I have just purchased a rOtring Trio ( 3x lead pencil ) and it has Japan clearly written on the clip ?

Anyone know why ?


Thanks in advance...

Probably it was made in Japan. I don't know anything about this, but since Newell/Rubbermaid's acquisition of Rotring, it became a brand of an international corporation, not an individual company in Germany. The Rotring Lissabon has an "Iridium Point Germany" nib, which I've heard come from China.

Newell/Rubbermaid has already taken Rotring designs, stuck a Parker Arrow on them and called them Parkers. The brands "Rotring", "Parker", and "Waterman" are now entirely meaningless. None have any relation any more to the companies that once bore the same names.

likewise Bic and Sheaffer..

having spoken with a Bic person, Sheaffer is going to be made wherever it best should be - whether Slovenia, China, USA, Australia, Slovakia... etc

Thanks for the replies - I thought it odd to have a rOtring marked 'Japan'
Wondered if it was legitimate ?


Thanks again.

It's the real deal, penaching. My first rOtring 600 fountain pen was also marked "Japan" on the top of the clip, as I suspect yours was. I thought it was strange, too.

(Mine was from the first run that rOtring did specifically for Levenger back in the mid-90s.)

All the more reason to go vintage
Don't get me wrong. I have a Hero that I really like but It's very clear that it was made in China. How funny would it be if Hero got nibs from India?!