Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2008/7/6/5/4/3

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Pen of the Year 2008
by Graf von Faber-Castell

Pen of the Year 2008 by Graf von Faber-Castell
Special Edition Fountain Pen with Satinwood and Platinum-plating

“Pen of the Year 2008” - this year's outstanding limited edition fountain pen from the Graf von Faber-Castell Collection. This fine release features the world's smallest parquet of finest Indian satinwood. The inspiration was Countess Ottilie's private salon (or drawing room), found in the Faber-Castell castle, which itself features 100 year old panelling in luxurious East Indies satinwood. (This expensive wood is also known as lemonwood due to its fragrant scent and thus the Countess's salon has come to be known as the 'Lemon Room').

The pen's herringbone pattern was also inspired by the Countess's own writing desk which, along with other items of her furniture, features such a pattern. There are at least 84 satin wood rectangles which have been individually hand crafted for the filigree herringbone pattern on this amazingly detailed writing instrument. No two panels are the same and each individually numbered instrument is therefore unique. The barrel has been repeatedly polished and varnished in a very time-consuming process, and the numbered implement is crowned by a chessboard-faceted citrine gemstone set in the end cap, platinum-plated metal fittings and an 18-carat bicolour gold nib, which has been carefully manufactured in an elaborate process including many stages performed by hand. Finally the nib, which is available in Fine, Medium and Broad writing widths, has been run in by hand for excellent writing properties and performance.

Each pen is individually numbered (inside, on the plunger filling mechanism concealed underneath the platinised cap). The metal clip is of solid metal, is hinged and spring-loaded.

As the owner of a Pen of the Year you can register your pen and take advantage of an exclusive service: once a year you can have it cleaned and checked by experts, at no charge*.

This writing instrument oozes quality and is truly a work of art.

• Quantity produced is limited to one year's production only.
• 18-carat bicolour gold nib which is 'run-in' by hand and available in
• medium (M), fine (F) and broad (B) nib widths.
• Spring-loaded solid metal clip to ensure that the pen sits firmly in the pocket.
• Platinum-plated metal fittings and citrine gemstone incorporated into the design.
• Each implement is individually numbered and comes in an exclusive wooden case
• with a beautifully designed brochure plus certificate.
• Limited Edition Certificate bears the personal signature of Count Faber-Castell.
• Complimentary service and clean by experts, at no charge*.

* Correct at time of writing (early April 2008). Service, operated by Faber-Castell, requires registration.

£1950 £1840 each (including VAT @ 17½% for UK & EU countries)

Select Nib required:

MediumFineBroad

(Quantity can be altered on the next screen, which shows prices exclusive of VAT).

Product code: 145050 (M) / 145051 (F) / 145053 (B)

Pen of the Year
2007

Pen of the Year 2007
Special Edition Fountain Pen with Fossilised/petrified wood and Platinum-plating

“Pen of the Year 2007” - outstanding again, this limited edition fountain pen from the Graf von Faber-Castell Collection takes us millions of years into the past with a barrel made of petrified wood.

Cut and crafted by expert gem cutters, the fossilised wood is painstakingly crafted to give the barrel jewel-like qualities.

Petrified wood has formed over a period of up to 360 million years by being subjected to a permanent crystallisation process. During this immense amount of time, the wood has undergone a unique metamorphosis while being buried in the water, mud and volcanic ash. Minerals, metals, lime or phosphorous from the mighty sedimentary layers have dissolved and impregnated the very fibre of the fallen trees. Gradually they have replaced the wood, while retaining part of its organic structure. In the presence of silicic acid, petrified wood may transform into a precursor of semi-precious gems such as chalcedony and agate.

Select stocks of this fossilised wood are of a very rare dark colour and hard enough to give a top-quality gemstone finish. Their individual hues vary from shades of light brown through elegant anthracite grey to a deep black, where the grain is almost invisible. The stones’ intense but discrete sparkle never ceases to impress.

It requires the sensitive touch of an experienced cutter to ensure that the unique nuances of the stone come to the fore, all the way from the rough cut to the final polish.

The Herbert Stephan gemstone manufactury is the natural choice for this demanding task. It carries on the great tradition of the Idar Oberstein gemstone workshops, founded in the 15th century and of world renown.

This finished model is a stunningly beautiful writing implement and piece of jewellery all in one. The platinised frame encases each and every one of the eight stone sections and shows off its unmistakable brilliance to best effect. Thanks to the virtuoso precision cut, not the slightest unevenness can be detected at the transitions between the metal and the stones. It is fascinating to see and feel such an exciting combination of two very different materials.

The crowning glory of it all is a little plate on the end cap which is also made of the petrified wood. Facetted with great precision like a diamond and polished to a gleaming finish, it shows the strength and elegance of this rare material. On the inside, the masterpiece carries the logo of the Herbert Stephan gemstone manufactury – the symbol of a diamond with the initials HS. This attests the genuineness of the fossil material.

The elaborate craftsmanship and the individual colouring of the fossilised material making up the barrel make each and every instrument a unique work of art.

• Magnum format fountain pen
• Its production is limited to one year only.
• 18-carat bicolour gold nib which is 'run-in' by hand and available in
• medium (M), fine (F) and broad (B) nib widths.
• Spring-loaded solid metal clip to ensure that the pen sits firmly in the pocket.
• Platinum-plated end cap operates the plunger mechanism for filling.
• Each one is individually numbered and comes in a lovely wooden case with a brochure.
• Limited Edition Certificate bears the personal signature of Andreas Crummenauer,
• the master craftsman of the Herbert Stephan gemstone manufactury and attests
• both the quality of the genuine petrified wood and that the pen is of a limited edition.

Available with a medium, fine or broad nib.
Limited to production only in the year 2007.

£1950 £1840 each (including VAT @ 17½% for UK & EU countries)

Select Nib required:

MediumFineBroad

(Quantity can be altered on the next screen, which shows prices exclusive of VAT).

Product code: 145040 (M) / 145041 (F) / 145043 (B)

Pen of the Year
2006

Pen of the Year 2006
Special Edition Fountain Pen with Mammoth ivory & Ebony
[Sorry - no longer available]

The “Pen of the Year 2006” Special Edition is another outstanding writing instrument in the Graf von Faber-Castell collection. It is truly beautiful, with selected Siberian Mammoth ivory crafted into the ebony barrel by Jürgen Schott, the grand master of the guild of ivory carvers in the Odenwald region near Heidelberg. Only someone like Jürgen would have the skills needed for this task. Mammoth ivory is no ordinary ivory, being 20 to 25% heavier than normal ivory and a connoisseur will immediately recognise its unique veining. The material has absorbed moisture during the millenia in which it was burried under ice and therefore it needs to be slowly and carefully dried out over a period of between 3 to 5 years before being worked. For export, ivory requires a licence which cannot be granted until a full scientific assessment has been carried out.

Ivory has historically been combined with ebony, known for being one of the most beautiful and expensive of woods. The very dark brown to black heartwood shows off the creamy white of the Mammoth ivory to beautiful effect.

In elaborate inlay work, the artistically engraved pieces of ivory are let into an ebony framework. The polished ivory disc in the end cap reveals the typical texture of mammoth ivory from the outside. Inside is a stylised mammoth engraved with the master craftsman's initials.

• Its production is limited to one year only.
• 18-carat bicolour gold nib which is 'run-in' by hand.
• Spring-loaded solid metal clip to ensure that the pen sits firmly in the pocket.
• Platinized end cap protects the knob of the plunger mechanism.
• Each pen is individually numbered.
• Presented in an ivory-coloured wooden case together with a beautifully printed leaflet.
• Certificate details its limited edition, attests to the ivory quality and includes the personal signature of Jürgen Schott.

Available with a medium, fine or broad nib.

£1600 each (including VAT @ 17½% for UK & EU countries)

[SORRY: NO LONGER AVAILABLE]

Product code: 145030 (M) / 145031 (F) / 145033 (B)

Pen of the Year
2005

Pen of the Year
2004

Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2004
Special Edition Amber Pen [sorry - no longer available]

Pen of the Year 2004; a fountain pen in Magnum size with a barrel handcrafted in real amber by the artists of the Amber Room and platinum-plated cap and rings.

Approximately 45 million years ago, subtropical forests covered the contemporary Baltic States. Tree resins dripped onto the ground, deposited there, consolidated and over millions of years transformed into amber.

From the earliest history amber was used as jewelry. In the 17th and 18th century in Europe, amber was a national treasure of which Electors and Kings of Brandenburg-Prussia were almost exclusively in charge.

A legendary amber highlight is the Amber Room in Zarskoye Selo near St Petersburg, recently restored by Russian artists and architects. Who else could better master the challenge of manufacturing the Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year than the Amber Room's restorers! In 1755, this architectural masterpiece was installed in the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg and it was soon called the "eighth wonder of the world". However, the Amber Room had been missing since the Second World War. In order to recreate this showpiece in its old splendor, the best artists and architects in Russia were selected.

It was the master craftsman and head of the workshop, Boris Igdalov, who personally took care of the creation of the amber 2004 fountain pen by Graf von Faber-Castell and who personally signs each of the accompanying certificates.

Each 18-carat bicolour gold nib is "run in" by hand and is available in widths medium (M), broad (B) and fine (F). Manufacturing of Graf von Faber-Castell nibs is an elaborate process involving over one hundred steps, most of them carried out by hand.

The plunger mechanism has platinum-plated metal inlays and a platinum-plated cap with amber inlay protects the knob of the plunger mechanism. The solid spring-loaded clip guarantees security when the pen is pocketed.

Each writing instrument is individually numbered and is presented in an exclusive wooden case featuring an amber 'eye', brochure and certificate. Production is limited to one year only.

£1600 each (including VAT @ 17½% for UK & EU countries)

[SORRY: NO LONGER AVAILABLE]

Product code: 145590 (M) / 145591 (F) / 145593 (B)

Pen of the Year
2003

Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the Year 2003
Special Edition Snakewood Fountain Pen [sorry - no longer available]

The Special Edition “Pen of the Year 2003” fountain pen by Graf von Faber-Castell is made of beautiful snakewood with platinized metal fittings. Its production is limited to one year only; 2003.

The 18-carat bicolour gold nib is available in three widths and has an iridium tip. Manufacturing of Graf von Faber-Castell nibs is an elaborate process involving over one hundred steps, most of them carried out by hand. Each nib is then ‘run in’ by hand.

Snakewood is one of the heaviest and most expensive woods in the world. It is reddish brown with figuring reminiscent of snakeskin. This very decorative wood is used for such things as very exclusive handles for umbrellas and walking sticks, for violin bows or luxury objects.

The rotary knob for the plunger mechanism is protected by a platinized cap, so cannot be

actuated by mistake.

The decorative wooden presentation box is just as exclusive. When the lid is raised it reveals the pen bedded in chamois-coloured material with the lettering “Pen of the Year 2003”. Below it is a drawer containing an information leaflet about the pen. In its own right it is a beautiful place for the owner to keep the pen.

£895 each (including VAT @ 17½% for UK & EU countries)

[SORRY: NO LONGER AVAILABLE]

Product code: 145581-F / 145580 / 145583-B