Unusual beauty

The outer layer of the barrel is made of carefully selected Indian satinwood. Normally such a parquet pattern requires a plane surface. In the Pen of the Year 2008 an unconventional technique has been employed to transfer it to a cylindrical shape.

A filigree masterpiece

The more sophisticated a creative idea is, the more feeling it takes to implement it. No fewer than 84 rectangles have to be individually hand-made for the filigree herringbone pattern of the satinwood fountain pen. No two segments are identical: each can be fitted at just a single position on the barrel and matched to its neighbours to produce precisely even joins. Then the barrel is repeatedly polished and varnished, a time-consuming process. The world’s smallest parquet, on the surface of a pen, is a work of perfection.