There is no better way to start off a new week than with news of a few upcoming releases.  First up is Pelikan’s Maki-e Peacock limited edition announced by Fritz-Schimpf earlier today.  This 2018 model follows the Spring & Autumn (2016) and the Dragonfly (2017) that came before it.  Pelikan’s sales literature (translated from German) relates that the peacock is one of the most beautiful birds on earth due to its exceptionally beautiful, brightly colored feathers.  Peacocks have also been known to eat poisonous plants without being affected causing the animal to held in high esteem amongst different cultures and religions since the early days of human history.  The peacock has developed as a symbol of happiness because the bird is seen as being able to protect people from hardship and pain.  This Maki-e release celebrates all of the above.  Built off of the M1000 chassis, the traditional Make-e painting depicts the brightly colored plumage of the peafowl set in sharp contrast against a black background.  

For this release, the labor intensive Kaga Togidashi-Maki-e technique was employed.  The pen is crafted by first painting the barrel and cap in a deep black lacquer using a Japanese Urushi technique.  This is followed by the addition of mother-of-pearl and gold granules.  Gold and silver dust are then spread over the pen.  Once dried, the peacock feathers are painted using colored urushi paints.  Now complete, the pen is polished and made ready for sale.    Each fountain pen is numbered individually by the artist and signed by hand.  Like last year’s Dragonfly, this will be released in an edition of only 111 pieces worldwide.  

Each pen comes with an 18C-750 two-toned gold nib in a factory standard medium width.  The furniture features a crown cap top depicting the Pelikan logo along with the traditional beak clip and the standard gold-plated trim of the modern Souverän.  That includes two trim rings at the piston knob, two cap bands, and a single trim ring at the section.  There is an ink view window behind the section done in a dark gray color.  As has been the case previously, the pen will be packaged in a traditional gift box made of paulownia wood.  Anticipated availability is for June 2018.  This one will bring a hefty price tag with an overseas MSRP of €3,450 (including VAT).  You can expect the US MSRP to be upwards of $5400 though final pricing has not been confirmed.

Pelikan’s product shots look great and I like this one for its simple but colorful theme.  Sadly it promises to be quite expensive and, at only 111 pieces, will likely be a challenge to obtain for all but the most hardcore amongst us.  Still, I can’t wait to see some real world pics of this one.  What do you think?