Can anyone tell me how to tell the difference between these two versions?

The Grand Connaisseur is a much heavier pen. It was either lacquer over brass, sterling or gold over silver. The regular Connaisseur has an acrylic body like the Sheaffer/Levenger Seas series except that the pens sold by Sheaffer as Connaisseurs were opaque while those sold by Levenger were translucent.

Others may chime in about nib differences.

The standard Connaisseur and the Grand Connaisseur also have different nibs. All Grand Connaisseur nibs are two tone and the earlier made pens have larger nibs than the later pens. The later Grand Connaisseurs have the same nib as the standard, exept it is done in a tone tone finish.

If you are a PCA member, watch for the next issue of The PENnant which will have my article on the Connaisseur Collection. One of the inest modern c/c filler pens made, IMHO.

The 23K gold plated Grand Connaisseur is not plated over silver. Also, Levenger sold at least two versions of the Grand Connaisseur that had metal caps and were not translucent like the Seas pens.

Dennis B

Thank you for your replies. It sounds like the best way to tell the difference, assuming I don't have one of each for comparison, will be by the nib. I just purchased a set on eBay and unfortunately, the seller didn't know and there wasn't a pic of the nib. So, I guess I'll find out when it gets here...