While you would be hard-pressed to find a Pesaro master who hasn't spent some time carving at Ser Jacopo, for thirty years Giancarlo Guidi — a leading force of the Pesaro school — was not only the company’s founder but also its visionary. The already refined shapes of Mastro de Paja (Guidi's former place of employment) became incrementally more elegant and sophisticated with each passing year, and the master carver craved a new challenge. Under the Ser Jacopo marque, a greater breadth of sizes and finishes emerged, along with a deeply thoughtful approach to series and collections. Ser Jacopo came to define the Pesaro school of pipe making through its emphasis on pairing briar with a breathtaking variety of stylised mounts and its novel, gestural approach to shaping.

Giancarlo passed away after a long illness on 6 August 2012. In the months preceding, he devoted a great deal of thought and energy towards the upcoming transition and the ever-continuing progress of his legendary marque. Today the Maestro's vision lives on and continues to evolve through the capable eyes and hands of a number of artisans within the workshop. Gazing at the post-Giancarlo Ser Jacopos of today, there can be no doubt that Guidi's planning and tutelage was on par with most everything he attempted.