An S. T. Dupont Question

[Moruk]

I have recently acquired an S. T. Dupont Line D Atelier blue large fountain pen. The box it came in has a small plate with the number 0365 on it; the pen's clip has the same number etched on it. This pen does not seem to be a limited edition, so does anyone know what the number references? 365 of what? I shall appreciate any information members can supply. Many thanks.

[Bill P]

Images would be helpful

[Seney724]

About 10 years ago I acquired a FP from their "Olympio" line which they called "Nacre Noir." A gorgeous, large pen which was composed of palladium with black mother of pearl panels.

 

Mine, like yours, had a small plate in the box with a number on it which matched a number found on the pen's clip. I did everything I could to try and figure out its significance given that mine, too, was not listed as a limited edition pen.

 

No one had a good answer so I finally managed to get in contact with a Dupont official at their Factory in Faberge. She told me it represented a "production number." When I inquired as to the difference between a limited edition and this pen with its production number, she explained to me that with the limited edition pens there is always a known, fixed quantity which are produced. However, for a pen like mine, it was numbered as to the order in which it came off the assembly line but not in terms of the total number produced. So, using your number as my example, instead of its being number 0365/1000 it was just the 365th pen to be produced with no known (or at least stated) final number of pens produced.

 

I thought that made enough sense to me that I accepted the explanation and moved on..........I'll be interested to see if anyone else has some other explanation.

[Moruk]

About 10 years ago I acquired a FP from their "Olympio" line which they called "Nacre Noir." A gorgeous, large pen which was composed of palladium with black mother of pearl panels.

 

Mine, like yours, had a small plate in the box with a number on it which matched a number found on the pen's clip. I did everything I could to try and figure out its significance given that mine, too, was not listed as a limited edition pen.

 

No one had a good answer so I finally managed to get in contact with a Dupont official at their Factory in Faberge. She told me it represented a "production number." When I inquired as to the difference between a limited edition and this pen with its production number, she explained to me that with the limited edition pens there is always a known, fixed quantity which are produced. However, for a pen like mine, it was numbered as to the order in which it came off the assembly line but not in terms of the total number produced. So, using your number as my example, instead of its being number 0365/1000 it was just the 365th pen to be produced with no known (or at least stated) final number of pens produced.

 

I thought that made enough sense to me that I accepted the explanation and moved on..........I'll be interested to see if anyone else has some other explanation.

 

Many thanks for this clarification. It makes complete sense to me, but let's see if, as you say, anyone has more to say on the subject.

[praxim]

I have two Line D, numbered, and two neo-classique limited editions, numbered with a maximum production number. Actual numbers:

0087

0276

071/888

1585/1883

 

It looks rather like the Line D pens will be limited to 9999, unless they decide to make more.

 

Usually it is the fact of a limited edition that buyers find more exciting, secondarily the number within that range. After that, well, this pen has a number and some other pen does not.

 

For my part I like the two neo-classiques for their style, appearance and construction quality. Actual numbers were chance. Oh, and they write very well.

[manhha]

I have two Line D, numbered, and two neo-classique limited editions, numbered with a maximum production number. Actual numbers:

0087

0276

071/888

1585/1883

 

It looks rather like the Line D pens will be limited to 9999, unless they decide to make more.

 

Usually it is the fact of a limited edition that buyers find more exciting, secondarily the number within that range. After that, well, this pen has a number and some other pen does not.

 

For my part I like the two neo-classiques for their style, appearance and construction quality. Actual numbers were chance. Oh, and they write very well.

The Line D Atelier is limited to 1852 pieces per version e.g. they produced 1852 Atelier Blue pens. Although Dupont did not list them as limited edition, but literally it is.

[jchch1950]

Limited editions some times are larger than normal editions that didn't have a good response from the public?

[praxim]

The maximum for a limited edition is chosen to be an "important" number. Often, it relates to the year something started. I am pretty sure Aurora has done at least one edition of 1919 pens, the year they started, while I know their Italian Flag pens were limited to 1997, year of release, celebrating 200 years of the flag or something (Italy itself having remained a bit of a patchwork until well into the following century). Then, they have the Primavera or Mare in editions of 7500 which relates to I-know-not-what. We could do a thread on all the excuses the various manufacturers (or marketers) dream up.

 

Back to S T Dupont, their excuses for my neo-classiques are that 888 is a lucky number suiting their "Chinese Year of the...." richly lacquered pens while 1883 is the year of inception of the Orient Express.

 

I see from my notes that my larger Line D Atelier, the purple, is one of 1953, not 1852. Inflation? I shall have to dig out the box from a box to check the card. Why 1953 or 1852 anyway? I happen not to know.