Pilot Capless - 1963 - C-600MW

Introduction:

The first Capless model by Pilot was released on November of 1963. Some associate it model to the incoming celebration of the Tokyo Olympic Games in 1964. It was a luxurious and expensive pen, JPY 6000 was a decent monthly income in Tokyo at the time, and had a limited success.

C-600MW.

Features:

Codes.	C-600MW (basic model). Other variations encoded as C-1000DW and C-1000GW.
Original_price.	JPY 6000 (C-600MW); JPY 10000 (C-1000DW and C-1000GW).
Production_years.	1963-1965 (?)
Nib_unit.	Type I. Gold 14 K.
Filling_system	"Double spare" cartridge. 2 units.CON-W converter can be used.
Opening_system.	"Belt system". The barrel rotates with respect to the gripping section, thus releasing the nib. However, the whole releasing mechanism is inside the section of the pen. The mechanism actually pulls the nib in and out of the pen.

Dimensions:

For the basic model C-600MW.

Length closed	140 mm
Length open	146 mm
Diameter	13 mm
Weight	20.5 g

Nib unit:

Type I. In 14 K gold.

The type I nib unit. 2 double spare cartridges are attached to it.

Additional information:

There were, at least, two other versions—a gold­ plated one (C­-1000GW, JPY 10000, 1963), and a clipless unit with maki-e (seirei­nuri) decoration (C-­1000DW, JPY 10000, 1964). This was a limited released of 20 units.

The gold plated model C-1000GW.

The maki-e decorated C-1000DW model.

This pen carries two plastic dots on the section, perpendicular to the movement of the nib. On the first units, their were yellow. Later in 1964, it changed to white.

As is the case of most Pilot pens of the time, both the nib unit and the body are dated.


Back to the "Pilot Capless - 50 years" page.

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, January 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless