St Dupont Construction Questions

[seimodern]

I have been on a minor Dupont purchasing rampage of late--no truly exceptional editions, but a representative span of models from their basic line-up. Looking over my "collection"--I hate to use that term given the _actual_ truly stunning collections some of you have shared with us!--I had a few questions regarding construction that I was hoping the collective you might have answers to. None of the answers will affect my interest in the pens---I am more of a user than "collector". I am just curious about how they are made. It's like making new friends...the closer you get, the more you want to know about them....

 

Some questions then regarding:

 

1) Silver content of a silver godron Montparnasse (I have both the small and large versions):

• I think I have read posts that describe the barrel as being solid silver, but others that describe it as a brass guilloche (or godron pattern) with silver overlay. tbh, I don't really understand the world of precious metals, so maybe these two descriptions are not actually contradictory. (For example, in other contexts I find the use of the term "gold-filled" perplexing!) But these two descriptions of the Montparnasse sound contradictory to me. Am I correct in understanding that is constucted with a brass barrel that has been cut or molded into a godron pattern, and then plated with silver? Or is it actually nothing but a silver barrel? (Even asking that question I feel that I must be betraying a real ignorance of how silver works...)
• I have noticed that some silver Dupont pens feature the .925 designation--for example, gold-plated classiques that have a sterling silver barrel. (I don't own one of those, but have seen pics online). My understanding is that sterling silver has to bear that mark by law. On the Montparnasse, I can't find any such markings on either pen. Does that mean the silver alloy it uses has a lower than .925 composition? Or...?

2) Olympio (grande) with palladium elements

• I just received a black laquer Olympio (large/grande size) with a palladium band on the cap. At the top of the cap it says "PL" which I gather is a hallmark (is that the right term?) for the cap's palladium components. I have other Duponts that were described as having palladium components, but can't find similar markings on those pens. Is the PL designation optional? Or is it that the Olympio grande is actually palladium plated and the others just have palladium-like appearance or a lower-palladium content?
• I have also ordered a large Olympio--palladium with black "placed" laquer. I have only seen this use of the term "placed" on some of the Olympios. Is the term "placed" meant in the very casual sense--i.e., the barrel is not entirely laquered, it's mostly metal with some laquer sections "placed" onto the metal barrel? Or is placed a technical term with more meaning to it than that?

3) Fidelio--guilloche + laquer

• I just purchased a Fidelio which appears to have a guilloche pattern covered with a light blue-gray laquer. I can't remember where I read it, but I was under the impression that Fidelios are never made with "laque de chine" though they might be made with other natural (or only artificial?) laquers. Are the guilloche Fidelios laquered with laque de chine or with a different laquer? (My understanding is that laque de chine is a more durable & expensive laquer that scratches less easily.)

4) nib swappability between a classique and a gatsby

• Sorry--this question is less a construction question than a "how to" question. I have a classique (the slightly later model with a shorter plastic section) with a wonderful stub nib. However I find the classiques too narrow for comfortable extended writing. I also have a Gatsby with a serviceable but less interesting medium nib, and would like to move the stub from the classique to the Gatsby. Is that possible, and if so, how does one remove and replace nibs on these two pens? (Unlike the nib from the earliest classiques, the nib from my slightly later classique looks like the same shape as the one on the gatsby).

 

Thanks for any insight you might be able to shed onto these questions...and apologies again if any of the questions are a bit thick.

 

[praxim]

Regarding your first query, I do not know the silver content of the pen in question. Here is one description of levels of silver content and their marking. It is possible that there is no silver mark for 92.5% simply because there is no convenient place to put it on the godron pattern, or it could be silver-filled (5%-10%), or somewhere in between. Whatever the answer (which someone else may have) the link will help to understand terms like filled and plated in relation to silver or to gold (the latter carries some further options).

 

eta: silver filled can mean 92.5% silver layered to constitute 5% of the metal weight, in case that was not clear.

Edited April 28, 2020 by praxim

[seimodern]

thank you--yes, very helpful! This is neither here nor there, but I find it so curious (or at least counter-intuitive) that they use "filled" (gold-filled, silver-filled) to describe a layering process....