Conklin, Monteverde production

[DustyR]

Hi all.  Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find it in a search after the site update.  Does anyone know when Monteverde and Conklin production moved to China?  And does anyone have information about the facilities there (were they built by Yafa, or was production farmed out to existing producers?)

 

I remember Monteverde was supposed to have been made in the US in the 1990s.  Was the "new" Conklin ever US made?

 

Thanks!

[gerigo]

I believe that the majority of Yafa pens are made in Taiwan, and not China. The small scale production is alive and well in Taiwan and many of the lower end pens that are in the market today take advantage of the pen manufacturing expertise in Taiwan. I did not know that any of the pens that Yafa makes were ever made in the US but I could be wrong.

[dan in montreal]

You are right, this has been discussed a few times before.

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/276421-conklin-past-present/

The Yafa / Conklin reincarnation is a clever gimmick, as is the resurrection by Yafa of some well known and historically significant pen brands. It's as if new Parker / Waterman products bore the inscription "Great American pen brands", without the words Made in France anywhere on the products (that's where they are made).They at least indicate where the products are made, as do Sheaffer and Cross (China) - perhaps not on the pens, but on the boxes and packaging materials.

I do not mind this at all, as many Chinese products are well made. I do take issue with companies pretending to be what they are not.

As far as I know, all modern "Conklin" products are made in China. But they are just sneaky enough to not mention this anywhere. The Duragraph nibs even have the words "Toledo USA" stamped on them.

Some current Conklin models are decent, others less so - see the model reviews on this forum. I have a Duragraph and it's OK, as OK as a Chinese made pen by, say, Moonman can be. No more, no less. As far as Monteverde pens are concerned, although they do not claim to be made anywhere at all, one look at the Monza tells you everything you need to know.