German Platinum

Despite the title, this is not another chapter of the mysterious story of all those Platinum pens sold in different countries under other brand names—in Greece as Joker, in Spain as Presidente, in South Africa as Hifra. Not now, not the case. This is the story of an unusual Platinum pen.

I have said several times on there Chronicles that Platinum introduced the ink cartridge in Japan in 1956 and fully endorsed the system up to nowadays. Its “Good bye, ink bottle” motto of the time did not become true as Platinum still makes inkwells, but very rare are the Platinum pens not using ink cartridges after those late 1950s. The better known case is the series of pens released on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the company in 1989. Those form a collection of balance-shaped piston fillers made in a number of materials—celluloid, ebonite, wood--, and they seem to be hidden in the hands of collectors or in totally forgotten drawers, as they are rarely seen in the wild.

A piston filler by Platinum. Or maybe not...

There is, though, another piston-filler with the Platinum brand. And let me say that I have chosen the words carefully—this pen carries the Platinum logo but was not made by Platinum. It is, in fact, an OEM pen made by Senator, in Germany, for the Japanese manufacturer. Senator company was born in 1920 as Merz & Krell, and also uses the brand Diplomat for some of its writing products.

The Platinum Regent, uncapped.

This pen model was known as Platinum Regent, following the name of the original German—Senator Regent. Nib and clip are engraved with the Platinum brand logo and name, respectively. The nib is made of stainless steel, gold plated, and is nicely soft, almost a semi-flex.

The nib, made of stainless steel, is engraved with the Platinum logo.

The piston is manned from the tail knob, usually hidden under the blind rear cap.

The knob to operate the piston.

These are its dimensions:
Length closed: 128 mm
Length open: 119 mm
Length posted: 156 mm
Diameter: 12 mm
Weight (full): 15.9 g

This “Platinum” piston filler was sold in Japan in the late 1980s.

My thanks to Mr. Shimizu.

Platinum 3776 Century, music nib – Platinum Pigment Blue

Bruno Taut
Yokohama, July 26th 2013
etiquetas: Platinum, Senator – Merz & Krell – Diplomat