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There have been many threads here listing the “flagship” pens of various well known brands (see this, this, and this). I’m posting this simply to organize the information a little bit more attractively.

 

To be clear, I define “flagship” as follows: A “flagship” pen is a regular production model (i.e., not a limited or special edition), which is generally the largest, most expensive, and most visibly advertised item in a brand’s inventory. Where no single pen satisfies all the criteria, a judgment call may have to be made on what (if any) product is the “flagship” for a particular brand. Obviously, a brand calling one of its own products its “flagship” trumps other considerations.

 

Any corrections, additions, or suggestions are appreciated.

 

Brand Flagship Entry Level Other Notable Lines Country
Aurora Aurora 88 Large Ipsilon De Luxe Talentum, Alpha, Optima Italy
Caran D’Ache Léman Ecridor Varius, Madison Switzerland
Conway Stewart Churchill None Winston, Wellington, Series 100, Marlborough United Kingdom
Cross Townsend Classic Apogee, ATX, Botanica, Sauvage United States
Delta Dolce Vita Oversize Unica Many Lines Italy
Graf von Faber Castell Intuition Platino Wood (seems to have displaced the Classic) Guilloche Classic, Pen of the Year Germany
Franklin Christoph Model 19 “1901” Model 27 “Collegia” Many Individual Models United States
Lamy Lamy 2000 Safari Studio, Dialog Germany
Montblanc Meisterstück 149 “Diplomat” None Writers Edition, Great Characters Edition, Starwalker, Boheme Germany
Omas Paragon None Milord, Bologna, 360, Ogiva Italy
Parker Duofold (Centennial) Vector Sonnet, Premier, Ingenuity, Parker 51 (discontinued), P25 (discontinued) United States
Pelikan M1000 Souverän M100, M150, M200, M205, M215, M250 Classic Many Lines German
Pilot Custom 845 (Some discussion on the point ) Metropolitan Falcon, Vanishing Point, Custom 823, Justus Japan
Platinum President Preppy 3776 Series Japan
Sailor King of Pen Many Models 1911 Series, Professional Gear Japan
Sheaffer Legacy Heritage VFM Taranis, Prelude, Sagaris, 300, 100, Intensity, Ferrari United States
TWSBI Diamond Eco Classic, Vac 700, Mini, 580AL Taiwan
Visconti None (Possibly the Divina. See this and this) Classic Homo Sapiens, Opera, Van Gogh, Michelangelo Italy
Waterman Edson Charleston Carène, Exception France
Edited by RMN

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww128/danielpi/POTY-2006-Pen_zpsmhccbtxj.jpg

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Wow! It's really nice of you to put all this together, thank you.

 

I do have a question though. Wouldn't the Izumo be the current flagship from Platinum?

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Wow! It's really nice of you to put all this together, thank you.

 

I do have a question though. Wouldn't the Izumo be the current flagship from Platinum?

 

Sure. Platinum seems to market the President specifically using the word "flagship." Do a Google search for "platinum pen flagship," and you'll get a few dozen hits naming the President as the flagship, using similar wording, which I presume Platinum distributed to retailers in their marketing material. Anyway, the Izumo seems more like something that qualifies as a special edition.

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww128/danielpi/POTY-2006-Pen_zpsmhccbtxj.jpg

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Sure. Platinum seems to market the President specifically using the word "flagship." Do a Google search for "platinum pen flagship," and you'll get a few dozen hits naming the President as the flagship, using similar wording, which I presume Platinum distributed to retailers in their marketing material. Anyway, the Izumo seems more like something that qualifies as a special edition.

Ok. Thank you for clarifying.

 

I've bookmarked the thread for future reference. :)

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Really nice - thanks for sharing. I wonder about Lamy - entry level would that not be the ABC?

 

 

Well... Lamy has gobs of cheap pens. The Safari seems to be the popular "first fountain pen," and seems like the most widely known entry level offering. The ABC is like for children, no? I mean, technically I suppose that'd be even more entry level than Safari, but that seems like maybe a specialty thing.

 

I suppose the thing about Lamy is just where its market is. Seems like maybe I should just put "Many lines" under that category.

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TWSBI's flagship is the Diamond 580 (currently. The flagship is the Diamond model, but as they come out with new models this model number will change)

 

Starter line: Eco

 

Other notable models include: Classic, Vac 700, Mini, 580AL

 

Country: ROC (Republic of China)

 

 

~Epic

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A sincere man am I
From the land where palm trees grow,
And I want before I die
My soul's verses to bestow.
 
All those moments will be lost in time.
Like tears in rain.
Time to die.

 

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Eric: Thanks. Yeah, I am a little leery of including TWSBI. I mean, at their price points, ALL of their lines are entry level. It's an entry level brand. Nevertheless, this is perhaps snobbish of me. I dunno. I added an entry for it, but it seems to be an odd fit with the rest of them.

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If I could help

 

Sheaffer's flagship is the Legacy Heritage, it being the most expensive and it carries Sheaffer's inlaid nib

 

Sheaffer's lowest end pen is the VFM (No Nonsense seems to be discontinued)

 

Other notable line: Taranis, Prelude, Sagaris, 300, 100, Intensity, Ferrari collection

 

Country: USA

Don't mind me, I like to ramble... A LOT

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For Parker you might consider adding the Vector and the discontinued P25 as notable lines. The Vector is widely used by pro's as well as students.

 

Regards,

 

Hugo

Thou shalt not stir one foot to seek a foe.

 

 

Eadem Mutata Resurgo.

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This is a very interesting thread! And I am all for including all kinds of companies. Even those that are supposed to only make entry level products.

 

I think though that the Urban and the IM are more like mid_range/next_step pens for Parker. Vector, Jotter and Frontier (if still manufactured) fit better the entry level category.

 

edit: Hugo beat me to it!

Edited by inotrym
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If I could help

 

Sheaffer's flagship is the Legacy Heritage, it being the most expensive and it carries Sheaffer's inlaid nib

 

Sheaffer's lowest end pen is the VFM (No Nonsense seems to be discontinued)

 

Other notable line: Taranis, Prelude, Sagaris, 300, 100, Intensity, Ferrari collection

 

Country: USA

 

 

Thanks. I don't know the Sheaffer brand as well as maybe I should. Added it.

 

 

For Parker you might consider adding the Vector and the discontinued P25 as notable lines. The Vector is widely used by pro's as well as students.

 

Regards,

 

Hugo

 

Quite right. Corrected.

 

 

Great summary - thanks for putting this together!

 

Welcome. Hope it's useful to people.

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A quick correction to Delta; the Unica would be the entry level because it is ~$30 less than the Serena ($76 for the Unica vs $108 for the Serena)

Don't mind me, I like to ramble... A LOT

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Thanks for taking the time to put the list together it is greatly appreciated.

Nature is the one song of praise that never stops singing. - Richard Rohr

Poets don't draw. They unravel their handwriting and then tie it up again, but differently. - Jean Cocteau

Ο Θεός μ 'αγαπάς

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A quick correction to Delta; the Unica would be the entry level because it is ~$30 less than the Serena ($76 for the Unica vs $108 for the Serena)

 

Fixed. Thanks.

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww128/danielpi/POTY-2006-Pen_zpsmhccbtxj.jpg

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@jthole: Yeah, I've read that somewhere as well. Nevertheless... it's an American company.

http://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww128/danielpi/POTY-2006-Pen_zpsmhccbtxj.jpg

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