Tiger 849 Caran d‘Ache pen from 2007 Jungle Collection. Might be the most fun collection the company ever made. Are you using any Caran d‘Ache stationary today? Share for everybody to enjoy!
Caran d’Ache just launched a new Ecridor design - Honeycomb.
“Inspired by the architecture of the honeycomb, Ecridor™ Honeycomb reinterprets the hexagon, an iconic signature of Caran d’Ache, through delicate guilloché work enhanced by a refined platinum finish.” 159€ on their website.
Looks fine, but I do not feel inspired enough to add it to the wish list. Feels as if there is something missing, just two rows of hexagons on each side are a bit boring. Your thoughts? Yay or nay?
Got two beautiful Caran d‘Ache Madison pens on eBay recently. The gold one had no refill, but the original super old looking refill inside the silver one is dated 1980. I like the way they look, this rather thick basket-weave-like pattern. But they must be so old there is no mention of this particular model anywhere online. Does anyone know the official name of this engraving pattern?
Have been using this beauty today. Madison 2 ballpoint pen with Cisele guilloche pattern. Madison 2 is an interesting case of an in-between product line.
It was a synthesis of two famous writing instruments adopting qualities from both: the slim Madison 1 body proportions and the thicker heavier feel of Leman collection. So it is still elegantly slim, though not as slim as Madison 1, and at the same time feels more substantial and luxurious because of the increased weight and thickness (though it is not as heavy as Leman). Another difference from both classic Madison and Leman is the push mechanism (instead of twist).
I really enjoy writing with it. It combines the best of both worlds. But probably wasn’t distinctive enough and didn’t drive sales in the long run, so was eventually discontinued around 2018.
Interestingly, while there are plenty of used Madison 1 pens and pencils being offered on second hand sites, I don’t see a lot of Madison 2 at all. Was it because only few were ever made? Or only few were ever bought?
New Varius Design has been announced. Yay or nay?
From Caran d’Ache website:
“In 2026, Caran d’Ache celebrates timeless elegance through a new Limited Edition: the Varius™ Lights. A true artisanal masterpiece, this Haute Écriture instrument embodies the expertise of the Maison’s master guillochers and polishers, drawing inspiration from the worlds of jewellery and watchmaking to enhance this Limited Edition.
The “baguette diamond” guilloché pattern, named Lights, reveals a refined radiance, evoking the sparkle of precious stone facets and creating a fascinating ballet of luminous reflections. The palladium-plated silvered body of this Limited Edition stands out through its mirror-polished finish, enhancing its sumptuous brilliance. The attributes, finely guilloché with watchmaking precision inspired by watch crowns, confer absolute sophistication upon this writing instrument. At the top of its cap, a marbled black onyx cabochon further elevates the splendour of this exceptional piece.
Available in three writing modes – ballpoint pen, rollerball and fountain pen – the Varius™ Lights is limited to 100 pieces.”
MAOGEPING - Astral Glory Long-Lasting
Cushion Foundation (Black Wing Edition) - it has like 1 review and is flying completely under the radar, but it’s the best makeup discovery I made in years.
Use my code COSMETIQUA and thank me later - it’s a total game-changer, you’ll love it!
It’s the BEST cushion for girls with oily & combo skin!
I tested 20+ cushions over the years. Most were meh, the best ones looked good directly after application, but did nothing to prevent the face from looking and feeling greasy after 3-4 hours.
This one REALLY WORKS!
Sadly, it‘s expensive, but it STAYS TRULY MAT & FLAWLESS all day long!
• medium buildable & super naturally looking coverage
• no extra powder needed (unless you want a really heavily made-up look)
• feels completely weightless on skin
• hardly transfers when you hold your phone to your ear or touch your face (you need to really rub to transfer)
• stays put until you wash it off
• skin looks like natural perfection!
Extra bonus: Black Wing packaging looks super pretty irl
Negative: have not found how to buy refills yet. (If you know where to get them, let me know!)
I was completely blown away when I first used it, and have already ordered a 2nd one.
Use my code COSMETIQUA at checkout & let me know so I can use yours too!
My latest acquisition. Truth be told, they are probably too good-looking to be used. Found this set of 4th edition of Les Crayons de la Maison Caran d’Ache that was released in 2014. Includes 4 pencils made from reconstructed wood (wood dust mixed with special polymers?) to resemble structure of rare woods.
African Ayous - a precious variety with a deep black shade containing fine white veins. A firm character with natural appeal.
Tremble White - unusually regular stripes in this wood create a contrast of white and black veins that give a double personality.
Red & Olive Zebrano - fine fibres in shades of red and olive bring this precious wood to life, giving it a surprising mesmerising power.
Indian Poplar - the densely structured composition of this wood creates a highly distinctive veining with multiple shades of grey.
So a bit of a fantasy wood project, but better this than to cut down endangered species for pencils. And they do look great. Especially the red one.
A fun detail. Léa Seydoux used a graphite Alchemix pen in the scene where Bond meets her in a Swiss clinic in Spectre.
https://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com/product/caran-dache-alchemix-ballpoint-pen
A recent discovery of an extremely rare and unique Caran d‘Ache ballpoint pen that was made in Switzerland as part of the merchandise for the 1990 launch of Honda NSX car in Japan.
The pen formed part of the NSX GEAR luxury merchandise programme distributed in Japan in connection with the NSX from September 1990 to approx. March 1991. The original retail price of the ballpoint pen was ¥60,000.
It was clearly positioned as a luxury item. ¥60,000 in 1990 was roughly equivalent to spending €700–€800 in Germany today, depending on the method. For perspective, Honda’s own launch release put the Japanese NSX itself at approximately ¥8 million, so the pen cost roughly 0.7–0.75% of the price of the car, which is unusually high for souvenir merch.
The most interesting feature of this pen is that it is not based on any of Caran d‘Ache base models. Instead, it was produced in a small batch only once exclusively for Honda NSX launch. The craftsmen produced each pen by carefully machining it from a single metal bar, 150 mm length and 65 g weight with a characteristic car-shaped body and clip.
The photos are from an ended Japanese auction. The pen is still in the sealed plastic sleeve, but one can see the shape. Haven‘t found any other photos of this pen online though.
This recent auction closed with approx. 120€. There is mention of another auction in 2016 that ended with the winning bid of 100 000 yen (€1100 in today’s money).
Seems to be a pretty obscure pen that surfaces only once in a blue moon. Fascinating how many unique projects Caran d‘Ache was involved in over the years.
A missing link in the evolution of the modern FixPencil. Found this on eBay, so photos and text below are taken from the auction. The auction is still active, though £300 asking price is kinda out there. An interesting collectors‘ item anyway, never seen one like this before (in case you are wondering, I’m not the seller and have no idea who they are, it’s not an ad)
————-
The application for the patent for this flat lead draughting pencil seems to have first been made on July 22nd of 1959 in Switzerland. The invention is attributed to Charles Jeanmonod.
These flat lead pencils were used to obtain a uniform line width whilst drawing long lines in the designs of planes, boats and similar larger scale plans- a type of drawing sometimes called lofting, as it was quite often carried out at 1:1 scale in huge loft space drawing offices.
But this pencil is great for line work of any kind. This was before the era of sub-millimetre thin lead that arrived with polymer leads invention around 1960 - Pentel's invention, I think?
The mechanism on the fix pencil 29 is twist advance, but the loading of the flat leads, which tended to be brittle, is made easier in this pencil by the ability to open the whole lead chamber in the nose of the barrel and drop a new lead in on it's side- greatly reducing the faff and risk of breakage that results from loading into the nose, a bit like threading a needle, as is done with all the other flat lead holders like the Mifa 30 or Fedra Constructor, the A. W. Faber Castell TK 9600 or their TK Fleetline 9400 the Tombow flat holders etc. etc. But this design is unique. The 'blade' that folds down to secure the lead is very much like the little awl on a Swiss army knife, if a little less 'snappy', secured against the lead by means of a bevel on the blades body that locates securely into a cinch spring in the barrel slot.
Have recently asked about Goliath refill alternatives here and got some good answers. (Go check out that post if you‘re interested). Have now stumbled upon a Japanese adapter that no one has mentioned before. Don’t know if it really works, but it looks promising in theory. Anyone tried it?
The article is 1 year old and in German (including audio report that differs slightly from the text), but if you take the time to Google-translate it into your language there is much is to be discovered. Including photos of the production floor. One fun fact I didn’t know about: potato starch is part of the pencil graphite mix. 🥔
Hi everyone! I am wondering whether there are any refill options for 849 out there that have a wider color palette.
I know that not everybody likes the way Goliath writes, but I’m fine with the quality. What bugs me more are the limited color options. Blue, black, purple, red, green and turquoise might cover the bases for office writing, but I wish I could have more fun with my 849s (since I have quite a few) and use them for creative projects.
Is anybody aware of fitting refills with more colors? Maybe even gel refills that can be switched for Goliath? Thanks in advance!
The elusive graffiti (also called tie-dye) series from the 1990’s is, as far as I can tell, one of the early and undocumented collections. One of its defining features is how unique the pattern on each pen look. As if every pen was colored individually. If you have any graffiti pens in your collection, and in particular a Novartis branded one, post them here so we can compare just how unique the pens are.
Got this pen from Vinted because I liked the woven pattern. It’s a 18k gold plated Caran d‘Ache (says so on the middle ring), and Madison model by shape. However, couldn’t find out anything about the guilloche pattern. This basket-weave tresse-like finish does not show up on the interwebs at all. Anybody seen this style before?
I’ve done a post like this before and now have used up all the codes people posted below for the orders. So here we go again!
I‘m regularly ordering a lot of stuff from yesstyle, so we can help each other out. Use my code COSMETIQUA for your purchases to get extra discount and I’ll use yours. Post your code in the comments! And happy shopping to all of us! 😊❤️
Before randomly spotting this beauty on eBay I didn't know Caran d'Ache made these cute short XS Ecridors at all. This one is sterling silver with swirly Ammonite pattern and even has a little ruby on the clip. Did some research and discovered there was one with sapphire too. Just wondering where I can get replacement refills now
Once you know about them, they are popping up everywhere. Have just spotted this one on Mercari. In case anyone is interested after previous discussions.
https://jp.mercari.com/item/m84570669475
(Just in case - I have no affiliation with the seller)
Read about them in a previous thread here and could not resist when I saw one being sold on Vinted. I understand they are quite rare, rarer than pens and normal 0.7 mm Ecridor mechanical pencils, so this was a very lucky find.
It’s from Type 55 (inspired by Mustang car) collection that was introduced in 2007. Seems to be in a good shape, with only minor scratches, and I’m really enjoying it so far.