What Happened To My Yard-O-Led?

[benslot]

I acquired a Yard-o-Led Grand Emperor fountain pen at a reputable penshop in The Netherlands, although at a discount. The pen, against identical FP's misses the silver hallmarks and the clip is not attached in the correct fashion (there is only one rivet and the clip seems glued). I could think that the pen is a fake, but it writes beautifully, has a perfect balance and is well made. Moreover on the cap band there are the visible remains of the hallmarks. They seem to be buffed out, but the silver band is still perfectly round. This is a bit of a mystery to me and I wonder whether any of the members could shed some light on this issue. Is it a fake and if this is not the case, what happened and for what reason?

[kazoolaw]

I am curious: what explanation did the pen shop give when you asked?

 

gary

[jar]

Signs of abuse, over polishing and as you note, a missing rivet. Contact YoL (likely Filofax) and see if they can help you.

[carlc]

Gary has a point here.

 

Did the pen come with the warranty? Was it sold as a previously owned pen? I know these pens were made between 2002 and 2003 - so it could be NOS but I suspect it's second hand.

 

On my pen the top cap band has no hall marks but the lower cap band and the section has. It seems unlikely that anyone has faked this pen (or harvested the silver and replaced it). The resin looks like mine and I doubt anyone would go to the lengths of faking it.

 

Yard-O-Led have good customer service and if you contact them through their page on the Filofax website (http://www.filofax.co.uk/contacts) I suspect they could tell you if your pen has been back to Birmingham for repairs. It may be that parts of the pen had to be replaced but the section would be hallmarked as it is over 7.78 grams, the bands don't have to be hallmarked but YoL tends to hallmark anyway.

 

By the way - yours is only the third pen I know about. Ghost Plane has a blue one (they are known as the Grand Majesty in the US).

 

ETA: Even if it is a second hand pen YoL stand by their lifetime guarantee. I had the nib changed on mine for a nominal sum.

Edited July 28, 2015 by carlc

[benslot]

They could not explain how this came about. The owner of the penshop bought some or possibly the complete stock out of the yard-o-led distributor in the netherlands. This was already some time ago. The pen was part of that package and problably at that time has was not that much aware of the anomaly. Though a rollerball in the package was as it should be (he showed me later upon asking). I was at the time of the purchase not aware either, just liked the colour, the size and the heft of that pen.

[MikeW]

^{Did you buy this in person or on-line? It sounds like the former but I might be wrong. Also, how familiar are you with YOL pens? It sounds like not very but I could be wrong. I am also curious as to the discount that you received on the pen - I would hope that it was very substantial (like 75% off of retail, at least) because I would rate this pen as a beater - a mistreated user pen that has value only because it writes nicely.}

^{I am comfortable in saying that it does not seem to be a fake; it has just been badly mistreated.}

^{The items that trouble you, being the cap clip and the hallmarks, should have been obvious to you when you purchased the pen, especially if you had the chance to physically examine the pen. If you got the big discount, then don't worry, enjoy the writing quality of the pen. If you didn't get the big discount, then I am afraid that you overpaid for the pen.}

^{It seems to me that the only way that you are in a position to complain and request a refund/big-ger discount, if you bought the pen on-line and the pictures shown to you did not make it clear that it had these issues.}

[benslot]

@ jar: there are no signs of abuse. The resin has not one scratch,

 

@carlc: it came with box, guarantee booklet and pouch. But that could have been from another pen. The pen could have been preowned and returned to the distributor. It was not explicitly sold as second hand, but as stated before at a discount. If it was repaired I suspect it was done by the owner or the distributor, not be yard-o-led. It is the combination of things that puzzles me.

 

I very much appreciate your responses.

[carlc]

Unless the guarantee booklet has the registration card (with pen number on it) then the pen has been registered or it is indeed from a different pen.

 

I think your choices are return the pen or contact YoL for a repair quote (and to check if the pen has indeed been registered).

 

ETA - if the resin is undamaged then in reality the pen is in quite good condition if probably over cleaned (as jar notes). The clip is unpleasant but not a massive issue in my eyes.

Edited July 28, 2015 by carlc

[pen2paper]

The photos appear to show the clip was twisted, with inexpert self-repair. If there's no chemical welding of body cracks, Yard O Led may adjust or replace the clip and missing screw, at some cost to be determined. As said by others above, unless you plan to return the pen to the place of purchase, an inquiry to Filofax would be a next step. These companies have an ongoing excellent reputation. Or enjoy the pen as is.

Edited July 28, 2015 by pen2paper

[kazoolaw]

I own a YOL, and my experience with repair under warranty was excellent.

 

The clip may be a simple matter of putting in a new rivet: vintage Waterman pens commonly have such repairs.

 

I do not know how the cap band might be repaired other than replacement, which may stretch the warranty.

 

Last, and most nosily, how much of a discount did you receive? I agree that the clip issue is very noticable, while the hallmark issue might be missed if you didn't know they should be present or the lighting conditions were poor.

 

Again, very nice pen.

 

gary

[benslot]

Well, the main issue seems to be the price for this pen. I was not very knowledgeable on yard-o-led pens as MikeW rightfully stated. When I call the figure I problably get comments (discount was about 50%). I could have noticed the clip, however was not aware of hallmarks.

Furthermore I must conclude that there is no obvious reason why somebody would want to remove the hallmarks (other than some weird idea of aesthetics). If you would have to polish away the hallmarks that would take considerable time IMHY and/or damage the resin (which does not show).

The clip may have been damaged in the process of getting rid of the hallmarks.

I will keep the pen and if the penshop made a good deal, so be it. Very likely ask YOL to propose a price for repairs.

 

Thanks for responses and insights.

[carlc]

I don't know if this helps but the only time I have seen a Grand Emperor for sale in a retail environment it was priced at 530 Euros.

 

Personally knowing this pen I would say that 50% of that is a good deal even with the clip issue.