I came across these caps when sorting through some spare parts.
I beleive they could be from crest pens dating back to 1989.
If anyone happens across some matching barrels and nibs maybe we could make up a couple of pens!
Gary
Click to view attachment

Great images! Thank's for sharing.

I only know the Crest 1st editions from the catalog and didn't know they exist ( = have been sold "officially") for real because I never saw any other reference.

Cheers

Michael

Hi there,

I think your identification is right: the dot above the clip suggests that they're early (so-called "Mark I") Crest caps. I know such caps were shown in catalogs, but I haven't seen an example in person.

The gold-plated finish is, I believe, a cataloged "Mark I" finish. But the other cap...well, that finish looks, to my eye, like the tortoise lacque finish used on the Grand Connaisseur. And to the best of my knowledge, that finish was never used on a production Crest pen.

Since I haven't heard a definitive answer to the question whether the "Mark I" was actually put into production, I wonder whether both of these caps might qualify as prototypes. Certainly that seems likely for the tortoise finish, at least.

Hmmm...are you sure there aren't any barrels rattling around in those parts bins?

Cheers,

Jon

Hi,
Sorry no barrels to match.I've checked,double checked then checked again.
I have a catalogue from 1989 in which four crest models are listed picture attached.
The caps are made in england and the 2nd edition barrel will not fit onto these caps.
Gary
Click to view attachment

Gary,

Thanks so much for posting that image! I'm delighted to learn more about the semi-mythical "Mark I" Crest. If I were in your shoes, I would feel like a UFO researcher who, after squinting at grainy photos for years, had stumbled upon two pieces of uncrushable Roswell foil.

So the catalog substantiates the tortoise finish as well as the plated steel nib. It would be wonderful to know if any pens conforming to the catalog description ever actually made it into circulation, or if these caps really do belong to prototype pens.

Cheers,

Jon

Jon,
The pens never made it into any trade or retail price lists, nor did they appear on any order forms that i have on file.
All my reference material is from the UK, and the 1989 catalogue from which i posted the image is also printed in England.
I do know someone who may know the history of the crest mark 1 pens. But he spends most of the summer in the south of France and who can blame him with the miserable weather we get in England,so the answer may have to wait until his return.
Gary

Hi Gary,

Hmmm...preferring the pleasures of summer in the south of France to the intricacies of a detailed discussion about a never-sold pen model?

Where, where are people's priorities?

Looking forward to hearing more of the story...post-Equinox, of course.

Cheers,

Jon

Another thing to comment upon . . . look at the ballpoint in the scan. It's different than the later production version. I like it better! I wish they had come out with the Crest in this style and at a lower price point. I don't think this model ever really got its due.

Dave