Montegrappa announces a four-line collection of writing instruments, each of which represents one of the key families in the popular ‘Game of Thrones’ series: Stark, Baratheon, Lannister, and Targaryen.
Yard-O-Led is not exactly your average, everyday, run-of-the-mill brand name. And it’s especially not an everyday, run-of-the-mill luxury brand name. However, although Yard-O-Led is an unusual name, it also happens to be a very practical one as it states right up front precisely what made it famous.
After obtaining a Delta Dolce Vita Oversized at the conclusion of my Italian period, I was a very happy man. The pen served me very well, and I was in love with the looks as well as the writing experience that it provided. As usual though, while I wasn’t looking for a replacement, it happened anyway. But this time with some very famous brands.
It’s not just the Đông Sơn drum theme of these two quite different collector’s items by watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin and pen maker Grayson Tighe that caught my eye: it was more than that, it was the actual pieces themselves inspired by the indigenous people of the Red River Delta of Vietnam.
What a beautiful theme to decorate such rare and interesting objects with.
The Cross Peerless Fonderie 47 Collector’s Edition rollerball pen follows a limited edition fountain pen. And it, too, transforms an object of disdain into an element of hope, incorporating a bit of blackened steel from a melted-down AK-47 into the design of its cap crown. To further the message, the side of the pen’s cap reveals the unique serial number of the gun that was taken out of circulation and used to embellish the special edition pen. Its price makes it an ideal holiday gift!
In an insightful move Montblanc chose this year, the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare death (or what the company delicately calls the “anniversary of his life’s achievements”), to honor him with an annual Writers Edition limited edition pen full of symbolism.
Caran d’Ache is a Geneva-based manufacture of pencils and fountain pens. And Caran d’Ache is a manufacture in the true sense of the word ― much like MB&F, one of today’s most forward-thinking watch brands. Even though the two manufactures generally exhibit very different design language, they have come together more than successfully for the exceptional Astrograph, a pen that is also an MB&F Machine.
Italians have the gift of making even the most common object look great. They can even make a coffee grinder with enough sex appeal to make Tom Jones jealous! For a relatively small country, Italy still has quite a few fountain pen manufacturers. And I think that I have tried products from almost all of them!
The Graf von Faber-Castell collection – or “Graf” as it’s known to pen buffs – is Faber-Castell’s top-of-the-line series of pens; it includes premium writing instruments, like the recently released Pen of the Year, among others. The Pen of the Year for 2016 was inspired by Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, a 1,441-room residence that became the cultural and political center of the Hapsburg Empire.
Beginning in September, a Montblanc for BMW Centennial Fountain Pen will accompany each of the 100 new BMW 7 Series Jubilee Edition The Next 100 Years autos purchased at BMW dealerships. The distinctive design of the car’s Merino leather interior is replicated on the intricate grid design of the pen’s cap and barrel. What else is special about this writing instrument? Read on to find out.