one usually thinks of as a pipe, three separate materials take over here: a hard-plastic outer shell, a silver- or gold-plated steel frame connecting that shell to the stem, and an independent bowl hidden inside the shell. On examples sent for export the brand name changes to Garland; according to sources, this name is also found on a limited number of Dutch examples.

Bowl and Body

The actual chamber where tobacco burns is a pressed white-clay piece set inside the visible plastic shell. Because of its white color and porous texture, these bowls have sometimes been mistaken for meerschaum or sepiolite; in reality the material is a relative of traditional clay-pipe paste. The connection is threaded: it is tightened with an Allen wrench, and the same wrench loosens it to remove the bowl from its seat. Plastic compression gaskets are fitted where both the bowl and the moisture-catching tip (stinger) sit. The gaskets serve two purposes — keeping tar and moisture inside, and preventing stray air from leaking in during the draw.

The body was produced in several colors. Black and ivory are reported to have stood out, while mottled pastel tones tried later did not draw the expected interest. The stem is plastic in some series and metal in others; its underside mostly reads "Breveté France & Etranger" or "Modèle Deposé Made in France." These choices also set Jima apart from the briar pipes of its era in terms of stem materials.

The Coil-Wire Filter

The piece the brand is built around sits inside the stem. The maker marketed this metal wire assembly — double-coiled in some examples — under the name "filtres serpentins hélicoïdaux," claiming the wire's electrostatic properties drew tar and residue to itself. This claim is viewed skeptically today; the buildup is generally attributed instead to a mechanical cause, the strong turbulence the coil creates and the sudden cooling of the smoke. Whatever the reason, the amount of tar and moisture that collects in the shank is visibly noticeable. Reaching the filter requires disassembling the stem; depending on the model, this is done by turning the stem, releasing a spring-loaded latch, or sliding it back and tilting it down. Jima is thus counted among the late and daring links in the search for pipe filters and systems that accelerated after the 1880s as moist, aromatic tobaccos became widespread.

The Brand's Course

Records indicate the brand was founded in the 1960s by a maker named Mayeux; the same name also appears in sources spelled Mahieux. The promotional material openly made the design's modernity into a selling point, marketing the pipe under the slogan "la pipe de l'an 2000" — the pipe of the year two thousand.

The factory later passed to Chapel Frères & Cie of Saint-Claude, which was in turn absorbed into Berrod-Regad, one of the large groups of the Saint-Claude industry; sources give both 1987 and 1988 for the year of this merger. Production of the Jima pipe ended following these changes of ownership; the brand today is a matter of collecting only.