It has been several months since we have had any fresh news of a pending Pelikan release. Customers continue to await the M1005 Stresemann now long delayed by supply chain issues. The drought has ended as news of the upcoming M205 Star Ruby Special Edition Demonstrator broke today. As expected, the company continues their streak of M2xx releases based on their Edelstein Ink of The Year. The Star Ruby will be the fifth model in that line-up and our first glimpse comes to us courtesy of Appelboom in the Netherlands. The M205 Star Ruby follows the likes of the M205 Olivine (2018), M200 Smoky Quartz (2017), M205 Aquamarine (2016), and M205 Amethyst (2015). This year’s M205 appears to be a departure from past releases in that the material has a sparkly, shimmering quality for lack of a better descriptor. Pre-orders should be available soon as this one is expected to be in stores starting sometime this September.
Tag Archives: M205
News: M205 Olivine Special Edition Demonstrator
It had been widely anticipated that we would once again see an M2xx release mirroring this years Ink of the Year though doubts had started to grow. For the past three years, announcements have come anywhere from late June to early July but always on a fairly consistent timeline. It now being early August, you can imagine the angst this has generated. Fret no more because today we have been given a glimpse of the upcoming M205 Olivine Special Edition Demonstrator as previewed by the Instagram account of H&S KIRTASİYE. The Olivine will join past special editions including the M200 Smoky Quartz (2017), M205 Aquamarine (2016), and M205 Amethyst (2015). Last years M200 was a departure from the prior releases and it appears that Pelikan has once again returned to the M205 trim style which is characterized by chromium plated furniture that has a silver appearance. Details remain sparse and I’m sure that we will learn more in short order. I would imagine that pre-orders will be available from your preferred retailer in the coming weeks and I would expect this one to be available sometime around mid September.
Meet The 7 Clear Demonstrators of Pelikan’s Classic Line
As 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.
News: Classic M205 Demonstrator Special Edition
Somewhat unexpectedly, news broke today about Pelikan’s next release for 2018. This one hails from their Classic line-up which is Pelikan’s lower end fountain pen line. Rather than something fresh and unique, Pelikan once again resurrects a model from the past. This time, we are given the Classic M205 Demonstrator Special Edition. The last M205 clear demonstrator was released in 2005 making it a full 13 years old. This is the second time Pelikan has re-issued a clear demonstrator in their Classic line, the last being the gold trimmed M200 released in 2012. This one is due out sometime around mid-May 2018. Pelikan says the following about their new model;
“Our latest special edition Classic 205 Demonstrator with its clear transparent barrel gives a clear view of the black-colored inner parts. It makes the interaction of the sophisticated parts visible while operating the piston mechanism.”
If seeing the innermost workings of your pen, imperfections and all, is your thing, read on to learn all of the details.
News: M400 Tortoiseshell Brown & M205 Blue Marbled
Vendors have finally put to rest speculation over this year’s rumored M400 Tortoiseshell Brown by announcing Pelikan’s plans for a September 2016 release. This has been a much anticipated addition to the line-up and I’m certain supplies aren’t likely to last long. While this announcement had been anticipated since the end of last year, Pelikan continues to show that it can still keep a few secrets. In a surprise move, we were also given news of an M205 Blue Marbled fountain pen for release around the same time. This marks the materialization of nearly all of the models that were expected for 2016 though I presume that the company may have one or two more surprises still in store for us before the year ends.
News: M205 Aquamarine Special Edition Demonstrator
I’ve been expecting news of an M205 Aquamarine fountain pen to officially break for a few weeks now. It was mid-June of last year when we learned of the M205 Amethyst and I expected Pelikan to keep a similar timeframe for this year’s product announcement and release. The M205 Aquamarine marks the second special edition model designed to mirror the color of the limited edition Edelstein Ink of the Year. Pelikan Taiwan announced via their Facebook page the debut of this new Classic Series demonstrator. Mum is still the word from Pelikan International but I expect a global announcement with more details soon. It shouldn’t take long for this pen to show up for pre-order via the usual retail channels. Aside from the photos shown here, translation of the sparse accompanying text indicates that release is intended for sometime in August.
News: M205 Transparent Blue Re-released
Appelboom, a well known retailer of luxury pens based out of the Netherlands, revealed via their Twitter and Instagram accounts yet another upcoming release from Pelikan. Rather than a Souverän, this release hails from Pelikan’s Classic line. Just as the M200 Clear (2012) and Cognac (2014) demonstrators were versions of previously released models with only a slight variation in trim, this new release is also a model resurrected from the past. Not previously rumored, the M205 Transparent Blue demonstrator is reportedly coming back and, like the two older models mentioned above, it appears to be a faithful reproduction of the original (released in 2009) with the exception of the crown cap top which will now be plated in chromium. Slated for an April 2016 release, Appelboom is currently accepting pre-orders on their website.
News: M205 Amethyst Special Edition Demonstrator
There had been whispers of a purple pen coming out of Hannover for a little while now but until recently there had been nothing to substantiate those rumors. Last week Bungbox, out of Japan, posted a poor screen capture that gave us our first glimpse of it. Today our friends at Iguana Sell give us substantially more and break open this release just as they did with the M805 Demonstrator back in February. Iguana Sell is a well-known Pelikan retailer out of Spain and today they gave us our first solid look at the Pelikan M205 Amethyst Special Edition Demonstrator. It’s no coincidence that the color of this pen corresponds to the Edelstein Ink of the Year 2015 by the same name.