Hi everyone,

So I was at my local Staples today, looking for a Cross Tech3, when I stumbled upon a typo (or so I thought): The Cross Century III.

Pictures are worth a thousand words: http://gallery.me.com/labrian#100110&v...osaic&sel=0
(Gallery requires IE7, Firefox 1.5+ or Safari 3.0+)

For those who prefer a thousand-word description:
- The body/clip of the pen resembles the Century II.
- There is a slit in the clip (much like the Aventura).
- The ring around the cap is thick (like the Century II Starlight pens).

I've been looking around the internet (on eBay, forums like these, Cross' site, etc.), but I haven't been able to find anything on this pen. Does anyone know if... this is something (really) new? This was a temporary line that came and went?

I'm just curious!

Do you think you could upload a picture for those of us that do not want to download another program?
I have not been able to find any info either.

Click to view attachmentAlright, I sized down the photos! See below...

i don't know anything about the Cross Century III, but this pen is very similar to the Starlight (which was modelled on the Century II)

I thought it was the Starlight at first, but without the "stars". I agree that it is very similar to the Starlight, but the accents are a little different, which makes it a different pen! I'm still wondering what it is...

well my Cross B nib is being repaired at the moment, so I will ask the very knowledgable people in the pen shop that I use. They were telling me that Cross had some big ideas for this year and were bringing out new lines, so perhaps this is one of them.

I agree that the appointments are slightly different, as is the colour, so it is a different pen.

Did a little looking around.

Not in the U.S. online A.T. Cross catalog.

Clip looks different than Starlight to me. I've seen that slit clip design but I can't recall where.

The grooved cap band is a departure from the Starlight.

FWIW, I think the Starlight looked better. Maybe this is out of their Chinese operation.

The slit clip design is present on the Aventura. The clip itself is the same as the Century II - just that there's a slit in this one.

It's interesting how you mentioned that this might have come from the Chinese operations. If it's something other than mainstream, wouldn't you think that Cross would've chosen a low-key name for the line? (As opposed to Century III, which follows the highly successful Century II and Classic Century.)

Speculation based on watching businesses change models and supply lines in the past.



The name Century III would indicate to me that it might, and I stress might, be a replacement for the Century II line. If so, I would not think they would change the catalog until they had all the Century II line cleared out of inventory.

Could be this one just slipped out of the warehouse ahead of schedule.

That's another interesting point you have there! It seems a little silly to me to discontinue the Century II though (i.e. Be left with the Classic Century and Century III, and leave a "generation gap" between them). But it's equally silly to have two products that are so similar...

... If the were actually sent out ahead of schedule, I wonder if it happened elsewhere in the world... (I got mine at a Staples in Canada)

I like the looks of it. It's pretty sharp. I'd assume there'd be an fp version so I'd sure take one or two.

Thanks for the scoop.

Just another piece of information...

I went back to the same Staples to look around at the other "Century III" pens, and this time I took down the model number: AT0332CP-2 (Cross Century III Medalist, Ballpoint). It was made in China.

After staring at the pen for a few minutes, I decided to take it home with me, so now I'm up another Century III, a Classic Century Pen/Pencil set (Satin Chrome) and an Aventura FP (Black/Chrome).

I did ask the very knowledge lady in the pen shop where I go and she was totally unaware of this model. She did say that Cross is bringing out a whole raft of new products in September (whether these will just be for the UK market, I don't know), so it could be one of these. She knows her stuff, especially Cross, as her partner is a Cross rep.

Leonie

http://www.penherostore.com/servlet/the-44...II-Blush/Detail

Looks like this one?

Yes, the "Century III" looks a lot like the Century II, except for the band around the cap and the slit in the clip.

Maybe we'll find out what it really is in September!