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

[Heinkle]

Not in English, but…

 

 

[pmarkoni]

Hi All,

 

This is a strange edition. I bought one of each colour a few weeks back for £895 each. They were advertised as Limited Editions, but upon examining them there were no numbers on the pens and no CoAs in the boxes. therefore not LE but SE. A crazy price. Perhaps £250-275 would be more appropriate for these. I returned them and received a refund (thanks to Nigel at Hamilton Pens).

Luckily for me I found one of the 100 sets of three pens, which are indeed Limited Editions in piano black hinged box with numbers on the pens and a CoA. I paid around £2770, which makes the Special Edition pricing look insane, especially as Parker are making them for the whole year! What is going on here?

I look forward to reading further comments...

Cheers,

Mark.

 

[Hbanger]

On 1/22/2021 at 1:02 PM, Aysedasi said:

 

I dunno, but perhaps it's me.  I struggle with the concept of a €1195 pen being 'quite a bargain'......... 

I would have trouble paying that much for a pen (€1195 is nowhere near a bargain) I bought a car for less than that in 2014 that I am still driving daily!

[Vladpu]

I did do a post when I first got mine back in August, although in blue.  It was supposed to be for father's day, but very delayed, presumably due to Covid related manufacturing and shipping issues.  Answering a few questions from the thread:  Yes, it is made in France, yes it is diffusion bonded acrylic.  At least the blue one is very pretty - I am not going to pay a fortune for one of each colour to see for myself.  And the nib is extremely well decorated, and very very smooth.  

As for performance, it is a modern Duofold, nothing more or less.  The decoration differs, but the performance is as expected - among the best modern pens available.  The big disappointment was the presentation.  It comes in a cheap cardboard clamshell box, no historical or show-off stuff at all.  Even my Pilot Custom 823 at ¼ the price came in a nice box with paperwork and a bottle of ink.  So, I think Parker really really seriously dropped the ball on that.  It is a gorgeous pen and deserved to be presented as such.  

I guess we shall see if they live up the "one year only" limit on availability.  

Overall:  Overpriced?  Yes.  Very nice:  Yes.  Glad I have one?  Yes.  

But, hey there Mr. Waldo Q. Newell (or whoever), Parker will never get back to its former glory by appearing to be cheap.  That goes for the new 51 as well.  That should have had a nice box, papers, and maybe a bottle of ink, as well.  The 51 "Special Edition" of a couple decades ago came with lots of pretty stuff, and is still popular even though it is one of the worst hunks of junk Parker ever made.  So let's get with the marketing program.

(Yes I did get one of those  too - I am a die-hard Parker fan, from my school days about 60 years ago, and want them to succeed.)

The new 51 has a lot of critics, and I agree with at least some of the issues, though not all.  From my perspective (including that of one who has owned and used a number of original 51's (before they were collectors' grail pens), the main complaint is that the new 51 is not an old 51.  Well, I got my first "new" Duofold when they were first issued in 1987, and it's not a 1920s or 30s Duofold Senior, either.  It's better.  The new 51 is in about the same inflation-adjusted price niche as the 1950 one.  But bear in mind, in 1950, a fountain pen was still a daily work tool, not a foolish luxury (yes count me a fool).  The ball point (aka tool of Satan) was only a rumour, and computers held thousands of pieces of information and fit into only one larger (and refrigerated) room.  Everybody needed a pen, and Parker sold millions and millions of 51s.  Nowadays, they might sell a few 10s of thousands globally.  Their biggest competition now id their own ghosts from the past.  So, the new 51 is IMHO a pretty darn good pen for $250. (I understand I may be a minority here, but that is among my least expensive pens).  I am happy to use it frequently, it performs very well, looks nice, and none of the "problems" are even close to insurmountable, including the somewhat non-airtight cap.  

[lionelc]

i agree @Doctox57, i enjoy using the modern parkers.  by some coincidence i have a duofold senior lapis and the 100 anniversary lapis inked up at the same time today.  both write wonderfully and for me worth the price.