Tag Archives: M200

News: M200 Pastel-Blue Special Edition

May 11, 2023 By in News Tags: , , , , , 35 Comments

I know that many of you have been anxiously waiting for the day to come when Pelikan announces the release of an M200 Rose Quartz Special Edition but I’m here to tell you that today is not that day. Looking back on historic trends, that announcement doesn’t usually come until August, and it has even been as late as October so you will have to be patient a while longer. That doesn’t mean you have to go away empty handed. Pelikan took to their social media channels today in order to announce the newest pen off the factory floor, the M200 Pastel-Blue Special Edition. If this newest addition to the Classic line is giving you that old familiar feeling, that might be because it bears a striking resemblance to the M200 Pastel-Green (2020) from three years ago as well as the M200 Gold-Marbled (2019). Sparingly used in the past on only a handful of models, Pelikan has really embraced white resin over the last decade. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least ten different models that have used that material in recent years, more than all of the prior decades combined. This new M200 is slated for a mid-June launch and retailers should be taking pre-orders anytime now. Read on to find out what you can expect from Pelikan’s newest fountain pen.

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Review: M200 Golden Beryl (2021)

December 12, 2021 By in Reviews Tags: , , , 10 Comments
Pelikan M200 Golden Beryl Fountain Pen

On deck today is a review of the fresh faced M205 Golden Beryl special edition fountain pen released last month. I have been excited to get my hands on this one and now am happy to be able to give you a closer look so that you might better judge the pen on its merits. Part of my excitement owes to the fact that we have gotten only a handful of new releases out of Hannover in 2021 when compared with years past which seems to be the new normal as forecasted in the company’s 2020 Annual Report. The exact statement in that text was; “For 2021, we will continue the tradition of reinventing the popular designs with new materials and colours, though we plan to concentrate on less product launches as we cautiously move forward in the market.” The Golden Beryl takes a somewhat different approach than the other thematic releases in the series and the question that it begs is whether or not the new tactic delivers? News of this one didn’t break until October, much later than has traditionally been the case, leading many to question whether or not we would actually see the Golden Beryl come to light. Materialize it did, joining the likes of the M205 Amethyst (2015), M205 Aquamarine (2016), M200 Smoky Quartz (2017), M205 Olivine (2018), M205 Star Ruby (2019), and the M205 Moonstone (2020) as the seventh pen in the now long running series.  Interestingly, it is only the second model of those listed to incorporate gold plated trim, something we last saw on 2017’s Smoky Quartz. All of the models since 2019’s Star Ruby have utilized glitter to impart a shimmering appearance to the translucent material of the barrel and cap. Where the Golden Beryl breaks the mold is in the fact that the barrel itself is not colored in a way reminiscent of the ink that it compliments. This model actually has a clear resin which was admittedly unexpected when the product announcement came. Read on to discover whether or not the gambit was worthwhile.

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News: M200 Golden Beryl Special Edition Demonstrator

October 6, 2021 By in News Tags: , , , , 18 Comments

Starting in 2015, Pelikan established an annual tradition of crafting fountain pens from their Classic series that matched their Edelstein limited edition Ink of the Year release. Historically, news of those models would drop in August, but the release schedule has been on its ear for well over a year now as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic and likely some internal issues as well. Many have come to fear that the tradition would finally come to an end this year given the company’s silence as 2021 begins to wind down. Whether or not we’d ever see this model come to light has been one of the most common questions that I’ve fielded over the last several months.  Pelikan put those fears to rest today with news of a new Classic model M200 to accompany this year’s Golden Beryl, the seventh such release from the company based on their line of limited edition inks.   Prior to the M200 Golden Beryl, we have had the; M205 Moonstone (2020), M205 Star Ruby (2019), M205 Olivine (2018), M200 Smoky Quartz (2017), M205 Aquamarine (2016), and the M205 Amethyst (2015).  Some of these models have made a bigger splash than others and several are now quite hard to come by. It was 2019’s Star Ruby that first employed a glitter induced shimmer effect along the translucent material of the barrel and cap and, like the M205 Moonstone that preceded it, the Golden Beryl looks to incorporate the same. Pre-orders are going live today from many vendors with this one due out sometime in November 2021. Read on to discover all of the essential details regarding the newest fountain pen out of Germany.

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Review: M200 Pastel-Green (2020)

May 19, 2020 By in Reviews Tags: , , , 12 Comments

Pelikan M200 Pastel-GreenWith the first half of 2020 almost behind us, you may have noticed a relative dearth of new fountain pens releases coming out of Hannover.  This is likely in no small part due to the turmoil that has engulfed the world as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic.  Thus far, we have come to see just three new models brought to the market in 2o2o.  These include the M200 Pastel-Green, the M1000 Raden Green Ray, and let us not forget the more limited release of the M800 Chinese Demonstrator.  While we anticipate some fresh new models for the second half of the year, I thought that it might be worthwhile to take a look at what we already have in hand.  Announced at the end of last year and released in late March, the M200 Pastel-Green is an interesting new member of Pelikan’s Classic line-up.  The company has really embraced an array of pastel colors married to white resin accents over the last few years.  That said, the Pastel-Green is now just the third pen from the M2xx series to utilize white resin, following closely on the heels of 2019’s M200 Gold-Marbled.  At the risk of deluding myself, I’d like to think that perhaps someone at Pelikan is listening as it appears that some of the features that I critiqued in my Gold-Marbled review were addressed with this release.  The reason that I chose to review this one today is for the uniqueness of the finish which is somewhat different from prior releases.  The Pastel-Green is a special edition meaning that it will only be around for a limited time so read on to find out whether or not it’s just the trick to brighten up this otherwise bleak Spring.

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News: M200 Pastel-Green

December 11, 2019 By in News Tags: , , , , 16 Comments

Pelikan M200 Pastel-GreenWith the year winding to a close, you could certainly be excused if you thought that Pelikan was done with new product announcements.  It may come as a surprise than to learn that we have not one but two new products to talk about today courtesy of the well-respected German retailer Fritz Schimpf.  First up is a new M200 model set to debut in 2020, the Pastel-Green.  Pelikan must have had a lot of white resin left over after their run of the Gold-Marbled because we see it again utilized here.  It’s nice to see the company shift some of their attention away from the higher end Souverän range and focus more on their entry level Classic series.  I also like the fact that the company seems to be experimenting with more unique materials and stepping out of their comfort zone.  In this instance, we have a resin barrel with a marbled pattern of pastel green.  White resin accents set off the light green, flanking the barrel just like what we saw with the recently released Gold-Marbled.  This one is anticipated to be available at retail outlets sometime in mid-February 2020 and I would expect that vendors will start taking pre-orders soon.

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Review: M200 Gold-Marbled (2019)

November 24, 2019 By in Reviews Tags: , , , 21 Comments

Pelikan M200 Gold Marbled Fountain PenWith two in a row, this back half of the year certainly has felt a bit heavy with reviews, a testament to some of the recent creativity that we have seen out of Hannover.  Up for appraisal today is Pelikan’s newly released M200 Gold-Marbled fountain pen.  Prior to now, we’ve only ever had one white pen in the M2xx line-up, the M205 White which was released 10 years ago.  That white M205 holds a special place in my heart as it was the first Pelikan fountain pen that I ever purchased, something akin to Scrooge McDuck’s lucky Number One Dime.  Of course, it’s hard to look at the new Gold-Marbled model and not see parallels with the M400 Tortoiseshell White.   Maybe it’s just me but I don’t think that it takes a huge leap of the imagination to envision someone blurring the lines on the tortoise and blending the colors into something near to what we see on the Gold-Marbled.  Regardless, this finish appears unique and worthy of review.  The last M2xx not released as part of the Edelstein companion pieces was the Brown-Marbled in 2017.  While that one is part of the standard line-up, the Gold-Marbled is meant as a special edition meaning once the supply chain runs dry, these will no longer be available.  Read on to find out whether or not Pelikan has the Midas Touch as far as the Gold-Marbled is concerned and see if you should consider making space amongst your flock for this one.

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News: M200 Gold Marbled

October 14, 2019 By in News Tags: , , , , 26 Comments

Pelikan M200 Gold MarbledPelikan brought something new to the table with the finish of the M205 Star Ruby.  If you expected the company to retreat to the confines of the safe and predictable following that release, think again.  Thanks to Appelboom, we get our first official glimpse of the newest addition to Pelikan’s Classic line, the M200 Gold Marbled fountain pen.  Intended as an elegant yet more affordable alternative to the Souverän range, it would be understandable if you mistook this Classic model for one of the company’s more upmarket offerings.  The resin of the barrel displays various shades of gold imbued with what the company calls a “mother of pearl” effect designed to create a sense of warmth and soft color.  White resin accents are employed to compliment the golden hued barrel, the likes of which we’ve never before seen in the 34 year history of the Classic line (the M205 White notwithstanding).  This one is anticipated to hit store shelves sometime in mid-November with vendors likely to start taking pre-orders soon. The M2xx models are known as dependable writers that incorporate Pelikan’s legendary piston filling mechanism and the marbled finish has been a part of the Classic series for decades.  Recent iterations have included the M200 Green (2015), M205 Blue (2016), and M200 Brown (2017) Marbled variants.  If the sparkles of the Star Ruby weren’t to your liking, read on to see if the Gold Marbled has the Midas touch.

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Meet The 7 Clear Demonstrators of Pelikan’s Classic Line

June 28, 2018 By in Reference Tags: , , , , , 11 Comments

Pelikan M2xx Clear DemosAs far as demonstrator fountain pens go, the clear variants are perhaps the purest because they allow the most unobscured visualization of a pen’s inner workings.  With this year’s release of the re-issued M205 Clear Demonstrator, I thought that it was an opportune time to look back at Pelikan’s clear M2xx models and to highlight some of the differences between each.  To date, there have been seven clear demos released in Pelikan’s lower tier Classic line, not including the very similarly styled M481 demo.  These models are characterized by a less ostentatious trim than the Souverän series as well as a slightly less refined finish.  The upside is that you get a great pen for substantially less money than what a Souverän might cost.  While I was working on this article, my wife somewhat incredulously remarked, “You have seven of the same pen?!”  While that may seem to be the case upon first glance, each pen has a unique variation or two that sets it apart and allows for proper identification (though that explanation somehow did not mollify my wife).  Clear demonstrators draw both appreciation and ire for facilitating an unobstructed view of the piston mechanism as well as the ink chamber.  Each fill with a different colored ink can serve to change the pen’s look, keeping the writing experience fresh and exciting.  The trade-off, of course, is that without proper pen maintenance, those colors can persist long after a pen is emptied.  While staining is a real possibility with any demonstrator, it can be all the more apparent in one of the clear demo variants.  Still, proper pen care makes this a relatively small issue and one that shouldn’t bar you from enjoying such a great pen.  

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