Skip to Content

writing instrument

Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2007

Filed under: Writing Instruments


Last year's pen of the year from Graf von Faber-Castell used mammoth ivory, this year's rare material is petrified wood. The fossilized wood is so hard that it is cut by gem cutters. Eight stone pieces are set into a fountain pen of platinized metal. The pen also has an 18-carat bicolored gold nib available in three different widths. It has a solid metal spring-loaded clip and the platinum-plated end cap operates the plunger mechanism for filling. The cap also features petrified wood including a small plate in the end cap. Each pen is individually numbered and comes in a wooden case with a limited edition certificate. It can be found at Pens From Heaven for £1840 (around $3,650).

Tibaldi For Bentley Pens

Filed under: Writing Instruments


Bentley has joined the ranks of Ferrari and other luxury car makers with their own branded pens. The pens are from italian company Tibaldi and celebrate 60 years of production at their Crewe factory. The pens get their looks from the two limited edition cars produced for the Diamond Jubilee of the Crewe factory, the Arnage and the Continental GT Diamond Series and have the Bentley B on the top of the cap. The limited edition includes 400 silver fountain pens. 200 silver roller balls, 40 solid white gold fountain pens and 20 solid white gold roller balls.

Caran d'Ache Black Series Pen Set

Filed under: Writing Instruments

Swiss pen maker Caran d'Ache has made an entire wardrobe of black pens, one for each day of the week. The Varius Black Series Limited Edition from Caran d'Ache recently won the Stylographe Trophy 2007. The black case contains seven black numbered Varius ballpoints pens in Chinese Lacquer, Zebu Horn, Carbon Fibre, Ebony, Coat of Mail, Rubber and Alligator, as well as black Goliath cartridges in fine, medium and broad, a velvet pouch and a polishing cloth. Each pen is silver-plated and rhodium-coated for scratch-resistance and is fitted with the Caran d'Ache Goliath cartridge, which has a writing capacity of 600 A4 pages. The set is a limited edition of 500 and it sells for $3,400.

Conway Stewart Westminster Teal Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments


British pen company Conway Stewart have released the latest version of their popular Westminster pen this time in teal enamel. The pen takes its design cues from the palace of Westminster with its Gothic style engraving on the cap and barrel. The small diamond-shaped recesses mimic the detail on the palace and the tiny oak leaves are a symbol of England.  The teal color of course doesn't have anything to do with the Gothic style, it just looks cool. The pen is available in an edition of 100 fountain pen or roller ball writing modes.  It sells for $1,800.

Namiki Pheasant and Sakura Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments

This exquisite pen, the Limited Edition Pheasant & Sakura from Namiki is new for 2006. The pen uses the Chinkin technique in which patterns are carved into the lacquer surface with chisels. Next more lacquer is poured into the carved grooves and gold foil or gold powder is inlayed. Then pens are detailed with platinum powder sprinkled on the petals of the flowers and nacreous shell embedded in the center of the flower. There are 99 of these pens created and they each come in a box made using the Kaba-zaiku technique which involves using a thin layer of mountain cherry tree bark and creating a  cherry blossom design. The pen sells for $10,000.

The DaVinci Code Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments

Personally, when watching "The DaVinci Code" movie I thought the cryptex box was nothing special. But maybe you crave your own cryptex box to toss around when eluding mad Europeans in hot pursuit. And, since you'd never use the actual cryptex itself (how impractical is that thing?) let's put something useful in there. How about a pen. Check out the DaVinci Code pen from Tibaldi. It's officially commissioned from Sony. They have made the pen in roller ball editions in silver or solid gold in prices ranging from  $3,075  $19,125. Each one is a limited edition. Philippe over at Just Writing reveals the secrets of the pen, showing off his new silver DaVinci Code pen in a comprehensive photo gallery.

Grayson Tighe Fifth Anniversary Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments

To celebrate five years in the business, Grayson Tighe has created five special anniversary pens. The anniversary design on titanium is a collaboration with knife maker Jose de Braga collaboration. The pen features a Roman numeral V on the cap with a lapis lazuli composite inset. The pen has stainless steel accents and a titanium trim with blued millgrain accents. The body of the pen has another Roman numeral V set with 5 VS grade white diamonds. The limited edition number is displayed at the top of the pen. This pen sells for $5,500.

Delta Indios Pens

Filed under: Writing Instruments


This is the latest in the series of indigenous people pens from Delta. This year's line is Indios, which celebrates the indigenous people of the Amazon.  The many ethnic groups in the region were called the Indios by the Portuguese explorers and that term is still used today in Brazil. The pens are made of brown and black resin except for the celebration version of the pen (shown above) which is made of Amazon green and brown resin. It has an 18K hand-carved gold ring separating the resin colors and there is a gold disk at the top of the cap which portrays a parrot. The celebration pen is a limited edition of 40 pieces and sells for $2,400. Other versions sell for for $325 to $695.

Waterman Serenite Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments


The Waterman Serenite pen has a beautiful curved shape that echoes the days of writing quills. The new blue lacquer version has a solid silver ring designed to look like melting ice. The cap has a solid silver clip like a needle and the 18K gold nib is overlaid with rhodium. The pen is available as a fountain pen or a rollerball. The pen stands upright open or closed. The fountain pen costs $720 and the rollerball is $595 from Fountain Pen Hospital. The pens are available for May delivery.

Pelikan Blue Planet Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments


The Blue Planet pen from Pelikan is the newest pen from the German company to focus on the science of astronomy. It has a cobalt blue front section with a detailed depiction of the Planet Earth that features not just the oceans and continents but an overlay of of filigreed clouds embedded under clear varnish and set against an anthracite background of outer space. The longitude and latitude lines of the Earth are guilloched on the filling knob and pen cap. It has an 18K gold nib with rhodium embellishments. The pen is produced in a limited edition of 540 to celebrate the 540 million years of life on earth and sells for $1985 through Fountain Pen Hospital.

Krone Gradient Pens

Filed under: Writing Instruments


The latest pens from Krone feature mother of pearl which has been hand painted in a gradient way sweeping up from the tip of the pen. The pen has a brushed metal cap and an 18K gold nib. The pen is also available as a rollerball. There are 388 of each color (azure, coral, goldenrod and chartreuse) in rollerball and fountain pen designs. The fountain pen sells for $1,195 and the rollerball is $1,120.

Revolution Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments


This unique object is the Revolution pen from Parafernalia. The pen, which is hand-made with 31 miniaturized metal components and a push mechanism, has been exhibited at the Modern Art Museum in New York. The pen has been available as a ballpoint or a mechanical pencil for a while but can now also be purchased in a fountain pen model for $90. It may look odd but the triangular shape is actually said to be quite comfortable to write with.

Visconti Stellastar Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments

Sometimes the simplest designs are the most beautiful. The Stellastar pen from Visconti is created from a single silver bar that is lathe-shaped, smoothened and rhodium plated into the gleaming column with a distinctive star shape. The pen has a two-toned 18k gold nib and each pen in the limited edition of 1,917 (the birth year of the designer,architect Ettore Sottsass ) has a serial number with the author's signature on the base. The pen stands inside a transparent cylinder on a steel and wood base. It sells for $3,500.

Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2006

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches


The 2006 Faber-Castell pen of the year uses mammoth ivory as its special component. The pen of the year always uses an exotic materials, past years have brought us pens with amber and stingray leather. This year's pen has a disc of mammoth ivory in the cap and the body of the pen is designed so that the white of the ivory is set against ebony for contrast. The 18K  gold nib is ‘run in’ by hand and is available in three widths and the cap has a spring-loaded metal clip.  Then pen comes in an ivory-colored wooden box and bears the signature of the craftsman Jurgen Schott.

[Thanks, Marcus]

Omas Invisibilis Pen

Filed under: Writing Instruments

The latest pen from Omas is the "Invisibilis" a pen devoted to esotericism. The pen is made of sterling silver and has a cap that is engraved with five images and esoteric symbols, with contours traced in blue enamel and a piece of coral. The top of the cap shows a  Geocentric Universe,  and the clip's square design mimics the pyramid-temple of Kukulcan at Chichèn Itzà. Twenty-three phrases, taken from 18th century engravings decorate the nib holder.  The nib is made of solid 18K gold decorated with symbols and reflections with esoteric meaning. It comes in a blue lacquered wood box with the engraving of the geocentric universe on the top of the box. It comes in an edition of 1235. After the jump, another picture of the pen and the box.

Featured Galleries

A. Lange & Sohne Zeitwerk Striking Time Watch
Amanyara, Turks & Caicos
Pilates in Heels: The Experiment
Greubel Forsey Double Tourbillon Technique Platinum Watch
Bulgari Serpenti Watches
'Silver Zwei' Superyacht
'TV' Megayacht Charter
Villa Volpi
Volvo S60 Style