Pelikan Souverän 605 Green-White Special Edition
Pelikan. Very few entities survive the ravages of time, especially if you are a colossus in your chosen field of excellence. Pelikan is a notable exception, dating back its legacy to 1838, when the chemist Carl Horemann started offering oil paints, watercolours and coloured inks (farbige Dinten). The fountain pens for which we know and love Pelikan were introduced much later, in fact after Günter Wagner had taken over the reign of the company. It will not be out of place to mention here that the piston filling mechanism, which somehow has become synonymous with Pelikan was patented by a Hungarian engineer Theodor Kovacs from whom the patent was acquired and later re-patented by Wagner in 1929. In the same year, the transparent Pelikan fountain pen was launched. Decorative elements (read gold sleeve and rings) were introduced soon after, and how the brand created the demand pull for its products through brilliant branding and advertising campaigns is in itself a story that is worth recounting.
However, we will not digress from the topic, for we are here today to introduce the latest from the perch of the Pelikan, the Souverän 605 Green-White special Edition. Carrying the distinct Pelikan plume, the pen is another avatar of a legend – a story that has been told around the world umpteen number of times.
The white parts are fashioned out of high-quality resin that is first turned into shape and then polished to a sheen that is just right. The barrel with the now trademark white and green stripes is created from cellulose acetate using a process that smacks of perfectionism of a level beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.
The other Pelikan hallmark – the double rings at the back of the barrel and on the cap needs to be mentioned specifically as they are so well machined (integrated if you may) into the body that it is near impossible to feel them by touch alone. German overengineering? Perhaps. But who’s complaining?
The pen comes fitted with a nib that is completely “rhodinised 14 carat gold” and comes in the standard sizes of EF, F, M and B. I personally believe that forwarding my opinion, however much I may qualify it with the sobriquet “humble” is a cardinal sin and will therefore desist from making a comment. Especially when connoisseurs of much more ancient climes have been known to compare the experience of writing with a Pelikan to that of running a hot knife through butter, no less.
Finally, another moot point. All Pelikan fountain pens go through a rigorous exercise of quality control after which each finished piece (in fact, they are mounted by hand) is manually tested by qualified professionals before they go out into the world to become the trusted companions for life. Suffice to say, the chance of landing a dud is almost next to none.
Oh yes, they come in a specially designed box, are limited in numbers and carry a three-year warranty not to mention the assurance “Made in Germany”.
For more information: www.pelikan.com
