I bought a Waterman Edson Diamond Black a few months ago. Fantastic writer, really. I was afraid I was spending a lot of money on a pen I wouldn't use, but it suits me very well. It's a pleasure to write with and I love its appearance.

Within a few days of its arrival (I was still carrying it in its box and the box in the box it came from, so you can be assured it had been handled delicately and not very much) a substantial portion of the platinum flaked off of the silver clip. It didn't come off under the scrape of a fingernail; it came off on my hand as I was holding it!

First, I assume that this is not to be expected within a few days of owning a pen with such a premium price tag, and that Waterman will make it right under the warranty.

But second, I'm curious. This seems to be exactly what I've seen described as "brassing" where the gold plating flakes or rubs off, exposing the brass beneath. It seems strange to call it "brassing" when neither brass nor gold is involved. Yet "silvering" doesn't sound right, and is a word with very different meaning: to plate something with silver.

So what's it supposed to be called?

"Brassing" is the generic term that has come to mean any metal (or particularly in older cameras, paint) wearing enough to show another metal substrate beneath it.

We get way too much experince with this in watch collecting as well, even though many watches are rolled gold which is much thicker than electroplating.