I have often seen Parkers 51 described as double or single jewel. Where is the jewel located. I have got a Parker 51. Seller says it is a 1947 pen. It has a gold cap and burgundy body. But I do not see any jewel on the body. The 'blue diamond' I read elsewhere is actually like a blue paint coat.

Also, I am not quited used to putting the cap back to the barrel. There is an initial resistance, and after that resistance is overcome, the cap seems to be pushed in much easily and smoothly. This is very different from, say, how the Sheaffer Legacy cap closes on the barrel.

thanks,
purpledog

Double-jewel '51's have the jewels...

On the top of the cap.

At the bottom of the barrel.

Hi,

The jewel is collector speak for one of the end screws (end pieces, usually plastic, metal early on). The blue diamond does not count as a jewel.

In the pic of some of my wee collection, below, the pens on the left up to and including the green set near middle- all double jewel. To the right of that the pens are smooth bottomed, thus Single Jewel.

regards

david

Like, round butt = single-jewel, pointy butt = double-jewel. It might sound a little crude, far too crude for my standards, but hey, it gets the message across fairly well.

These are two "Double Jewel" "51"s:



These are "Single Jewel" "51"s:

Thanks to everyone for the valuable inputs.

I have never owned Parker 51 pens before (more of a Sheaffer Legacy and Prelude collector), and these 2 Parkers which are bought from FPN marketplace are my first. The gold-cap pen costs $45, and has only a minor ding on the cap. The silver-capped one (aerometric filler) costs $15, and has more dings on the cap. There is a chip off the nip of the gold-cap pen which makes writing a bit scratchy, while the other silver-capped cap writes very smoothly. I have never understood the appeal of Parker 51, and now I think I have.

Would it be very expensive to repair the nib? And is a nib repair work worth the money and effort, considering I paid $45 for the pen?




purpledog

Oh my gosh! Awesome deal, considering the fact that I got mine at about twice the price of your Vacumatic. I don't think nib replacement costs that much, as I am getting mine replaced at SG$40 (US$28.2247). Well, that's all I have to say, off to bed now! Good night, and have a very happy Lunar New Year!

The jewel is a small bit of opalescent celluloid and is purely decorative. It threads into the screw fitting that holds the inner cap and clip to the cap. Early models had another "jewel" on the blind cap that covers the filler. The "blue diamond" is just blue enamel in a diamond shaped impression, not a jewel of any sort.

English is a strange language, it's the only one I know of so full of words with so many multiple meanings and so many words that sound so much alike but mean different things.

I have never had the cap of a "51" come off in my pocket -- most of my other pens have come adrift one time or another.

Peter