The white dots on the Dunhill trademark are well known, but Alfred Dunhill was not the first to use white dots as a unique mark for his pipes. It should be the German Vauen pipe production company. Its company history can be traced back to 1948 and it officially started using similar white dot markings in 1911, a full year before Alfred Dunhill, (which of course caused some degree of confusion and some controversy between the two companies) Of course, this did not cause the First World War - pipe manufacturers were civilized people and the problem could be solved through gentle methods). Ultimately, the Alfred Dunhill Company agreed that the Vauen Company would continue to sell their pipes in Germany with the white dot mark (which is still in use today), but that when their products were exported from Germany, they should use off-white dots instead.