More Spanish Platinum

Doroteo Pérez y Pérez, as we already know, registered the brand Presidente in Madrid in 1959. And we also know of the actual Japanese origin of, at least, one Presidente pen model, which was closely related to the first Japanese cartridge-converter pen—the Platinum Honest 60 from 1956. Now two more Presidente models have reached my hands and more questions could be answered.

A Platinum Honest 66, on top, and two Presidentes.

These two pens are, again, Platinum. However, this time the Presidente signs are more clear than in the first model, in which the Spanish name (PRESIDENTE / Registrada) was only present as a subtle engraving on the barrel. Now, on these, the brand name is engraved on the nib, on the cap lip and on the filling plate, as well as on the barrel. The original Japanese brand remains on the nib and on the cap jewel, like if the Platinum logo were also the logo of the Spanish brand.

The Presidente nib, engraved with the Spanish name. This time, the nib is not sealed with the JIS logo of the Japanese Ministry of Industry.

Actually, these pens seem more related to the Platinum 66 model, from 1960. And, as was the case with the previous Presidente with respect to the 1956 Honest 60, the Spanish pens are thinner and shorter than the Japanese original.

The metal plate of the aerometric filling system is engraved in Spanish, albeit with some mistakes: "PRESIDENTE / PARA LLENAR TINTA APRETAR / EL CARTUCHO CUATRO TIEMPOS".

Again, these Presidentes are aerometric fillers as opposed to the more advance cartridge-converter system of the Platinum Honest 60 and 66. This is a perfect logical decision—the Honest 60 cartridge had been released in Japan just in 1956 and it would not reach Europe in a long while.

These caps belong to one Joker 60, two Platinum Honest pens, and three Presidentes.

In conclusion, these two Presidentes are in fact Platinum pens. The metamorphosis to become Spanish out of a Japanese pen is now more thorough, but it did not erase its original genoma completely. In this regard, these pens resemble the case of the Italian Joker 60.

These are the dimensions of the Presidente pens:

Black cap Presidente:
Diameter: 10.5 mm
Length capped: 135 mm.
Length open: 116 mm.
Length posted: 147 mm.
Weight: 11.6 g.

Golden cap Presidente:
Diameter: 10 mm
Length capped: 130 mm.
Length open: 115 mm.
Length posted: 140 mm.
Weight: 12.9 g.

And these, those of the Platinum Honest 66:
Diameter: 12 mm
Length capped: 140 mm.
Length open: 123 mm.
Length posted: 147 mm.
Weight: 11.0 g.

However interesting all this might be, the most relevant conclusion is related to the entrepreneurial activity of Doroteo Pérez y Pérez. Now we see that this man did something else than just buying a batch of old Platinum pens, engraving their barrels and selling them as Presidente. On the contrary, he did negotiate with the Japanese company and changed the engraving on nibs and caps to make the pens more Spanish. Nonetheless, those Presidente pens never lost the Platinum signature, and never the Spanish brand became popular or even known.

(Pilot Petit-1 second generation – Pilot Light Green)

Bruno Taut
November 28th, 2011
[etiquetas: Platinum, Presidente, España, Japón, Joker]