I want to learn more about the Macy's pen I found. There is nothing online, which I suppose is good because that means it is rare? I wonder if anyone knows where I can learn more about this. Recommend some books to pick up? How would I go about writing someone (or rather, who would I ask) concerning Macy's history?

—John

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Can you please post a pic? It is probably a pen made by one of the bigwig (Parker, Waterman, Sheaffer, etc.) pen companies for Macy's.

Most store-branded versions of pens made by major makers will not be as widely found as the major labels that underlie their production. Demand too is not the same, so all in all it can be a wash.

It is my vague recollection, based on observation, that some Macy's pens are quite Chilton like, down to the black blind cap and pneumatic fill system.

Picture mite help.

regards

david

this message says that it looks just like a Diamond Point except for the color.
See if this image works: here. If not, "search inside this book" at Amazon and search inside for Diamond Point, then pick the link for page 121.

--John

I have a diamond point exactly like yours. Color, pattern & the works.

POE

Does it have a clip? I'm wondering if mine had a clip that was lost at some point, and how it might have attached.

Do you know anything about the year, model name, etc. of your Diamond Point?

--John

Note the complicating factor of possible nib swaps and replacements. The Chilton-related pneumatic-fillers David I. mentioned above were retailed through many different department stores; most bear warranted nibs.

I don't have a reference handy, but I recall hearing that Macy's used to maintain a pen repair facility. I would not be surprised if the volume of business done there was sufficient that instead of stocking the usual warranted nibs, "Macy's"-imprinted nibs were ordered instead. Certainly one does find such nibs in a variety of pens, usually not otherwise Macy's-marked.

Interesting. Did various brands have "Warranted" written on the nib? If someone brought in a regular Diamond Point to be repaired, and Macy's had a store-branded nib that fit the Diamond Point, does that indicate that they were also rebranding Diamond Point pens? But I see your point that if it wasn't a Macy's pen to begin with it might have gotten a Macy's nib.

--John

"Warranted" was a generic term put on nibs - they are essentially no-name nibs and were used by many, many smaller companies as well as by repair-shops as replacement nibs.

In theory "Warranted 14K" was a guarantee that the nib was not one of the many plated nibs that were imprinted "14K Gold Plate" where the word "Plate" was imprinted close enough to the base of the nib as to be hidden under the section. However, there were also "Warranted 14K Gold Plate" nibs as well as "Warranted Iridium Tipped" "Warranted Wing-Flow" etc, so it didn't mean a whole lot.

John

So how much gold do they contain? I thought it meant that the nib was guaranteed and would be replaced if necessary.

How about 14K

When an unbranded nib was imprinted "WARRANTED/14K", it was just another way of writing, "guaranteed 14K". By long-established habit, pen collectors refer to unbranded gold nibs as warranted nibs, even though some of them don't actually have "WARRANTED" as part of the imprint. Don't be confused: just remember in collector lingo, "warranted" = "unbranded gold".

There are many, many names of pens that you won't find much on as they are lower tier pens. Not rare just.....well, nobody cared way back when. This is frutrating for me as I like these pens and have found that the FPN is one of the better sources. If you search via Google or what ever and the FPN is the first to pop up and it's you post your more than likely out of luck.

I feel the best thing we as collectors can do is start posting as many reviews as we can on these types of pens (Like this) and start building a bank of information.

Absolutely true,

However, not all nibs that say "Warranted" are 14K - as with the many examples of -

"Warranted
Iridium
14K Gold
Plate"

Or
"Warranted
Wing-Flow"

etc. What was allegedly "warranted" was only what came after "Warranted" on the imprint, and there was room for manipulation even with nibs marked "Warranted".

John