Genève — the biggest francophone city in the Switzerland — is famous as the headquarter the CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire), as well as of some agencies of the United Nations and the International Red Cross. Genève also hosts some international brands recognised by their high quality. One of the famous genevan brand is Caran d’Ache. Established in 1915, Caran d’Ache produces a wide range of stationery products including fountain pens.
Last August I’ve displayed a white Caran d’Ache 849 pen. Today, I’d show a special edition of Caran d’Ache: a Palladium-Coated Ecridor Golf fountain pen. As the name implies, the design of this pen is a new geometric guillochage, inspired by the essential dimples on a golf ball. The hexagonal body is made of palladium-coated brass — a lightweight innovative material evoking the precision of a Swiss technology.
The nib is made of rhodium-coated steel. It writes smoothly with high precision. Non-flexible, for sure, since this is a steel nib.
Originally established as Fabrique Genevoise de Crayons, this pen’s manufacturer was renamed Caran d’Ache in 1924 at the suggestion of Arnold Schweitzer. The name was taken after karandash / карандаш, which means pencil in Russian, and has its roots in the Turkish word kara-tash which means black stone, in reference to graphite. Until now, Caran d’Ache remains a family company, currently headed up by the fourth generation of the family.
