Hello AlexanderM,
I've never owned a Nording so I can't speak to their quality. I'm sure they make a nice pipe, but how often do you see them listed for sale as estate pipes? This should answer the investment question for you from the financial sense of the word. As for the intrinsic sense of the word... to each his/her own (as you already stated). So you want something that is good, will retain value, and possibly even appreciate? There are a lot of options. I just suggest you really take your time; read and research, observe others behaviors, and consider the historical context of pipes. It's easy to keep your cobs close, while your mind wanders. The best investment pipes are estate pipes and handmade artisan pipes. Think about it... they change hands over time and never stop selling. I don't see a lot of people competing for Nordings, Savinellis, Stanwells, Vauens, Petersons, etc... on eBay or in the estate sections of online stores, with exception to rare productions of such brand of pipes. A brand new $100 Nording will probably never turn into a rare pipe. Mass production pipes become a modest investment over the course of a lifetime if you choose wisely; otherwise they fight to remain in rotation, hoping to avoid being thrown out by someone after we're dead. This doesn't mean they aren't great pipes. It means that a $100 Nording is probably more of an intrinsic investment and not so much a financial one.
It's interesting because what you are confronted with is a decision we are all faced with when we decide to pull the trigger on purchasing a pipe. Ultimately, we ask ourselves what we want? What sets us all apart is our individual paradigm in regards to who we are as a pipe smoker.
Do I just like to smoke? Am I a collector? How long will I be smoking pipes? Will I become more than a pipe smoker? Maybe I'll start to restore or make pipes? How much money can I spend? Will I ever sell my pipes? What pipes do I like? What brands, shapes, weights, finishes, etc...? It's a trial and error experience that unfolds over time. We win some, we lose some; with the last question usually always being... Did I just make the right decision?
I say go for the Nording. Why not? A brand new pipe is a great thing regardless. You'll love it and eventually move on to the next one, return to it, get another, then go back it, and then who knows... maybe you gift it to a friend/relative, or it could end up in your rotation until you die. Who knows? You may continue to love it or you may grow to hate it? The investment lies within the journey.
Cheers,
Greasy