It’s time for another review on The Perch and while I normally like to scrutinize models that are unique in some way, I’m taking a look at the M800 Brown-Black largely because of its seemingly similar appearance to a past release. If you have had any experience with the Pelikan catalog over the past decade, you might find yourself drawing parallels between this new model and an old favorite. The M800 Tortoiseshell-Brown (2013) quickly comes to mind as a special edition that also utilized stripes and brown resin components. Pelikan’s product literature describes the Brown-Black like so;
“A graceful and subtle appearance. That’s the look of the new Special Edition Souverän 800 Brown-Black. The warm brown hue resin material of this writing instrument series is perfectly complimented by dark brown stripes. The barrel with brown and black stripes is crafted out of high grade cellulose acetate which is then turned into a sleeve. The rings and the clip are elegantly decorated with 24-carat gold.”
Is the Brown-Black something we’ve seen before or a new design unto itself? I think that the best analogy I can put forth is that while it all may be chocolate it comes down to the difference between milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Does the Brown-Black have enough going for it to stand on its own merits? Read on to find out.