Parker Duofold Centennial 100th Anniversary Big Red Fountain Pen (Special Edition) As low as €1,195.00

[Heinkle]

Definitely looks like the gold text is on top(?) of the acrylic and therefore liable to rub off:

 

 

[Pingu]

Thanks for sharing all the pics, Heinkle. It looks attractive enough and the packaging appears sumptuous, but I don’t  think it looks technically more difficult or expensive to manufacture than many previous Duofold in a similar vein, eg the check mosaics, pinstripe, etc.  I think it’s realistically a £400 pen and I would consider it at that price point. But they are pitching above an MB149 or a Pelikan Toledo, either of which I’d rather get with a £1k pen budget.

[Pingu]

8 hours ago, Heinkle said:

Definitely looks like the gold text is on top(?) of the acrylic and therefore liable to rub off:

 

 

 

 

 

the Parker description says it is laser etched... 🧐

[Heinkle]

2 hours ago, Pingu said:

Thanks for sharing all the pics, Heinkle. It looks attractive enough and the packaging appears sumptuous, but I don’t  think it looks technically more difficult or expensive to manufacture than many previous Duofold in a similar vein, eg the check mosaics, pinstripe, etc.  I think it’s realistically a £400 pen and I would consider it at that price point. But they are pitching above an MB149 or a Pelikan Toledo, either of which I’d rather get with a £1k pen budget.

Agreed, extremely difficult to justify at that price. Looking at the various outlets, the cheapest I’ve been able to find is c.£779, and even that is £200 over the max this pen should be priced at.

 

In the unlikely event Amazon stock them, a bargain might be available, I but suspect these pens will be reserved for the specialist outlets. 

[Glenn-SC]

On 5/27/2021 at 10:33 AM, Heinkle said:

 

A mass market company that thinks its Montblanc. 

MB is a “mass market company” too. 
 

[Glenn-SC]

And yet Parker will sell every one of these that they make at their price point AND they will become a collectors pen, regardless of our opinion of the price point or our willingness to pay. 

[lionelc]

3 hours ago, Glenn-SC said:

And yet Parker will sell every one of these that they make at their price point AND they will become a collectors pen, regardless of our opinion of the price point or our willingness to pay.

probably true - i hypothesised with the the new parker 51 release that there is a silent majority who represents newell's target audience.  with this additional duofold release, will be looking at their eofy statement with some interest at the end of the year 

[Heinkle]

4 hours ago, Glenn-SC said:

MB is a “mass market company” too. 
 

they aren’t selling £5 jotters in supermarkets

[Pingu]

1 hour ago, Heinkle said:

they aren’t selling £5 jotters in supermarkets

 

Used to get them free with insurance quotes and other company freebies! 😃

[Glenn-SC]

9 hours ago, Heinkle said:

they aren’t selling £5 jotters in supermarkets

Don’t know any company selling FPs in Supermarkets in this area. 
 

MB will sell as many pens as anyone wants to buy, and then make more and sell them.  Just like every other company, pen or otherwise.  

[PolishSoldier]

18 minutes ago, Glenn-SC said:

Don’t know any company selling FPs in Supermarkets in this area. 
 

MB will sell as many pens as anyone wants to buy, and then make more and sell them.  Just like every other company, pen or otherwise.  

I'm quite sure that if you compare number of pens that manufacturers are selling Parker hugely outnumber MB. Parker pens are available pretty much in every stationary shop at my place & you cant say same thing about MB

[PolishSoldier]

We are talking about special  edition pens, those are always more expensive. You can buy "standard" Duofold at my place for around 450 $

[Heinkle]

How the acrylic is layered:

[Paul-in-SF]

They're safe from me, I don't like the design at any price point. The red one is the least crummy looking, the black one is the most crummy looking, with blue in the middle. 

[sirgilbert357]

On 5/30/2021 at 10:53 AM, Heinkle said:

How the acrylic is layered:

 

 

Goodness, how awful.

I don't know how you can take such a complicated (not really, because I'm sure it's all done by machines, but still -- relatively to other "plastic making methods") process and make it fall so flat.

 

For such a special anniversary, I would expect to see finishes more like those found in history -- marbled materials, the alternating colored stripes of the Duofold Seniors, bright bold solid colors, etc.

 

Instead, this looks like laid tiles in a subway floor. No depth, no chatoyance, no uniqueness. Every pen will look exactly the same. It could be screen printed on like the old Vectors -- that's how flat it looks. The way this pen is made could have been far more interesting visually. If they were going to use the "stacked bricks" look, they could have made some of the pieces translucent, used swirly acrylics for certain pieces -- anything to give it more visual interest than a brick wall. Nothing about the appearance feels all that luxurious. Even switching the striping to run the length of the pen could have made this look marginally better.

 

Honestly, if you told me Jinhao made this, I would have believed you. And I wouldn't be surprised if they have a copy of this out in 6 months. No, it won't be the real thing, but it just shows you how plain this is.

 

I've never seen a copy of the Classic Pens diffusion bonded materials...and the MSRP on this is close to what those pens went for. Think about that for a second. Which looks more special?

 

I will say I love the nib. More companies should do fancy nibs like this. It really adds something to the overall beauty of the pen when I see a nib like this. It's a waste on this pen, sadly. Beyond that, all I can say is that if this is how Parker chooses to commemorate the 100th anniversary of one of their most iconic models....well, they have truly lost their way. What a low effort. Sales on this would certainly be lackluster if it weren't a "100th anniversary limited edition". The L.E. status and the collectors are the only reason this pen will sell out -- it sure won't be because of the looks.

 

All my opinion, of course, and worth exactly what you paid for it. I hope those of you who choose to buy one enjoy it...

[Glenn-SC]

I will withhold judgement the quality of the finish until I see the pen(s) "in person."

 

 

[Heinkle]

I personally don’t mind the design, but I will say that i) the price for what you get (standard box, no literature) is appalling value and ii) I actually don’t think they will sell that well - other than this thread and the one Appelboom video, I’ve not seen any buzz on social media. No one cares and I think the price/poor publicity has a lot to do with that.

[Heinkle]

So I took the liberty of emailing Newell to ask about the nature of the gold lettering on the barrel of the pen (given it doesn't look to be engraved). This was the reply - make of it what you will:

 

As for your inquiry regarding the engraving on the Parker Duofold 100th pen, I can only inform you that it is made by a special method that is not a typical engraving. It is made on the outside of the pen, but the technique of this decoration is a professional secrecy matter and we cannot disclose it in the event of an attempt to create a counterfeit product. This marking has been qualified and meets our quality standards. It will not fade when the pen is used in accordance with the purpose.

 

EDIT:

Not sure it looks very durable? (CREDIT: Appelboom's video)

[sirgilbert357]

19 minutes ago, Heinkle said:

So I took the liberty of emailing Newell to ask about the nature of the gold lettering on the barrel of the pen (given it doesn't look to be engraved). This was the reply - make of it what you will:

 

As for your inquiry regarding the engraving on the Parker Duofold 100th pen, I can only inform you that it is made by a special method that is not a typical engraving. It is made on the outside of the pen, but the technique of this decoration is a professional secrecy matter and we cannot disclose it in the event of an attempt to create a counterfeit product. This marking has been qualified and meets our quality standards. It will not fade when the pen is used in accordance with the purpose.

 

🤨

 

Riiiight. 

[como]

I can’t say that I love it. It’s a pity what Parker produced for such an important event. I really much prefer a copy of the vintage Duofold flat-top Big Red with some details to commemorate the event. It’s ok to charge more for 100th anniversary but the design can’t be lazy.