Over the past century, fountain pen users have increasingly gravitated towards larger pens. This doesn’t mean that everyone prefers them, nor that larger models are a novel phenomenon. While this trend deserves its own discussion, the Pelikan M800 stands out as an essential model in the Souverän lineup. Its larger size and added weight contribute to its appeal for a broad swath of fountain pen users. It should come as no surprise then that this is where Pelikan concentrates many of their new releases. Their latest addition to the M800 line is the Cream Blue, unveiled late last year. Although there’s nothing revolutionary about it, the dark blue barrel and cream accents create an attractive package, and if you’re looking for an M800, it won’t disappoint. However, I can’t help but think about the untapped potential of this model. Read on for more of my thoughts on the M800 Cream Blue.
In the pre-COVID era, new M8xx releases seemingly came out every few months, serving Pelikan well as a reliable, workhorse platform. However, supply chain issues during the pandemic led to a decrease in M8xx releases and a pivot to other model lines. The most recent M800 models were the Green Demonstrator (2023), the 40th Anniversary LE (2022), and the Black-Red (2022). With only two rehashes and an anniversary model that didn’t quite hit the mark, there was little to excite. Now, Pelikan has unveiled the M800 Cream Blue special edition fountain pen, set to launch in October, which could breathe new life into the M8xx line. Read on for more details about this new special edition.
Since the pandemic, Pelikan has made it a habit of putting out fewer releases than what was historically the case which gives each new model coming to market a little more gravitas. You might expect that the extra time between releases would actually allow a bit more space for creativity. Imagine my surprise then when Pelikan brought us a new M800 which, at first glance, seems more like a retread of the past. According to Pelikan Schreibgeräte, customers from the United States clamored for a transparent green M800 circa 1991. Pelikan acquiesced, releasing the Transparent Green M800 demonstrator in 1992. It was an unnumbered model, similar to the special editions of today. A total of 3,000 M800 fountain pens were set aside specifically for the North American market with a smaller run of pens supplied to both Italy and France. The North American importing company had certificates printed at their own expense in order to indicate the limited nature of the run, a trick of marketing that saw this model dubbed “The Collector’s Edition.” The suggested retail price of that fountain pen, at least in the United States, was $450. The iconic Blue Ocean M800 would soon follow in 1993 which would arguably make the M800 Transparent Green a test case whose success may well have facilitated the numerous limited and special editions that have come to market since. Fast forward thirty one years and Pelikan once again brings another M800 Green Demonstrator to market. While the appearance of the new model is very similar to the old, there are key distinctions worth noting. Are they enough to set this one apart from its predecessor? I’ll allow you to be the judge of that. Read on to learn about all of the nuanced features that set these two models apart.
One of the first special edition fountain pens from Pelikan in modern times was the M800 Transparent Green Collector’s Edition which came out in 1992. Clamor from customers in the United States resulted in the production of that pen, an unnumbered model, which was well received. It preceded their first ever limited edition, the M800 Blue Ocean, by just one year. In that run of 5000 pens, each piece was individually numbered. We were off to the races after that with Pelikan releasing a number of Special and Limited editions annually. That Transparent Green M800 has always been a looker. It was known to have been a favorite of Gerd-Rüdiger Lang, founder of Chronoswiss, so much so that it served as the inspiration behind 2002’s Styloscope. Fast forward to the present day and Pelikan brings us back to where it all started. News broke yesterday of the Souverän M800 Special Edition Green Demonstrator. Due out sometime in mid to late April, this model will hit shelves just in time for the spring foliage. Rather than a straight rehash of an old favorite, this new model actually features a re-design of Pelikan’s iconic trim, something that’s sure to generate a buzz. Read on to learn about all of the details surrounding this new M800.
In the closing days of 2022, Pelikan brought two final models to market, capping off a year of scant releases. The first of these was the M205 Apatite special edition which was reviewed on the blog earlier this month. The second release was the Pelikan 40 Years Of Souverän fountain pen which is the model under scrutiny today. “What is a Souverän?” you might ask. For the uninitiated, it is simply the term that Pelikan gives to those models hailing from their high end fine writing instrument product lines. The concept has a strong precedent. Montblanc, perhaps one of the best known manufacturers of luxury items, has been using the “Meisterstuck” branding for their high end writing instruments since the 1920s. The word ‘meisterstuck’ translates to English as ‘masterpiece.’ Pelikan’s marketing simply followed suit, coming up with the term Souverän, which translates into sovereign or commanding. The Souverän moniker was first born in March of 1982, and it came at a time of great peril for the company. It was that same year that Pelikan was forced to declare bankruptcy after facing heavy losses across multiple business sectors, in part a consequence of the business’ rapid expansion during the 1970s. The early 1980s saw a fountain pen renaissance of sorts and Pelikan attempted to capture a share of that market by going back to a design which had been so successful for them thirty years earlier. That first Souverän was the Black/Green M400 and, at least initially, it was little changed from its predecessor. The company would ultimately be taken over, various divisions parted out, but Pelikan’s fine writing instruments division would survive the bankruptcy proceedings. The Souverän line would continue to grow and flourish over the ensuing forty years. Other models would follow including the M600 in 1985, the M800 in 1987, the M1000 in 1997, and the now discontinued M300 in 1998. This past year marked the 40th anniversary of that first Souverän and Pelikan chose to commemorate the occasion with a special limited edition M800. Only 888 pieces, laden with plenty of gold embellishments, were produced for worldwide distribution so I thought that it was worth taking a closer look at this one. One of the things that I and many others love about the Pelikan brand is their heritage, so I take any homage to such very seriously. Unfortunately, the design of this new model leaves me wanting and I cannot help but feel that opportunities were squandered. Read on for an honest review of this commemorative fountain pen as seen through the eyes of a true Pelikan fan.
Treasure can be lost, perhaps tucked away for a later occasion, then forgotten with the passing of time. Sometimes, like the periodical cicadas that emerge from under the ground only once every 17 years, that treasure is rediscovered. Chronoswiss is a mechanical watch manufacturer based out of Lucerne, Switzerland and founded by Gerd-Rüdiger Lang in 1983. In order to commemorate the company’s 20th anniversary, Mr. Lang, a big fan of the M800, commissioned Pelikan to create limited edition pen known as the Styloscope which was released in 2002. Built off of the M800 chassis, the Styloscope was a numbered, limited edition of 999 pieces which I previously described in detail here. These were sold by Chronoswiss and could not be obtained through Pelikan. Now long out of production, finding one on the secondary market can be a challenge for those who lack patience or means as these models have appreciated nicely over the past few decades. The Chronoswiss company turns 40 next year and the Styloscope has now achieved its own milestone, turning 20 years old this year. While mildly interesting news in its own right, what really punctuates that birthday is the fact that 88 unnumbered Chronoswiss Styloscope pens were just recently found by Chronoswiss’ COO, Beat Weinmann, in the company’s basement. Talk about a serendipitous discovery. After much consideration regarding their fate, Style of Zug, a self-described Swiss concept store with a focus on fine writing instruments, has been tapped as the sole distributor for these newfound beauties which are being released into the wild. Read on to find out all of the details including how you might own your own Styloscope.
Pelikan’s original model 400 was manufactured throughout most of the 1950s as well as the first half of the 1960s. The model would experience two major revisions over its production run, but it ultimately proved to be a great success for the brand. Times change and the company moved away from that iconic design for a number of years, with the Merz & Krell 400NN of the 1970s being a notable exception. That classic style which was so popular in its day saw a revival in 1982 when Pelikan launched the first Souverän fountain pen, the model M400. The black/green color combination featuring the “Stresemann” striped pattern was again alive and well and little changed from that 1950s model upon which it was based. Like its predecessor, the M400 was well received, a win that the company desperately needed at the time. The early 1980s marked a turbulent period in the company’s history, one rife with financial trouble and the M400 played its part to help turn Pelikan’s fortunes around. Forty years later and the Souverän series of pens remains a mainstay in the brand’s portfolio, its design is as iconic now as it ever was. In honor of that that forty-year anniversary, Pelikan is releasing a new limited edition fountain pen, the Souverän M800 40 Years Anniversary limited edition. The design of this new pen is meant to commemorate those features of the Souverän that have made their mark over the years. Read on to learn all about this newest limited edition fountain pen out of Hannover.
Early last month, I wrote about a new initiativeat Pelikan that would see the long standing translucence of the Souverän’s barrel eliminated. Gone would be the translucent stripes present for the last 40 years of the line’s heritage, exchanged for an opaque replacement. The news took many, myself included, by surprise. Likely motivated by the new realities of this post-COVID world and ongoing supply chain issues, the change was met with mixed reactions at best. Those stripes have been an integral feature for many of Pelikan’s fountain pens, allowing one to more easily gauge the remaining amount of ink in their pen without the need for a discreet ink view window. The solution was both clever and elegant to say the least. It was widely expected that the M800 Black-Red would be the first new release to fall victim to the changing times. You can imagine the consternation that this newest Souverän has fomented when the first stock to hit vendor’s shelves was literally just the opposite. That’s right, the M800 Black-Red, at least in this first wave of production, appears to be nothing other than business as usual. The stripes behind the section are, as they always have been, translucent. So, what gives? Read on to find out what I suspect may be the most likely answer.
