Platinum Ginkgo Higo-zo-gan

[geoduc]

This is one of those pens that I saw photos of and decided I had to have. Unfortunately, it was a Japanese domestic market release and therefore I had a fair bit of difficulty acquiring one - I bid for one on eBay and was unsuccessful; I tried a Japanese dealer on the Internet only to find out that they were recently out of production and out of stock from Platinum; and finally in desperation I asked Pam Braun (no affiliation) to see if she could track one down for me. To my delight, she was able to find one for me at a very reasonable price. I ordered a medium nib and it arrived in today's mail.

 

Most of the information I found on this pen was on Japanese sites, so with some Internet translation I was able to come up with the following details. If anyone knows any additional information or finds errors in my statements, feel free to chime in.

 

In 1970, Platinum released an original version of the Higo-zo-gan fountain pen with 24k gold inlay. The version that I have was issued for 2010 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original. The modern release comes in two versions - the Ginkgo version that I have, which represents the colored autumn leaves, and the Sakura version with inlaid cherry blossoms to represent the harbinger of spring flowers. The inlay is done by a technique which involves an iron ring that is carved out to provide the pattern, and then is hand filled with 24k gold. This is apparently an ancient technique that originated in the Edo period of Japan, and is still carried out in a limited fashion today.

 

In any case, enough of the intro and on with the review:

 

Appearance & Design 9/10

The pen arrived in a fiber outer box and a simple inner box of Paulownia wood. It came with a converter and one black ink cartridge, along with a generic set of instructions for Platinum pens. I would describe the pen itself as simple and elegant. Aside from the inlaid ring, it is a very understated pen (which I personally like). The pen is basic resin (abs plastic?) that has a nice matte finish on the barrel and cap, and a gloss finish on the section. When the cap is removed, there is absolutely no decoration on the barrel or section.

 

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4054/4597802424_566d76f516_o.jpg

 

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Construction & Quality 8/10

Construction appears to be excellent. Nice even finish, no seams, very smooth. I only gave it 8 points here because it has a snap cap. I prefer threaded caps and I'm a bit concerned about the longevity of snap systems. Having said that, it is a very solid positive snap. The cap is not loose at all when fully seated. I hope it stays that way.

 

The inlay work is beautifully done. It is hard to appreciate from pictures, but you should be able to see very fine notches carved out towards the end of the leaves in the following photos. These notches are less than 1mm in size - incredible detail. Since it is soft 24k gold, I'll have to be careful not to bang the pen around and damage the workmanship.

 

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3635/4597109465_895351c8b4_o.jpg

 

Weight & Dimensions 8/10

Pen weight with converter and full ink charge: 24 grams. The iron ring in the cap makes a difference here - with the cap removed, the body with converter and ink only weighs 14 grams. This makes the pen feel slightly unbalanced when posted. Doesn't bother me since I prefer to write unposted, but it may be a drawback for others.

 

Other dimensions:

145mm capped

123mm from tip of nib to end of barrel

164mm posted

13mm largest barrel diameter

 

This pen is similar in size to my Sailor 1911 Realo. The Platinum is a few millimeters longer both capped and uncapped, while the Sailor is about a millimeter larger in diameter. The Platinum is very comfortable to write with unposted.

 

Nib & Performance 9/10

The pen is a really nice writer right out of the box. It has a 14k gold medium nib which feels very smooth. Not a lot of feedback to it. I initially flushed the pen with a dilute detergent solution, then with distilled water, dried it off and loaded it with ink. Started the first try with no hesitation. I would classify the nib as a slightly wet writer. It has a bit of flex to it, but not much. In comparison with my Sailor pen and my Pilot Custom 74, I would rate the Platinum as the smoothest of the three, with a little more flex than the Sailor (which has virtually none). The line width is what you'd expect for a Japanese medium - about the same as my Sailor medium, and slightly finer than my Pelikan medium.

 

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Filling system & Maintenance 9/10

No surprises here. Cartridge/converter ink system that uses Platinum cartridges. While these are proprietary (I believe), they are available in a wide array of ink colors so that shouldn't be much of a drawback. There is also supposed to be an adapter to allow the pen to use international cartridges, but I have no experience with that. I'm using the converter which seems to work just fine. The converter holds ~0.5ml of ink (measured by drawing water from a graduated cylinder).

 

Cost & Value 9/10

List price for the pen is 31,500 yen (~$340). That seems pretty steep, but from my research it looks like the street price in Japan is around $240, and Pam Braun was able to find me one for even less than that so I'm satisfied that I paid a good price for a fairly limited quantity pen.

 

Overall 9/10

I searched long and hard for this pen and I'm glad that I was finally able to acquire one. I'm very pleased with the actual product and it will stay in my regular rotation. Full retail price seems a bit high for this product, but it's worth it if one can acquire the pen at a decent discount.

 

Thanks for reading! Writing sample below if you care to try to decipher my scrawl.

 

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[hari317]

Thanks for reviewing this pen, about a year back Taizo(Engeika) had a few of these for sale and I lost all the auctions narrowly. A very beautiful pen. Congratulations!

[jandrese]

Very nice pen well reviewed. Nice pics too, thanks.

[Ed Ronax]

Excellent review and a great looking pen, thanks.

[bluemagister]

An excellent pen! If you want to team this up with a winner ink, Daiso Japan has multipacks of the blueblack and black Platinum cartridges for sale. 10 3-packs to a box at $17 a box plus UPS shipping. Platinum blue-black from JetPens is another alternative. It's the perfect match for an elegant pen like this.

[georges zaslavsky]

very nice and original platinum

[Pfhorrest]

Wow, great-looking pen! The material looks very similar to that of the Montblanc 220. I also like how it doesn't have a section ring. Those things really get on my nerves.

 

Nice review

[geoduc]

An excellent pen! If you want to team this up with a winner ink, Daiso Japan has multipacks of the blueblack and black Platinum cartridges for sale. 10 3-packs to a box at $17 a box plus UPS shipping. Platinum blue-black from JetPens is another alternative. It's the perfect match for an elegant pen like this.

 

Thanks. I have not yet tried Platinum inks, but I think it's time to remedy that. I'll look into the blue-black.