Gold Trim Vs Silver/rhodium//etc

[TimF]

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

I agree. In my opinion, gold just looks bad. I also don't buy watches with gold cases. Some have gold hands, that's Ok, but that's it.

[Hangglidernerd]

I like the 2 colors together.Parker 51 caps,silver with gold clip,Eversharp Symphony chrome with gold clip,Sheaffer snorkel-yep same again.I just like the looks of it.Must be my love of 55-57 Chevys.....Chrome,stainless steel,aluminum and gold trim parts.

[lapis]

Okay, I must refine things.

 

I still stick to my weirdness obsession (e.g. that of a gold nib on a rhodium pen)... but... IMO any gold on any blue pen looks heavenly...

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/BlueNile1.jpg

http://i654.photobucket.com/albums/uu264/peli46/MARE.jpg

 

Sure wish I had the dough and luck to locate same....

[greencobra]

I like siver trim on my pens just for the sole reason I don't like the way gold looks. Has nothing to do with status really.

[Scrawler]

Okay, I must refine things.

 

I still stick to my weirdness obsession (e.g. that of a gold nib on a rhodium pen)... but... IMO any gold on any blue pen looks heavenly...

<snip>

 

I also think that the combination of blue with gold highlights is particularly attractive. It is interesting to see that each of us has our own prejudices about colours and colour combinations, and find different things attractive or repulsive. This lack of commonality means that it is not basic physical characteristics that drive our perceptions. I wonder if there are differences in education or culture that motivate what combinations people like or dislike. Perhaps it is generational and we respond to what was popular culture as we were growing up.

[777]

I totally agree with the OP! I love rhodium trim...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Need I say anymore!?!?

 

Regards,

777

[wspohn]

Need I say anymore!?!?

 

Yes, I think you should. You say that with a QED sense of finality, and while no one will deny that all silver looks very nice, I think that there are many pens where the gold gives a bit of relief from the unremitting silver.

 

One that I like the little bit of gold furniture with is the MB 146.

 

http://www.penantique.com/Penantique/Pen/Montblanc/Montblanc-Mont-Blanc-Vintage-Fountain-Pen/Montblanc_Mont_Blanc_Solitaire_Sterling_Silver_Legrand/Montblanc_Mont_Blanc_Solitaire_Sterling_Silver_Legrand-8.JPG

Edited July 4, 2011 by wspohn

[777]

Need I say anymore!?!?

 

Yes, I think you should. You say that with a QED sense of finality, and while no one will deny that all silver looks very nice, I think that there are many pens where the gold gives a bit of relief from the unremitting silver.

 

One that I like the little bit of gold furniture with is the MB 146.

 

http://www.penantique.com/Penantique/Pen/Montblanc/Montblanc-Mont-Blanc-Vintage-Fountain-Pen/Montblanc_Mont_Blanc_Solitaire_Sterling_Silver_Legrand/Montblanc_Mont_Blanc_Solitaire_Sterling_Silver_Legrand-8.JPG

 

 

 

I didn't mean that sentence for everyone. I just meant that for me personally, I love silver trim. I hope no offense was taken...

 

 

That Mont Blanc is gorgeous! I've nver seen an all silver pen with gold trim before.

 

I don't have any problem with gold trim pens... I just prefer me silver...

 

Regards,

777

[jar]

Silver with a gold trim or accent can be quite stunning.

 

http://www.fototime.com/51BEF61F7943D3A/standard.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/4181A84271931F5/standard.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/BD5ECE3ECE12CCB/standard.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/8485CC03DC12255/standard.jpg

[wspohn]

I didn't mean that sentence for everyone. I just meant that for me personally, I love silver trim. I hope no offense was taken...

That Mont Blanc is gorgeous! I've nver seen an all silver pen with gold trim before.

 

No offence taken!

 

Another one that isn't bad is the Waterman Etalon

 

http://waterman.incredishop.com/pens_img/p12975x.jpg

Another one I own that uses gold relatively sparingly as embellishment is the Waterman Man 100 in full sterling and Etoile versions, which took the bicolour theme into the nib as well:

 

http://www.parkvillepen.com/images/sld/man100silver.jpg

http://www.penhero.com/PenGallery/Waterman/Pics/WatermanEtoile13.jpg

 

 

 

Maybe a tad much gold there, though. Sailor 1911 uses little:

http://nibs.com/www/WEBSITE%20PICS/Sailor%20Pens/1911Sterling_NaganataNib_Uncapped.jpg

 

I do like all sterling though - I think that the Waterman Edson looks better without any gold trim:

 

http://www.newluxuryitems.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/waternan-limirted-sterling.jpg

[wspohn]

A bit of gold against the silver is a common style for watches as well.

 

I'll admit that the Rolex looks a tad pimped out that way:

 

http://www.princetonwatches.com/images/watches/PVU135-6899.jpg

 

but I like it in other watches.

[wspohn]

Thought I'd add one watch that is pretty over the top, but the person that posted about liking blue with gold prompted me. In fact I find this watch (a Zenith El Primero) strangely alluring - but feeling so makes me feel cheap and trashy!

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqEOKiEE3)TC058VBN9ySmkYmg~~0_3.JPG

[wtlh]

It is completely dependent on the design. Imagine the Pelikan Tortoise versions with silver trims.... Yuk...

 

How tacky one looks has nothing to do with gold or silver. It is to do with your vocabulary, manner and general behaviour. It is your self-cultivation that is important, not what you wear or use. Give a tacky person anything, he will make the object look tacky as soon as he begins to talk.

[DrPJM1]

Rhodium/Silver vs Gold: It all depends on the pen, on the colour of the nib, your particular mood and sense of aesthetics. I don't particularly find gold ostentatious unless you wear it as Mr. T but I like its warmth and because its traditional use. I have yellow gold and a white gold wedding rings, pocket watches with chains and so I match the pens.

[Scrawler]

Rhodium/Silver vs Gold: It all depends on the pen, on the colour of the nib, your particular mood and sense of aesthetics. I don't particularly find gold ostentatious unless you wear it as Mr. T but I like its warmth and because its traditional use. I have yellow gold and a white gold wedding rings, pocket watches with chains and so I match the pens.

Yes, I agree, there is a vast difference between discreet and tasteful highlighting, and deliberate, ostentatious displays. There are some cultures in the world where discretion and good taste are alien concepts, and people try to make up for their personal shortcomings by overloading themselves with finery. I admit to a certain prejudice when I see this, and such displays invoke, in me, the opposite of their intended response.

[nxn96]

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

Perhaps that explains my own affinity for a Burgundy Parker "51" with a gold cap- Loyola's colors.

 

On a less personal note, I generally don't find gold trim too showy, but a little bit of gold can often go a long way. For example, I have a nice Parker Insignia bp/mp set in gold that I might pull out on occasion, but never use on a daily basis. An old 45 Flighter bp with gold trim is my bp of choice for daily use.

 

In moderation, I think gold adds a certain elegance to a high quality pen. Further, as a practical matter, I think above a certain price-point the market sort of expects to see a little gold (and not just on the nib). I agree with some of the earlier postings that suggested that early wear of the ultra-thin gold trim on some of the more modern pens can often cheapen an otherwise good pen. At least that's been my general gripe about the Parker Sonnet- instead of using a 23k gold plate on the trim that can wear after only a year or so of use, I would rather they use a 14 or 12k gold filled clip that might have less initial "oomph", but not look so worn-out later on.

Edited July 5, 2011 by nxn96

[Bladerunner]

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

 

I struggled for most of life to live according to what others perceived and expect. Lost a lot of good days that way. Be you. Be happy.

 

You will love yourself for it!

Edited July 5, 2011 by Bladerunner

[georges zaslavsky]

I prefer gold trim but I also like silver trim.

[alexander_k]

As far as metal is concerned, I have a strong preference for brushed steel (not only for pens). Gold trim has somenegative connotations but in the end it's performance that counts: how can I dislike an Aurora 88 because it has a rolled gold cap? Nicargenta is probably nicer for the particular model but if the pen writes well and pleases me I'm willing to overlook some aesthetic flaws. Having said that, when I compare the Lamy 2000 to a Montblanc 22x I cannot help feeling that the gold trim on the 22x doesn't really agree with the brushed makrolon. So in conclusion, I suspect that my aesthetic preferences are formed by some often obscure prototypes of good design (and admittedly also taste).