Cross Classic Century

[realchas]

I am pretty new to pen collecting and recently bought a grey classic century. I can not find out much about it. Is it still being made? When did Cross start making the Classic. The converter only fills part way. Is that normal?

[jimmartin]

The Century line mechanical pencils were introduced din 1946.

 

The Century ballpoint introduced in 1953

 

The Gray with chrome trim was introduced in 1986

 

1992 was the year the Gray w/ 22kt gold plated appointments was introduced'

 

The product line history can be found on the Cross.com web site.

 

Enjoy your cross pen, they are high quality and carry a lifetime warranty to the original owner.

[Jerome Tarshis]

The history page at cross.com indicates that Cross began selling the Century fountain pen in the United States in 1984, after presumably trying it out in selected foreign countries (the word "international" isn't very specific) beginning in 1982.

 

As for "making" the Century, from my reading, including my reading of Barbara Lambert's history of the company, it isn't clear (and wasn't always so clear to her, either) when Cross began "making" various pens it sold. Or what making a pen means, exactly. Quite a few pen companies have begun by partly or completely outsourcing the manufacture of a pen and then, when it seems to be working out, bring the work in house. Or it could go the other way.

 

The words "Made in U.S.A." probably don't mean the same thing to lawyers as they do to ordinary people. I own a couple of Townsends that say "Made in U.S.A." whose nib units were made by Pelikan, which is still in Hanover, not in Lincoln, Rhode Island. So far as I am aware, the Solo and the Radiance series were made entirely by Pilot. What Cross says about its history in various places ought to be taken with a grain of salt. (I like the pens, by the way. But business history, not just pen history, is perhaps less to be taken literally, without seeking confirmation, than other kinds.)

 

On another point raised in the original post: Converters do not fill completely in ordinary use. That air bubble at the top is normal.

[realchas]

Thanks for the help. My brother got me started in this pen collecting. I don't know whether the buy him lunch or pull out his fingernails.

[Chris]

But you can get rid of the air bubble (with care and practice) by pointing the nib up and screwing the converter a bit till ink just appears under the nib then putting the nib back in the ink and sucking up a but more.

 

Get it wrong and you get pretty fingers, hands, shirtsleeves etc.

 

Chris