(Caran d’Ache Private Collection). Rhodium-coated Sterling Silver.
Limited edition “Gotica” from Caran d’Ache’s “Private Collection”. It is a miniaturized tribute to gothic art and architecture. “Gotica” has a six-sided rhodium-coated sterling silver body and cap and each surface displays a gothic window of rosette and fleurs-de-lis in luminous colours. The edition is limited to 1140 pieces as a tribute to the age which provided its inspiration.
Each of these luxury fountain pens starts its life in the workshops of Barcelona silversmiths Miguel Cunhill who produce the silver framework for the gothic decoration. Caran d’Ache master craftsmen then apply the colours to the pen using a fine brush. The colouring technique is appropriately reminiscent of that used to create stained glass.
Presented in a handsome wooden case, the Gotica is destined to become a reference for collectors.
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 …
“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’).
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.
The only pen in the world known to contain over 30 carats of diamonds, this masterpiece is created by Aurora, the oldest and most prestigious fountain pen manufacturer in Italy. An exquisite diamond cabochon crowns nearly two thousand “4 C” certified De Beers diamonds on a two hectogram solid platinum barrel with a two-tone, rhodium-treated, 18KT solid gold nib, creating what may well be the most exclusive, valuable writing instrument available in the world.
Although the price for this piece is not published to the public, it is believed to be circa €1 Million Euros. Only one of most fortunate of people in the world may contend, each year, ownership of this most exclusive jewel of jewels, personalised with their coat-of-arms, signature or portrait.