Pen World v27.3

The Universe of Writing Culture

a timely pen:

T-Mechanic

by TF Est. 1968

Fisher Space Pen It still writes upside down!

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APRIL

VOLUME 27, NUMBER 3 ON OUR COVER: Carbon Fiber T-Mechanic by TF Est. 1968

42 right on time

TF Est. 1968 combines watchmaking and penmaking techniques.

28 Have You Seen My Dragon?

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A new children’s book from author/illustrator Steve Light makes the most of pen and ink.

30 monumental art

A botanical garden in Australia honors the role of writing through public art.

34 sister act

Two sisters are the heart of a family-run chain of pen stores Down Under.

46 out of this world

34

Nearly fifty years after Paul Fisher invented his Anti-Gravity pen, Fisher Space Pen thrives.

50 Pen World visits Paperworld

PW keeps up with trends at the largest trade fair of its kind in Frankfurt, Germany.

61 but what is it made of?

61

A new series begins on fountain pen materials —past and present.

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departments WHAT’S HOT NOW

25 06 view 38

the writing on the wall

08 mail

our readers speak

10 news 14 now 22 date

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people, places and events

new pens and other products

mark your calendar

24 note 25 getting started 38 strokes 54 nibs 58 shop

see you at the movies!

tips on pen use and care

Kathy Milici

Ward Dunham

Phidon Pen

65 pages

The Conklin Legacy; American Writing Instrument Patents

68 network 70 source 72 imho

classified advertising

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guide to products and services

Alan Colburn

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WRITING on the

WALL

W

hat an awful winter we are just emerging from, at least in the United States!

By the time this reaches you, I hope you are fully thawed out and ready for spring—which will be everybody’s favorite season this year.

A quick look through the magazine reveals that the pen industry has not been hibernating during the dreary winter. The elegant conversationstarter on our cover—the T-Mechanic in carbon fiber from TF Est. 1968—is but one example of what spring holds for us. Read about it in “All in the Timing.” Be sure to see the beautiful crop of new pens in Now as well.

In this issue we profile two pen retailers that go the extra mile by offering penmanship and/or calligraphy classes. This is not a new idea— we’ve reported on Washington D.C. retailer Fahrney’s in-store classes led by the wonderful Elizabeth SpinksBunn—but are we witnessing a trend here? If so, it’s one we endorse wholeheartedly. Read about these shops in “Family Matters” (about the Pens de Luxe group of shops in Australia) and “Labor of Love” (about Phidon Pens in Cambridge, Ontario).

Other gems in this issue include our coverage of Paperworld, the giant trade expo for the stationery, writing instruments and office supply sectors

Photo by Philip J. Ross

in Frankfurt, Germany; our story “Working under Pressure” about the Fisher Space Pen Company, which built its reputation around the unique inventions of its colorful founder; the first installment of a new series by Paul Erano on fountain pen materials through the years; and Deborah Basel’s profile of calligrapher and teacher Kathy Milici.

In addition, Richard Binder departs from his series on fountain pen filling systems long enough to review two brand new books of interest to pen enthusiasts; Lynne Friedmann takes us to Perth, Australia, for a look at a sculptural tribute to the value of pen and ink; and Julian H. Kreeger talks to Ward Dunham and Linnea Lundquist—the husband and wife team behind Atelier Gargoyle in San Francisco—about their beloved italic nibs. For Dunham and Lundquist, pens aren’t something to put on a shelf—they are to be used, often and with pleasure.

For me, that’s the writing on the wall. It’s not a warning, like the Biblical message to which that phrase alludes; in this case, it’s an affirmation.

editor@penworld.com

All in the

Timing

BY LAURA CHANDLER

T-Mechanic pen in carbon fiber, $1,090; T-Mechanic cuff links, $485

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ine pens and watches. You can see both—vintage and new—at major pen shows. More and more brands known primarily for their pens are beginning to offer watches, and a few watch brands also offer pens.

It’s not hard to understand why many of the same people who are attracted to one are also attracted to the other.

They require skill and precision to make, and the best of them are as beautiful to look at as they are pleasurable to use. So why not put the two together?

While pens that incorporate watch motifs are not new, the Swiss brand (naturally!) TF Est. 1968 is the first to make this combination a signature of its pen models. And something else to set these pens apart? Some of the models contain moving watch mechanisms.

The latest pen from TF Est. 1968 is a new iteration, in carbon fiber, of the T-Mechanic seen in our October 2013 issue. It shows off a complete watch movement. But, just in case you’re a watch novice, as am I, let’s start at the beginning.

TF Est. 1968’s first pen was the Tourbillon, a pen that contains a functioning tourbillon at the top, visible through a transparent crystal. The inventor of the tourbillon, Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823) hypothesized that

F

gravity influences a watch’s workings, so his 1801 invention was designed to counter its effects in order to produce a more accurate timepiece. Whereas pocket watches were always held upright and stationary, the same wasn’t true of wristwatches. With a tourbillon, a watch’s escapement (balance, lever and escape wheel) are held in a cage that rotates.

Alexis Sarkissian—who spent decades of his career with the luxury giant the Richemont Group and is now the U.S. distributor for TF Est. 1968 and other luxury brands—offers an analogy for how a tourbillon works: “Imagine the way your heart beats when your feet are on the ground and your head is above,” he says. “But let’s say your head is down and your feet are up. Your heart wouldn’t function as well, because it has to pump blood backwards to your head and up to your feet. It’s not designed to do it this way. But if your heart could be held within a tourbillon, it would rotate to adapt to any position of the body.” A tourbillon is constantly in motion, powered by the user’s movements, and is considered a “complication,” as is any watch feature that goes beyond telling the hours, minutes and seconds.

Tourbillons are expensive and elegant: watches that are equipped with them usually show them off, with Laurent Ferrier and Patek-Philippe being notable exceptions.

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ClockWork in white and gun metal gray, $550

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TF Est. 1968’s T-Mechanic pen holds an entire baguette watch movement with a working balance wheel. It doesn’t revolve on its axis like a tourbillon, but it rotates from side to side. “It’s a very small movement, and it’s beautifully decorated because it’s visible 360 degrees. What you sometimes see on a watch is only the back of the movement,” says Sarkissian.

The movement is, of course, the heart of a watch, so does it reflect most of the price of the pens by TF Est. 1968?

“Yes and no,” says Sarkissian. “For both the Tourbillon and the T-Mechanic, the whole thing is expensive. We use palladium plating to give it resistance and durability so that two years down the line, any scratches will be less visible.

The carbon fiber on the new T-Mechanic is expensive.

The shockproof crystal is extremely expensive, and anything that is clear on a pen has to be flawless, because any flaw will show. In terms of R & D, it took an extremely long time to develop these pens and bring them to fruition.

“But this is a pen for active life,” he emphasizes. “You can take it with you and keep it in your pocket, even in your purse. I am not careful at all with my pens, but I have in front of me the first prototype of the T-Mechanic that we developed. I’ve been using it regularly, without taking any special care of it, and it looks brand new. It’s the same with my Tourbillon prototype from 2009, and truly it looks awesome.”

TF Est. 1968 offered its first pens to the public in 2010, but Sarkissian has already made quite a bit of progress in finding retail outlets for the new brand. The products are available mostly through jewelry stores, but also through pen retailers Airline International and Bittner, The Pleasure of Writing.

All of the work is done by an individual Swiss producer, whose name Sarkissian is reluctant to reveal, except the metal overlays of the ClockWork, which are done in France, and the tourbillon and tourbillon cage, which are made in Germany. “The people working with us are in the watch business, not the pen business,” says Sarkissian.

The most popular model in terms of pieces sold is the ClockWork, one of the brand’s entry-level pens with a masculine look. Two new versions, in gun metal gray and in white with rose gold–toned overlays, have just been released. The T-Mechanic is the winner in terms of dollar amount.

The Tourbillon pen itself met with a mixed response. “Some consumers loved it, like me,” says Sarkissian. “But some people didn’t, because they think the top of the Tourbillon is too wide; it’s not practical to put in a shirt or coat pocket.

So we went back and started thinking that we need pens that are not flared at the top but are the same width at top and bottom. By introducing those, it really opened up the entire field for us.”

Now, with four models—the three already mentioned plus another entry pen, the WheelWork, an enameled pen—

Sarkissian wants to slow down just a bit in the variety of products introduced to the U.S. market. While there are some new concepts on the drawing board, he wants to concentrate on the products that are already out there, which also include matching cuff links in various styles that complement the pens.

And that’s OK. Making these pens is a complicated business. And, as Sarkissian knows, success is all in the timing.

Visit TotallyWorthIt.com.

The Tourbillon pen ($930–980) and the new Naked Tourbillon cuff links, $595. Note the window on the side that allows a more complete view.

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Est. 1968 Genève Suisse

724 263 2286 t 201 894 4710 info@totallyworthit.com t www.TotallyWorthIt.com

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