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What's The Deal With The 51's Amber Jewel?

Cyclopentadiene

By Cyclopentadiene
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Cyclopentadiene Mint

Cyclopentadiene

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Hi all,

 

I've already got a Parker 51 which I enjoy using very much. I was looking at the amber jewel that I've seen on some of the 51s and wanted to know if the amber jewel signified anything in particular, or was it's placement purely for aesthetics?

 

Thanks,

Badger

 

 

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Cyclopentadiene Mint

Cyclopentadiene

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Pure aesthetic awesomeness, from what I've read.

hehe thought as much :)

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Cyclopentadiene Mint

Cyclopentadiene

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Don't have the particular pen. Will try to find a non-copy righted... copyrighted... not sure of the grammar there photo for tomorrow morning.

 

Cheers,

Badger

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DaleR Rare

DaleR

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Just a color choice Parker made for aesthetic purposes, I think. I have seen the amber jewels primarily on darker-color pens. I have a black vacumatic 51 that has a bright amber jewel on the blind cap, but a black jewel on the cap. I am told one could order a pen like that. I also have cordovan brown single-jewel vac 51 with a grey-ish jewel on the cap.

 

Dale

"The worst of all fears is the fear of living." Theodore Roosevelt

 

http://mark.intervex.net/fpn/images/LetterExchange_sm.pnghttp://mark.intervex.net/fpn/images/PostcardExchange_sm.png

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Flounder Antique

Flounder

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Ernesto Soler's site has a photo of the amber jewels on page 2 of his Caps page:

http://parker51.com/PenCaps.2.html

 

and don't they look marvelous!

 

Here's an original grey jewel, next to a modern replacement. Guess which is which?

 

http://i773.photobucket.com/albums/yy19/flounder2009/Carneil%20Pens%20Workmanship/Parker%2051%20Cap%20Jewels%20Original%20vs%20Ersatz/OriginalampErsatz4.jpg

Latest pen related post @ flounders-mindthots.blogspot.com : vintage Pilot Elite Pocket Pen review

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inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

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I don't think I've seen the amber jewels before. The 51s I own all have, I think, grey-ish ones -- even the replacement cap for my English-made 51 Vac, that I traded for at DCSS (it's still not *quite* the right cap, but it was better that the US-made 51 Special cap that came on the pen when I bought it).

Could someone post comparison pix (an amber jewel alongside a grey one)? Also, did the jewels come in any other colors? I know that the jewels on 51 Specials tend to be black, and I think I remember reading someplace that sometimes the jewels on 51s are green (although I've never seen one of those either).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: OK -- I stand corrected. I just compared the cap jewels on the plum Aero and the 51 Vac, and they are definitely different looking. I'm thinking that that jewel on the Aero is grey, but the other one is a warmer color (although still greyish looking); is that what is meant by "amber"?

Edited by inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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Inkysloth Vintage

Inkysloth

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Yep!

 

Hurray!

 

There's such a difference between the translucency of the original, and the flat opacity of the other.

 

I've cheated with a 51 that needed a jewel, and used one from a spare UK Duofold cap I had knocking around. It fits a treat, but it does look at me with a sideways "I'm the wrong jewel" look, occasionally.

Instagram @inkysloth

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pajaro Museum Piece

pajaro

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Hurray!

 

There's such a difference between the translucency of the original, and the flat opacity of the other.

 

I've cheated with a 51 that needed a jewel, and used one from a spare UK Duofold cap I had knocking around. It fits a treat, but it does look at me with a sideways "I'm the wrong jewel" look, occasionally.

It's a Parker jewel. It's not cheating, it's a clever improvisation with a genuine Parker part.

 

When the jewel is missing or broken, you do what you can. These are old pens and some of the original parts are scarce. If the jewel fit, and was a genuine Parker part, who's to say what run of jewel manufacturing the jewel came from? Unless someone really knows otherwise, the jewel might have come from a run of USA made jewels destined for whatever pens needed them.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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pajaro Museum Piece

pajaro

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I don't think I've seen the amber jewels before. The 51s I own all have, I think, grey-ish ones -- even the replacement cap for my English-made 51 Vac, that I traded for at DCSS (it's still not *quite* the right cap, but it was better that the US-made 51 Special cap that came on the pen when I bought it).

Could someone post comparison pix (an amber jewel alongside a grey one)? Also, did the jewels come in any other colors? I know that the jewels on 51 Specials tend to be black, and I think I remember reading someplace that sometimes the jewels on 51s are green (although I've never seen one of those either).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: OK -- I stand corrected. I just compared the cap jewels on the plum Aero and the 51 Vac, and they are definitely different looking. I'm thinking that that jewel on the Aero is grey, but the other one is a warmer color (although still greyish looking); is that what is meant by "amber"?

Amber is really amber. It might have some dark gray flecks, but it isn't yellowed gray. I have an English burgundy with an amber cap jewel, but couldn't find any pics. Anyway amber is amber, and clearly amber, not gray reaching.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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inkstainedruth Ancient Artifact

inkstainedruth

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Ernesto Soler's site has a photo of the amber jewels on page 2 of his Caps page:

http://parker51.com/PenCaps.2.html

 

and don't they look marvelous!

Hmm. The amber jewels really do look different from the ones on the pens I have. Pretty. I can just imagine one of them on the blue Aero I have with the gold filled cap....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

"It's very nice, but frankly, when I signed that list for a P-51, what I had in mind was a fountain pen."

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pajaro Museum Piece

pajaro

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Once in a great while you see one or more amber jewels on ebay. More commonly you see a pen with an amber jewel in the cap. Sometimes they pass unnoticed.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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arrow king Near Mint

arrow king

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I've often wondered about the ubiquitous grey 'jewel'. Ironic, pearl opel ruby enerald etc. but grey? Like the grey suit, everything goes with it, though so with amber. Lots of black jewels on 51 specials and interestingly the Canadian Arrows have black jewels on a 51 style cap. Usually lustaroy caps, although I have one, my favorite pen, in rage red with a gold window-pane cap. The black jewels on the Arrows match the black section. The first 'jewels' were aluminium so I supose grey was continued into the plastic jewel. As Parker sold more caps than pens because of the demand for 51s around the world the cap was a kind of 'jewerly, a status symbol. Love to have a true amber jewel with an insect encased.

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pajaro Museum Piece

pajaro

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Love to have a true amber jewel with an insect encased.

 

That would indeed be special.

"Don't hurry, don't worry. It's better to be late at the Golden Gate than to arrive in Hell on time."
--Sign in a bar and grill, Ormond Beach, Florida, 1960.

 

 

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Cyclopentadiene Mint

Cyclopentadiene

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Love to have a true amber jewel with an insect encased.

 

That would be a cracker! :D perhaps I'll work out how to do that whenever my next '51 will come along.

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Cyclopentadiene Mint

Cyclopentadiene

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:lol: No thanks! A dead bug in my 51? That's up there with using spit on the diaphragm instead of glycerine on my personal gross-o-meter.

 

Haha "gross-o-meter" :D

 

I wonder what else would look nice/interesting... at not score highly on the gross-o-meter...

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