Gold or silver furniture (trim)

[Richard]

I know I have a preference, and from the reactions here and elswehere to the newly released Pelikan M205, other people do, too. Vote in the poll, and then feel free to explain your answer. I'm hoping to find some enlightenment in this, although Nirvana is probably not in the cards.

[Kalessin]

Do I really have to choose? I like both!

 

I suppose I have a slight preference for gold, so I checked that, but it really depends on the pen color and style.

[sonia_simone]

Silver by a mile for me. Gold is ok on a very, very high quality pen if it's not too flashy, but even then, I would much rather have silver. I just find silver more elegant.

[thewolfgang]

For me, silver has more directional energy than gold, and it's in keeping with at least my perceived movement of ink through the barrel, through the nib, and onto the paper. In the case above, the gold furniture works better, espcially with the gold nib. I'd have to see the pen with silver furniture and silver nib before knowing for sure which I prefer in this case.

[Kelly]

It's all about the silver (or black trim as on my Preludes) for me - it has been the deal breaker of many a pen when gold is the accent. Of the 20+ (30+?) pens that I own, none of them are with gold furniture. I just prefer the look of silver, even in my jewelry.

[Dawn]

For me it depends on the style and colour of the pen, but generally I prefer silver which I think its a little more stylish. Gold can look cheap on a cheaper pen.

 

Dawn

[DRP]

My choice depends entirely on the pen.

 

Some pens specifically tell you what color of ink to use. Similarly, some pens specifically speak up to request gold or silver.

 

As a general rule, I prefer gold on pens made of materials which have warm colors. I prefer silver on pens made of materials which have cool colors. However, there are certain exceptions which are extremely attractive.

 

Aside from that, can I choose? Sometimes but I usually ask the pen which furniture color it prefers to either underscore or compliment the color of the pen.

[Roger W.]

I said silver because it is the much lesser used metal and therefore has cache for rareness.

 

Roger W.

[blueiris]

I voted for the silver option for the poll as phrased--all things being equal.

 

But I also agree with what DRP said. Some pens just look better with silver, and some look better with gold. In your example images, I prefer the gold. To me, it looks like it is more harmonious with the color of the pen, as well as with the golden nib. The silver trim looks okay with the image, but the golden nib throws it off for me.

[Phthalo]

In the poll image, I voted for gold - the gold nib and silver trim combination just does not work for me. Different coloured metals can certainly compliment one another, but personally I rarely find this true for pens - jewellery yes, pens no.

 

Otherwise, I'm with DRP. Some pen body colours and designs are simply better suited to a particular trim.

[Blade Runner]

Of those that I own,

Pens in black, burgundy, red, browns, amber look better in gold.

Blue and green pens look good in either; i prefer silver

Black and Pearl marbled pens look better in gold.

Sterling pens look good either completely sterling or with gold trim; the

latter is dressier.

 

Edit: My stainless 146 looks good completely stainless.

Stainless and gold doesn't work for me.

Edited October 11, 2006 by jeen

[Nihontochicken]

This is a semi-repeat of what I wrote earlier on another thread, but that's okay, no one read that. All my life (I've crested the hill) I have preferred silver and shunned gold. My eyeglasses have been for thirty years silvertone frames, my metal watches/bands have always been silvertone, and even my wedding ring has a silvertone midsection between the gold outer layers. Nonetheless, I have had a gold epiphany in my sunset years. I prefer the gold clip on silvertone 51 caps, and much prefer the earlier 51 Flighter model with gold trim as opposed to the later, all silver model. As far as silver versus gold trim on a red celluloid or similar pen, I guess it's a wash for me, the warms colors like red would prefer gold, the cool colors like blue would prefer silver. But for a silvertone Flighter-style pen, I much prefer gold trim. But I wouldn't have an all gold Signet 51. Gotta be a silvertone Flighter, but with gold trim. FWIW.

[*david*]

I don't want to argue with the question, but I'm going to argue with the question. Other things are never equal. It depends on the pen. On the pen in the picture, gold looks better to me. On the Pelikan 205, silver is better.

 

It depends if the pen is a Winter or whatever (remember the '80s?).

[grasshopper]

As quite a few have already mentioned, I too think that it depends on the pen - some designs and finishes look better with gold trims while others look better with silver/white metal ones. If a particular model has 2 finishes with the respective trims (e.g brown pen with gold and a grey one with silver), I'd probably go with the silver-trimmed one.

 

So, to answer Richard's question directly (and not referring to the 2 pens in the poll), it would have to be silver for me.

 

 

raf.

[TMann]

I think that I may have voted wrong. I meant to vote for gold, but I think that I voted for silver.

 

In any case, my favorite pen color combination is black with gold furniture. I realize that this is not a very "interesting" combination to most people, but I prefer the quiet elegance of a smooth black barrel and cap, with shiny gold furniture. It just says "class" to me. The black/gold combo also exudes the feeling of "strength" to me, and as a guy, I find that very appealing.

 

So for me...make mine gold, please.

 

TMann

[Ray]

Gold almost always. I know the furniture doesn't NEED to match the nib, but I like it to. So unless the nib is two-tone or silver coloured, I prefer matching gold furniture.

 

Ray

[corniche]

Greetings all,

 

I have to go out on a limb: I have always preferred the elegance and rich warmth of gold- but it must be done properly- either solid gold or high quality plating. Inferior quality plating jobs have done more damage to gold's reputation than anything else, IMHO.

 

Best wishes,

 

Sean

[Caboose]

Either one...... as long as it's SILVER!

 

 

There have been a number of pens I thought were very attractive, but just couldn't do the gold. My disdain for gold is not limited to pens however...... Gold stuff on cars makes me cringe ...... also not a big fan of gold watches - or any gold jewelry for that matter. I'm a watch enthusiast, but never find myself looking at the (yellow) gold varieties. It's always stainless or white gold.

 

Even though I loove the silver, I'm a little surprised to see the poll results as close as they are. I assumed there were a lot more gold trim lovers out there.

 

Just my .02.

 

Cheers, Dean

Edited October 11, 2006 by Caboose

[Stephen-I-am]

I am heavily in the silver camp.

 

I think though that if you are going to have silver furniture, silver must feature in the nib. Silver trim but with a gold colored nib, as in the poll photo, clashes I think.

 

I also have to wonder whether silver trim fanciers tend to be less flexible (or more partisan) in their choice of color than gold trim fanciers. I know I am.

 

Stephen

 

Here are alternative images I found. Image 1:

[Stephen-I-am]

Image 2: