Gold Trim Vs Silver/rhodium//etc

[Hohn]

While I recognize this is an issue purely of personal taste, I *really* dislike gold trim-- on anything!

 

Why?

 

Gold trim gives off a nouveau riche poseur vibe more strongly than almost anything else in my mind.

 

 

Allow me to expand. We have all noticed that people display their personal status in basically three ways:

1. I'm living paycheck to paycheck and in debt up to my eyeballs trying to look far richer than I am
   
2. I'm wealthy and want you to know how much richer I am than you are
   
3. I'm not interested in impressing you-- how wealthy I am is none of your business
   

 

The first group is that which I most strongly associate with gold. Gold is used by the group ostentatiously to appear to be more prosperous. As a result, gold comes to actually appear to be cheap, rather than nice.

 

My bias against gold is also rooted in my experience as a guitarist. Electric guitars with gold trim do not age gracefully; the gold is soft, scratches easily, and is soon removed from the substrate. The resulting mix of gold remnant and corroded substrate is particularly unappealing.

 

I don't find the gold trim used on nicer Pens to be objectionable-- but the same pen in silver/rhodium looks much more appealing to me.

 

 

Anyone else?

 

JH

[tonybelding]

Gold trim gives off a nouveau riche poseur vibe more strongly than almost anything else in my mind.

 

I don't feel that way. Gold trim has been traditional on fountain pens for a long time, which makes it respectable in my view. There are also certain materials that gold just plain looks right with, such as red-and-black ebonite.

 

 

My bias against gold is also rooted in my experience as a guitarist. Electric guitars with gold trim do not age gracefully; the gold is soft, scratches easily, and is soon removed from the substrate. The resulting mix of gold remnant and corroded substrate is particularly unappealing.

 

I don't like super-thin gold plating that wears through quickly. That's not cool. And yes, chromium and rhodium are harder materials that will take more rubbing and scuffing before they wear through. However. . . I don't think pens should look pristine and new forever. If a pen has been carried and used a lot, it's OK for it to look used. Brassing adds character.

 

To me, gold or white trim is mostly just a color choice. I want whichever one looks best with the rest of the pen, and it's also nice (but not critical) for the clip and cap bands (if any) to match the nib.

Edited July 1, 2011 by tonybelding

[jar]

Fashions change.

 

Sometimes it changes by necessity.

 

For awhile Aluminum was considered a precious metal.

 

During the war chrome tin, bronze, brass and copper trim was replaced by gold since the former were more valuable for the war effort and gold was pretty useless.

 

I find palladium and rhodium trim acceptable on some pens but certainly not pretty or friendly; it's cold, colorless, unfriendly and lifeless.

 

Silver on the other hand is warm, friendly, comforting and very human.

 

Gold, like silver, adds a warmth and tactile feel that is totally unlike the cold slippery slime like feel of palladium or rhodium.

[Florida Blue]

If you are purchasing a quality pen ( I know next to nothing about guitars ) than you have nothing to worry about in terms of the gold plating wearing off, chipping off or scratching. I just finished restoring a Sheaffer Admiral from the 1940s that has absolutely no wear to the gold-filled trim and that pen was not terribly expensive in it's day. My grandma's 1930s Sheaffer Balance also had no wear or brassing to it's fine gold trim when I discovered it. I've just been bit with the vintage pen bug.

 

I would stay away from cheap gold plated pens because they are plated very thin (1 micron or even less in a gold wash process) and they will look worn very quickly.

Edited July 1, 2011 by Florida Blue

[SweepHand]

I'm with you on the gold thing. Just not a huge fan, although I've recently acquired a Mabie Todd with gold furniture that I'm quite fond of, so I'm willing to make an exception for a pen that just can't be had with chrome/rhodium.

[ArchiMark]

For me, trim color is purely a matter of design and aesthetics for a particular pen, along with my personal preferences.

 

In general, I prefer 'silver' trim versus gold, just think most of the time it looks better. However, on some pens, I think the gold looks good or better. Depends on the pen barrel/cap color(s).

 

Also, there's various gold colors, some are more yellowish and some are more white-ish, etc...many times I find the gold color chosen by the pen manufacturer is different than what I would have selected.

 

Likewise, even with silver, there are some pens that I think would look better if the silver was toned down and more of a pewter look...

 

Just my 2¢.....

 

[tonybelding]

Silver on the other hand is warm, friendly, comforting and very human.

 

Silver has a lovely luster that you have described well. I've seen a few pens with sterling silver hardware -- and I wanted, but didn't get. Keep in mind, though, that silver does tarnish.

[jar]

Silver on the other hand is warm, friendly, comforting and very human.

 

Silver has a lovely luster that you have described well. I've seen a few pens with sterling silver hardware -- and I wanted, but didn't get. Keep in mind, though, that silver does tarnish.

 

Which encourages you to use it. As long as you use silver and not just let it sit or smear it with mayonnaise, tarnish is not a big issue.

[Thornton]

For me, it really depends on the design of the pen. I generally prefer silver/platinum/rhodium trim, but I love the gold trim on my Montblanc 149 and Conway Stewart 100. However, I can't imagine buying a Pelikan M800, but my M805 is a favorite of mine. Just one of my many quirks.

[Horseknitter]

Interesting thoughts - good topic.

 

I have not bought a Pelikan M805 because the nib is 2 colors. That small bit of yellow gold spoils the solid silver/rhodium sleekness for me. YMMV

 

I also didn't buy another pen (whose identity has slipped my mind) because it was the cracked ice colored grey/white/black and it had gold furniture. Totally turned me off. YMMV

 

I guess all that means that when the rest of the pen is warm-toned I want yellow gold furniture-2 toned nib ok. When the pen is cool tones I want rhodium furniture- 2 toned nib not ok.

 

Maybe I should discuss this with my psychiatrist?

[Dark_Severus]

Interesting thoughts, although I don't necessarily agree with the stereotyping of people who prefer gold as trying to look richer than they are

 

Gold is a historical symbol of wealth, true - It also looks great on fountain pens provided the other colours match. Take the Waterman Edson, only the gold trim and nib go with the blue and the platinum finish and rhodium plated nib with the black. Point being, I would never decide on buying a pen simply based on trim.

 

I must admit however, that I love bi-colour nibs especially on OMASes, Visconti's and the MB149. They are sooo coool

[HDoug]

Gold trim gives off a nouveau riche poseur vibe more strongly than almost anything else in my mind.

 

I don't know if I'd put it so strongly, but this is kinda how I feel. Also the same with watches. No gold plate, just solid gold. Which I can't afford so I don't have any. I do have some pens with gold (appearing) furniture that I like, so I'm not being inflexible. But if given the preference, I'd go with the MXX5 Pelikans etc.

 

Doug

[Hohn]

I may have been a little too strident in my partisanship against gold.

 

There are several pens whose appearance I like with gold-- provided it looks simple and uncluttered. Too often, the style gets too busy and starts to look almost like a parody.

 

Just ordered an M215 as my first 'nice' FP.

 

I willfully admit that this is as subjective a matter as can exist-- and I look at my bias against gold more as obtuseness on my part than on that of those who like it.

 

JH

[djpyle]

I don't like yellow gold purely for aesthetic reasons. To me, anything with yellow gold looks old and forgotten, like a sheet of paper someone left taped to a window for twenty years. Trim color is a major factor for me when I buy a pen, and I've even gone so far as to get two-tone nibs replated to get rid of any trace of yellow gold. See this thread.

[HDoug]

...

Just ordered an M215 as my first 'nice' FP.

 

One of my favorite "goldless" FPs!

 

Doug

[djpyle]

...

Just ordered an M215 as my first 'nice' FP.

 

One of my favorite "goldless" FPs!

 

Doug

 

+1

[nm4]

Personally I enjoy having the variety of gold, rhodium, brushed steel, and even matte black hardware. My preference at any time just on my mood. I'd be bored to tears if all my pens looked (or wrote) the same.

 

Cheers,

NM

[Gobblecup]

I'm fine with gold, or almost any other trim metal. Its use depends solely on how it looks in conjunction with the rest of the pen.

[kirtar]

Whatever goes best with the rest of the pen. I like black with gold trim, but it helps that those are Purdue colors

[yachtsilverswan]

It's true that men's style (at least in the USA) is trending toward while metals, and away from yellow gold.

 

White metals (silver, rhodium, white gold, platinum) seem to look better in casual settings, though they also work in dressed up settings where the color pallet is cool (blue, white, khaki, black, green, gray) rather than warm (red, tan, brown).

 

Rose gold (also called red gold, fire gold, or pink gold) has long been popular in the Middle East and on the Indian subcontinent. The alloy is usually 18k (18 parts out of 24) of yellow gold, with the remaining 6/24 parts including some copper to create the warm red tone. Rose gold is only now becoming popular in the West. It's often used in high end watches and is occasionally seen in cufflinks and as trim in pens. The rose gold has a unique look, and is clearly different from yellow gold - it's a richer and dressier look than yellow gold or white metals and it can be a signature look when matched to rose gold watch, cufflinks, pens, and cigar cutter & lighter.

 

I like white metals for weekday evenings and weekend daytimes. I prefer rose gold for weekend evening events when I'm dressed up. And my workday pens are yellow gold trimmed because my workhorse long tines narrow shoulders springy MB 149 is trimmed in yellow gold plate. I keep a matching black resin and yellow gold MB Classique ballpoint to lend and a matte black stealth VP clipped to my trouser pocket as a backup.