Perfect for Valentine's Day: Platinum Shape of Heart fountain pen with 14-karat rose gold nib.
If you know much about pens, you certainly know the name Platinum. If you’re new to fine pens, it’s a brand you should look up. The Japanese company has been around since 1919, and it continues to produce beautifully designed fountain pens—many comprising traditional art forms—whose nibs are often described as “incomparable.”
As for Caran d’Ache, the Geneva-based family-owned brand has been around since 1915, producing artists’ supplies and pens for generations of artists and other discerning writing implement aficionados. Its pen collections are known for the artisanal techniques employed in creating them, particularly engraving. And the company continues to produce artists’ supplies distributed worldwide.
For this Valentine’s Day, Platinum is introducing a whimsical pen called “Shape of Heart” (#3776 Century special edition) whose transparent crown encloses varying sizes of loose crystals along with two gold hearts. The most interesting part, I think, is that the hearts, each about 1.3mm in size, were created during the manufacturing process of the company’s 14-karat gold nibs, when the heart-shaped breather holes were stamped out.
Cap crown featuring loose crystals and two heart-shaped cut-outs.
Normally, these cut-out pieces are re-melted and used for making additional nibs, but here they are used to stunning advantage as part of the pen’s love-inspired décor. The monochromatic pen is devoid of any additional decoration, save for the metal trim, allowing the crown to really shine.
The Shape of Heart fountain pen is a limited edition of 2,000 pieces, each featuring the company’s lauded Slip & Seal mechanism. There are three nib sizes available: extra fine, fine and medium, and the cartridge- or converter-filled pen is offered in a special presentation/gift box that also includes a bottle of blue Aurora ink, a converter, and one blue-black ink cartridge. Put it in a decorative bag or enlist some red wrapping paper and it’s a Valentine’s Day present ready to go!
Introduced in 1953, the Ecridor is one of the true pillars of the Caran d’Ache range of writing instruments, with its hexagonal shape and capacity to gorgeously take on a variety of guilloche engravings—displaying each to its utmost advantage. The Ecridor was first introduced as a pencil, then a ballpoint, and now the collection comprises a rollerball and fountain pen as well. Most of the pens within the Ecridor collection are suitable for engraving, and all feature unique finishes that shine like jewels.
The New Ecridor Lights ballpoint features engraving inspired by baguette-cut diamonds. Its high-precision hand-rendered polishing by Caran d’Ache’s master craftsmen further accentuates the beauty of the 18-karat yellow gold coating, making it as much a piece of jewelry as a pen. The Caran d’Ache logo is laser-engraved on the push button on the crown of the pen.
It is fitted with a medium Goliath ink refill (black), ensuring hours of uninterrupted writing. The revolutionary Goliath has a rotating ballpoint made of tungsten carbide for smooth writing, and it delivers up to 600 A4 pages (about 8.5 inches by 11 inches) of writing. It, like the pen, is made in the Caran d’Ache workshops in Geneva where quality control rules.