When it comes to a brand like Breguet, one expects nothing but the very best in every aspect of its representation. So I figured its pens, like its recent jewelry collections, would be solid and elegant expressions of the company’s overriding sense of quality and innovation. I was right.
Once you get hooked on a great pen, the next step on the road to ruin is great paper. There are numerous options and a plethora of sources from which to choose, from plain bound journals to highly designed note cards and custom stationery. One coveted source of high-end stationery is New York-based artist Bernard Maisner.
Hermès, whose 177-year-old roots are in saddles and harnesses, has “grown up” to become a multifaceted luxury brand whose oeuvre today includes leather goods, fragrances, serious watches . . . and now the new Nautilus pen collection, which was designed by Marc Newson in conjunction with Pierre-Alexis Dumas.
Meet Caran d’Ache, a fully Swiss made, completely traditional pen and pencil manufacture located right in the heart of Geneva. This family-owned, family-run business operates like a watch manufacture. Indeed, the haute écriture products emerging from the workshops are at times comparable as unique works of art. Like the just plain amazing Caelograph, which allows one to see the position of the stars and the constellations.