Genod

Genod is the brand name adopted in 1970 by a workshop that has operated continuously in the French town of Saint-Claude since 1865. The name is relatively new; the lathes behind it, and the hand habits carried through them, reach back to the first generation of briar pipemaking. For this reason, Genod is known less for the pipes it produces than for its unbroken continuity of a manufacturing tradition.

The Workshop's Chain of Succession

Records indicate the workshop was founded in 1865 by a member of the family later known in London under the name Comoy's of London; shortly afterward it merged with a partner named David, taking the name Comoy-David. In 1923 the business passed to Georges Vincent and began to be known as Vincent-Genod. From 1939 Vincent worked with his son-in-law John Craen, who took charge of the workshop's technical side.

The third generation entered the picture in 1959, when Jacques Craen joined the workshop. Known as "Jacky," Craen took over Société Vincent-Genod in 1970 and introduced the Genod brand that same year; some accounts say the name was formalized a few years later, in 1974. After taking over the entire business in 1977, Craen opened a shop in the town center, on Place de l'Abbaye, and began offering guided visits to the workshop. This second decision is counted among the early examples of tying Saint-Claude's pipe production to tourism.