What Makes The Persian Color So Rare And Desirable?

[colbydgonzalez]

I apologize if there is a previous similar thread, but I've noticed lately that very few Waterman's in the Persian pattern seem to be available. Is there a reason for this? Did they not sell well when first made? Pens in the Persian pattern seem to be much more valuable than other Watermans and I'm curious as to why this is.

 

I purchased the attached Lady Patricia last night restored for $65 and immediately went to Ebay to find a price comparison and was stunned to see only a couple results.

Edited April 13, 2018 by colbydgonzalez

[OCArt]

Can you enlighten me a bit about what is a Persian pattern? Is it always this bird's-eye maple color and swirls or can it be other things?

PS That looks like a very nice stub nib!

Edited April 13, 2018 by OCArt

[PenBuyer1796]

Persian pattern made by Waterman varies heavily in price due to the crazing and deterioration of the material. A quick google image search shows up several sets that are near mint, and that is what your pen once looked like. Congrats on the pen!

[pen lady]

I remember reading that Persian was one of Waterman's more unstable celluloid colours. It crumbles in a very distressing way! I've seen pictures of mint examples and the plastic is swirled pink, pearl and green or blue, surviving pens are mostly ambered to she shade that yours is. If you can find a pencil, the original colour is more likely to show up there. Waterman nibs are wonderful, flex stub? Yum!

[gregamckinney]

I have a hobby of collecting examples of Persian, in all of its many beautiful and horrible forms. It discolors incredibly easily, and few nice examples survive.

If you want to see what it can look like, check the top of Daniel Kirchheimer's page here: https://danielkirchheimer.com/sales/sales-pens/ . My god, it is beautiful.

 

Pencils do tend to show better color than pens, generally discoloring less. I have a few examples in the photos below. Most of the pencils show decent or better color. None of my pens do:

 

 

Really nice examples of the pens practically never show up. To find a gorgeous 94 in Persian, I'd expect to spend the better part of $1,000.

 

Best Regards, greg

[colbydgonzalez]

Gorgeous! I love your leftmost fountain pen!

[kestrel]

I have a hobby of collecting examples of Persian, in all of its many beautiful and horrible forms. It discolors incredibly easily, and few nice examples survive.

If you want to see what it can look like, check the top of Daniel Kirchheimer's page here: https://danielkirchheimer.com/sales/sales-pens/ . My god, it is beautiful.

 

Pencils do tend to show better color than pens, generally discoloring less. I have a few examples in the photos below. Most of the pencils show decent or better color. None of my pens do:

 

 

Really nice examples of the pens practically never show up. To find a gorgeous 94 in Persian, I'd expect to spend the better part of $1,000.

 

Best Regards, greg

Nice pens. What is the pen with the ball clip?

[JonSzanto]

I've only got one but I'm inspired by a post by an old friend, gregamckinney - hi Greg!! The penshot shown below was taken quickly and casually as it was capturing a small lot I purchased that, to this day, remains my most remarkable sumgai. I think the Waterman is fairly well preserved (a bit of barrel darkening) and I've got a silicone sac in it to attempt to keep it as such.

Edited May 11, 2018 by JonSzanto

[Left FPN]

Although I do not own one I would not term it 'So Rare'. Ebay never appears void of at least one.

[JonSzanto]

Although I do not own one I would not term it 'So Rare'. Ebay never appears void of at least one.

 

However, the term is fairly apt within the context of it's relative scarcity compared to the other colors, with attendant valuation. Were it common, it wouldn't fetch significantly higher prices than some of the others.

[hungrynerd]

Better late than never, right? Here are my 3 persians, in descending order of color quality.

 

The one that lost its clip shows hints of just a bit of its former colors.