is it fake? parker sonnet

[W4DM]

so i havent been on here in a while, so to catch people up...

 

iv just gotten into writing with a fountain pen (started last semester) and i found that i love writing with a fountain pen! my dad gave me a a couple parker vectors so that i can get used to writing with one. soon afterwards i bought my own ink and a converter.... and now im hooked. that vector got a lot of writing done through finals! anyways, im graduated now and i wanted to do something nice for myself and get a nice pen. something around $100.

 

i looked around and i really loved the look of the parker sonnet and the waterman harmonie. i could only pick one... but with some extra searching i was able to get both for $105 shipped!!! now i feel that i may have been over zealous in assuming that they are real. is it a good find or are they fakes?

 

here are the links:

for the parker

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=110334918499

 

for the waterman

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=290320458145

 

i did some looking online and i get the impression watermans arent generally victims of fakes... but any input from u guys would be great! from the pics (which arent great) im going to guess that i wont be able to tell until i have them. but if they are i'll return them... :-(

 

what do you guys think?

 

[donwinn]

After viewing the Sonnet link, I will have to tell you that it appears that Mr Kraskas has opened another eBay account, under a different name, since he has had several closed by eBay, due to his selling counterfeit Sonnets. The posting is identical to his other posts, except for the name of the seller. He is based in NC, and has been selling fakes for years. There was a thread about him a year or two ago, which went into great detail about his activities.

 

Donnie

[JimStrutton]

Pictures are not good enough to tell really, but on the surface it looks OK, but then the proof will be when you get them. If they are fakes, then do us all a favour and report the seller to eBay. But I hope you have got a genuine bargain.

 

Jim

[bluefish65]

I don't know much about Parkers (you may have to wait until you receive the pen & examine it closely to know for sure), but there are a couple of good articles by Antonios Zavaliangos and Bill Riepl that discuss counterfeits and how to spot them, linked below:

 

Attack of the Clones

 

Stylophiles Online article

 

I don't know this blogger's name, but he/she has some great info on counterfeit Parkers:

 

Parker boxes

 

Detailed photos of genuine & counterfeit Sonnet (scroll up for the pics)

 

Another good article on fake goods in general on ebay, by christid2303:

 

"Beware: Counterfeit items being sold as authentic"

 

As for the Waterman, again, I don't know much about them, but they don't seem too popular with the counterfeit crooks; however, I suppose anything is subject to being copied and sold as genuine.

 

To be on the safe side, you may want to consider purchasing pens from fellow FPN'ers or buying from their recommended online stores and ebay sellers.

 

 

Greg

 

Forgot to add:

Edited June 9, 2009 by bluefish65

[gvl]

I agree it is difficult to tell from the photos.

 

Not sure about the box. It looks like the Sonnet dk brown card outer but none of mine have the mark [trademark?] after the word Parker.

 

On the positive side, the seller does seem to be selling a range of pens, not just Sonnets. I am not aware of counterfeiting of any of the Waterman pens on offer.

 

 

[chartoune]

The sonnet has to be one of the most clowned pen it seems and personnaly, there are no way I'm buying one from a dealer with less than thousands of sells. I.e. stay away from that guy, way too dodgy, the pics are awfull and the box is....

 

now about the harmonie, well it's impossible to say as it's not "real" pics, but the seller has more sells, so maybe you could give it a try. But still, you should stick to bigger sellers like lewertowsky and such.

 

good luck

[jgoodwin1]

The sonnet has to be one of the most clowned pen it seems and personnaly, there are no way I'm buying one from a dealer with less than thousands of sells. I.e. stay away from that guy, way too dodgy, the pics are awfull and the box is....

 

now about the harmonie, well it's impossible to say as it's not "real" pics, but the seller has more sells, so maybe you could give it a try. But still, you should stick to bigger sellers like lewertowsky and such.

 

good luck

 

 

In another related matter, a seller in Thailand has been selling allegedly new 1954 Parker Jotters in hard to find colors such as yellow, blue and white. He seems to have hundreds of 1954 Jotters as if he has found the mother lode of Jotters stored in a cave for 55 years! THey start out at $0.99 and go from there.

 

Now, have any of you bought 1954 Jotter from that guy? is it genuine or a fake? I didn't buy as I shy away from all foreign sources.

 

James

[merzig]

In another related matter, a seller in Thailand has been selling allegedly new 1954 Parker Jotters in hard to find colors such as yellow, blue and white. He seems to have hundreds of 1954 Jotters as if he has found the mother lode of Jotters stored in a cave for 55 years! THey start out at $0.99 and go from there.

 

Now, have any of you bought 1954 Jotter from that guy? is it genuine or a fake? I didn't buy as I shy away from all foreign sources.

 

James

 

There have been a handful of threads that discuss Thai ebay sellers. There seem to be one or two regarded sellers, but in general I would be very careful if the deal looks too good.

[ZeissIkon]

In another related matter, a seller in Thailand has been selling allegedly new 1954 Parker Jotters in hard to find colors such as yellow, blue and white. He seems to have hundreds of 1954 Jotters as if he has found the mother lode of Jotters stored in a cave for 55 years! THey start out at $0.99 and go from there.

 

Now, have any of you bought 1954 Jotter from that guy? is it genuine or a fake? I didn't buy as I shy away from all foreign sources.

 

James

 

I read somewhere recently (here on FPN) that apparently there really was a discovery of a cache of several gross of NOS Jotters in Thailand. Doesn't say anything about any particular seller, but NOS Jotter from Thailand isn't automatically a danger sign...

[OcalaFlGuy]

Speerbob can be a big help on info re; Thai sellers.

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[antoniosz]

Oh my... eproductdistribution again You should have done a search for this name

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...uctdistribution

 

I am afraid that it is fake. As Donnie said above. If you want me to have a closer look, please let me know back channel.

Please contact me backchannel anyway, I might be able to help.

 

[PenFan95]

I'm really sorry about the Sonnet being fake...though I'd just send it to Parker, they'll replace it with a real one. I hope the Harmoine is real, and that you enjoy it

 

Oh, Almost forgot... Welcome to the Fountain Pen Nuthouse! Hope you enjoy your stay here...

Edited March 10, 2011 by PenFan95

[OldGriz]

I'm really sorry about the Sonnet being fake...though I'd just send it to Parker, they'll replace it with a real one.

 

Explain WHY Parker would replace a counterfeit pen that someone bought on eBay with a real one.

What economic sense would that make for Parker for rewarding someone for buying a counterfeit??

Would Rolex replace a counterfeit watch you purchased...

[Black Rose]

I'm really sorry about the Sonnet being fake...though I'd just send it to Parker, they'll replace it with a real one.

 

Explain WHY Parker would replace a counterfeit pen that someone bought on eBay with a real one.

What economic sense would that make for Parker for rewarding someone for buying a counterfeit??

Doesn't make sense, but they've apparently done it before.

[daaceking]

if you have been ripped off, use paypal to recover the money, if they refuse, tell your credit card company. There is a seller on ebay with the business name of pen seller from france. He's reliable right? I got my sonnet from him

[OldGriz]

if you have been ripped off, use paypal to recover the money, if they refuse, tell your credit card company. There is a seller on ebay with the business name of pen seller from france. He's reliable right? I got my sonnet from him

 

Look at the date of the orignal post it has been almost a year... too long to do anything through paypal or your credit card company....

 

Lewertowski who, I believe, is pen seller from France is a great seller and very trustworthy...

[daaceking]

this thread has clearly received a lot of attention. I posted so it may help someone in the future. I know how old the thread is. Nice to know my pen is from a reliable source

[FleurDeLys]

I read so many threads about ending up with a fake Parker that I need advice.

I just got a Parker Sonnet Cisele FP off eBay for $135. I asked the seller where it came from and if it was a fake or not. He replied that it was a gift from a long time ago and that he didn't know. He asked me some details about how to recognize the signs of fake. He seemed to be a pretty honest person to me but as long as we don't know the seller personally, it is very hard to trust... So, even though it is very hard to tell from pictures, here the ones I took with 1 detail in particular that upsets me. I used a 3x magnifier to examin it in depth and could not see any anomalies according to the 2 other websites mentionned on this thread :

 

- This is the detail that upsets me the most: On the NIB, the losange has only a line cut in the middle and cannot see any letter... I took a magnet but didn't stick to it. Now, I know that it doesn't mean that it is not a fake... This losange is perfect on the cap though (with the P and W separated with an arrow).

 

- On the cap, the engraving is not deep and I have to be very attentive to details to notice it. Is it normal ?

 

- I didn't know the Sonnet had a black thing on the bottom of the pen. Is it normal?

 

- Other than that, I really didn't notice anything wrong from what I read.

 

Also, I have 2 other Parker I got in France = 1 Premier in Plate silver and gold and 1 Duofold (both authentic). The NIB have both the same color but lightly different from the Sonnet. The Sonnet has a lightly darker and yellowish color while my 2 others have a "Pink" gold color (color very common in France and preferred by French.) The Sonnet is obviously a French model as on the cap, we read France U.11.

 

I'd love to have some feedback as I really don't want a fake if it is the case.

Edited April 26, 2011 by FleurDeLys

[welch]

In earlier discussions, people noted that often the fake Sonnet has a slightly off-centered cap jewel. I can't quite tell from your cap-end picture, but the jewel looks centered.

 

How does the pen write? Consider: if it writes as smooth as a Sonnet, then it is a Sonnet...or else someone went to more trouble than clone-makers usually do.

[FleurDeLys]

In earlier discussions, people noted that often the fake Sonnet has a slightly off-centered cap jewel. I can't quite tell from your cap-end picture, but the jewel looks centered.

 

How does the pen write? Consider: if it writes as smooth as a Sonnet, then it is a Sonnet...or else someone went to more trouble than clone-makers usually do.

 

Good question. The pen does not write very well. The ink flow is not very good. Yesterday evening, I let the pen head and the nib in soap and water all night. This morning, they were like brand new. I tried it again. It is better but not as good as my 2 other Parkers still. I am wondering if the NIB is not a fake one. Now, it is my first Sonnet so I have no reference to tell if it writes like a Sonnet. The rest of the pen appears to be genuine to me. The jewel cap is well centered.

There is something most people don't know though. A fountain pen is not supposed to be borrowed by someone else because the NIB takes the shape of the owner's writing habit. As a result, the pen does not write smoothly, the new owner usually experiences difficulties to write properly with the pen. I think it is my case here. So, what I did is to grind it just a little bit with a nail filer or emery paper (see link in entire thread) as I used to do with some former FP when I lived in Paris. I always noticed a big improvement. But here, I still have some issues with the ink flow and I use only Parker inks for my Parkers. I am considering replacing the NIB with a brand new and authentic one. Do you know where I could find such item online at an affordable price?

Edited April 26, 2011 by FleurDeLys