Today brought news of another new release out of Hannover, this one quickly following on the heels of the upcoming Souverän M800 40 Years Anniversary limited edition due out next month. If you will recall, Pelikan kicked off the 2022 season with their M1000 Maki-e Snow, Moon, and Flowers limited edition. Pelikan’s next release will again be another high end Maki-e model, this one titled Phoenix. The last time we got two Maki-e releases in a single year was 2019 when both the Five Lucky Bats and Japanese Umbrella debuted. These are always ultra-exclusive models made in very limited quantities with a price tag to match. Pelikan’s promotional literature states;
“The Phoenix is surrounded by numerous meaningful legends. Phoenix is a legendary spiritual bird in Chinese mythology, appearing in myths, ornaments, works of art, and architecture in East Asia. It is often depicted as a symbol of virtue, wisdom, beauty, and goodness. Phoenix also has the meaning of harmony, peace, femininity, beauty, prosperity, expansion, ascent and success. According to Chinese legends, phoenix represents the entire universe. The phoenix‘s head represents the sky, the eyes are the sun, the back is the moon, the legs are the earth, and the tail is a planet.”
The Maki-e Phoenix utilizes the oversized M1000 chassis, made in Germany, and decorated in Japan. This model is slated to arrive sometime in November 2022. As is the tradition with many of these ultra-limited pens, this will be an edition of just 123 pieces available for worldwide distribution.
Both Seven Treasures (2021) and Snow, Moon, and Flowers (2022) utilized the Togidashi-Taka-Maki-e (Burnished-Raised Maki-e) technique which combines Taka-Maki-e and Togidashi-Maki-e. The same will be true of the M1000 Phoenix. This method adds texture and dimension to the design. In this case, a phoenix is prominently displayed on the barrel while the cap depicts clouds and what appears to be the sun, all superimposed upon a glittering reddish-brown background. The first appearance of the phoenix, a symbol of peace and prosperity, dates to 2600 BCE. According to legend, the phoenix remains hidden, appearing only when reason prevails, thus it has come to represent a peaceful reign and a successful ruler. Historically it was the right of the Chinese Emperor to bear the dragon, while the phoenix was the main decorative motif in the costumes of the Empresses of China. This is not the first time we have seen the figure of a phoenix grace a fountain pen from Pelikan. The first appearance that I can recall occurred in 1996 with Pelikan’s M800 Golden Phoenix which saw 888 pens done in the Toledo style. In 2005, the company released the Maki-e Dragon and Phoenix, an edition of only 88 pens that is rarely seen these days.
The Maki-e M1000 Phoenix will come packaged within a traditional gift box made of paulownia wood. It will come with Pelikan’s standard 18C-750 two-toned gold nib in a medium width. The pen features the usual trappings of an M1000 which includes a beak clip, two cap bands, two trim rings at the piston knob, and a single trim ring at the section, all plated in 24-karat gold. The cap top again features Pelikan’s single chick logo superimposed upon a background styled to match the barrel and cap. The M1000 sports a dark green ink view window positioned just behind the section. Each pen is individually numbered and includes the artist’s signature, painted by hand. For most of us, the price will necessitate that these pens be admired from afar. The European RRP including VAT is €3,700 ($3,614.66). I have seen this model offered at retail for just over $3,000 from abroad. US retail pricing is not yet clear but should be in the neighborhood of $4,800, similar to this year’s other Maki-e model.
I love the simpler look of this one, particularly when juxtaposed against the Seven Treasures (2021) and Snow, Moon, and Flowers (2022). I do think it unfortunate that Pelikan has opted for another high end release, leaving the everyday aficionado high and dry. Out of the six announced releases this year, three have been high end pens, priced well over $1000. Perhaps it is a deliberate strategy of selling fewer units at higher prices but it does a disservice to the fan base in my opinion and makes the brand less accessible to new comers. None-the-less, I’m sure that this model will sell out. What are your thoughts on the new M1000 Maki-e Phoenix?
Seven Years of Maki-e M1000s, left to right: Spring & Autumn (2016), Dragonfly (2017), Peacock (2018), Five Lucky Bats (2019), Japanese Umbrella (2019), Kingfisher (2020), Seven Treasures (2021), Snow, Moon, and Flowers (2022), and Phoenix (2022)
I wish that I could say nice things about Pelikan. I bought a M 1000 beautiful looking fountain pen a few years ago. It was a broad nib and looked and looked lovely. The nib was awful to use. It was scratchy and absolutely had no smoothness and was certainly no pleasure to use. I had one nibmeister in Toronto, Canada make changes but this did not help. I then paid a second top quality nibmaster in the USA to adjust and care for the nib ( grind ). It was still as bad as ever. I cannot understand the poor Quality Control of Pelikan despite paying about $1,000 plus tax and shipping and 2 repairs. I ABSOLUTELY would NEVER buy another Pelikan pen. Terrible quality nib !! Other pens have been wonderful. Consumer beware Pelikan. Thank you for listening.
I couldn’t imagine not taking care of one of my customers — why did you not get your dealer to simply fix the problem? Free! I must say that grinding a new nib is not the way to fix it, no matter how many times you try. I have been collecting and using hundreds of Pelikans since the early ‘70s and many dating back to the 1930s, and have never had the problems you describe.
IMHO, you should take the pen to a nibmeister in person and have them watch you write with it and then adjust the nib to your writing style. This is one reason I love going to pen shows. If you are new to fountain pens, it might be something in the way you write. You can’t press at all with these things, you’ll knock the tines out of alignment. The nibmeister might be able to give you somer insight into that also.
Don’t give up on the pen. My M-100 is something that I really treasure.
That is great advice and a quick recipe for success but I do believe that it is so hard still for much of the population to get face to face access with a nib meister. Definitely can make a difference if you can swing it though.
Thank you very much for that advice. There is a pen show here in Toronto Ontario on this October 30, 2022. I will go to it with my Pelikan 1000 M.
Hello Richard and thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sorry that your M1000 was not up to standards. I have an expansive collection of modern Pelikan pens and have had an overall positive experience with their nibs but fully acknowledge that no quality control is infallible. I’m surprised to hear that a nib meister could not make this right for you or wouldn’t keep trying until you were satisfied. Prior to going the nib meister route, my first recourse would have been to discuss with the vendor who sold the pen. There is also a 30 day nib exchange policy, free of charge, for new pens purchased from an authorized retailer. I can fully understand your desire to never purchase another Pelikan. Perhaps one day something will come along to tempt you once more.
Thank you for your good advice. There is a local pen show in Toronto October 30, 2022. It will be my first show.
Pen shows are great fun. I can’t speak for the Toronto show specifically but I hope that you enjoy and perhaps find somebody who can make your M1000 all that it should be.
Thank you ALL for your kind support and advice regarding my Pelikan M 1000 fountain pen. I am off to see my first pen show October 30, 2022 in Toronto Ontario. My wife has kindly agreed to come although pens don’t interest her much !! Richard Simms MD, FRCS
I agree with you. Pelikan seems to be leaving their fan base in the cold. As a dealer, at the last several shows the black-and-white tortoise was very well received, but fully nine out of ten people wished it were in additional sizes, M405, M805, or the most requested by far, the M1005. Or how about a new M80x special edition with a new resin?
It does seem that way unfortunately. I do hope that we will see the black tortoise, and the red tortoise for that matter, grace additional models in the future. Only time will tell.
Thanks for another nice article, Joshua. I look forward to seeing this one in person. The Maki-e M1000s always seems to look better in person. The pictures don’t always do full justice to the beauty of the technique.
I agree, an interesting new release at a more affordable price point might be in the interest of the brand, but I must admit, Maki-e on the Souverän chassis makes for an attractive pen.
I fully agree that these have to be seen in person to truly be appreciated. The photos never seem to do these models true justice.
I have several Pelikans and every one of them is a joy to use. They range in date from 1939 to about 2015. Why didn’t you send it back in for a nib exchange?
To be honest, I was not initially aware that I could return a fountain pen to the dealer, or to Pelikan directly. I was not knowledgeable enough about this policy of returning. Also, I don’t recall seeing any advice or warning on the packaging about returning a pen if it may not function correctly or if I was not happy. I am curious if other customers have been disappointed with Pelikan nibs which might be due to poor quality control. Thank you very much. Richard Simms
Very nice indeed. A simpler design to some of the other variants.
The M605 Black Tortoiseshell from earlier this year was a strong offering at a modest price point. And I agree that it would be nice to see some interesting variants at other points in the product stack. But I think this high end M1000 does have its place of interest to whale collectors and also helps create a buzz that interests enthusiasts looking for less expensive pens.
I am hoping to see a Raden this year too.
I haven’t heard about a Raden but getting two Maki-e models in just one year makes me suspect that a Raden is off the menu for 2022. Maybe Pelikan will surprise us but I’d be shocked to see another high priced ultra exclusive model drop in such proximity.
Just as well: I just bought an M900 Toledo and a Fritz-Schimpf Italic Edge 149, so my wallet needs to cool off for a while!
Ha! No doubt. I know that feeling all too well.
I love Pelikan’s color palette and own several pens in their “brown” leaning category. But i’d like to see a Phoenix theme use more vibrant colors like firey Red intermixed with flames of yellow (at least in very small regions of the body to provide a punch). This version is mostly muted across the board even if there is color in general.
Now that is a color scheme that I could get behind. I agree, a Phoenix does invoke a more colorful imagery.