Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 285 (part 4 of 4)

(And now, the conclusion to Lawrence's four-part review of his Graf von Faber-Castell 'Pen of the Year 2008' fountain pen!)

Lawrence: "So we can now put the whole thing together: "

"So, my theory is that this whole setup is BOTH a retailer display and most likely how the pen is to be sold (for greater unboxing effect). I got the pen direct from Graf von, so it shipped with the components separately. If I had gotten this from a boutique, then I would have no doubt been given the pen in this put-together setup for extra worship/unboxing points, I guess.
This is the entire group in their boxes: "

"The pen's box gives a "fake import factory box" vibe LOL. Which reminded me of when I worked as a designer for a wholesale giftware company, this is how they ship and make things. The item sometimes ships separately, with the display on its own box. To protect both. And normally the box is called a POS display (point of sale display) and is not sold to the customer, but as a unit to be replenished. In this case, because of the limited edition nature of the product, it gets sold together.

I love this pen, I feel guilty, but I have no regrets. One bonus (if we can call it that) is that I did not pay full price for this pen. It was discounted to a point where it is the same price as my little prince solitaire. If it was the original price, I most likely would not get it. The pen itself looks very subdued and, at a glance, it will pass as one of Graf von's higher end pens, but not a POY. Most of the POYs have a very over the top and opulent look to them. This one is just elegant and beautiful. Pictures don't do it justice.

I am not super familiar with the Graf von line, I do have the reasonably priced Faber-Castell pens and they write the same way as this POY. They are all reliable pens that don't skip and write smooth (not as soft as my other pens, but decent writers). This pen is not a regular part of my grail pen group, but it does get used regularly. I know that a lot of people buy this pen as "investment" and more likely will not open nor use the pen, but I am in the camp that believes that a pen (no matter the price point) needs to fulfill its "divine destiny" and write something already LOL."

Big thanks to Lawrence for this comprehensive (and entertaining) review of a very special fountain pen, and for all the photos he included with it :)

Fellow Vancouver Pen Club members: if you have a new pen-related acquisition you'd like to share on our club's website, please email me your photos and reviews! The photos don't have to be professional-quality...and no, the items don't have to be expensive; I recently posted about an old National Geographic magazine (with a great Sheaffer ad) of mine a few days ago, lol!
Thanks in advance,
~Maja