Pilot Capless - 1965 (II) - C-500MW and variations

Introduction:

In 1965, Pilot had released the cheapest ever Capless model. For JPY 1000 the customer could buy a basic writing tool with this original configuration –a push button to release the nib. Later on the year, by October of 1965, a more luxurious model (CS-200RW) was marketed. One month later, in November, a new luxury Capless was launched—the C-500MW, closely related to the initial C-600MW from 1963.

C-500MW, initially released in November of 1965.

From left to right, gold plated model C-1000GW; "half" gold plated C-700GW; and regular model C-500MW.

Features:

Codes.	C-500MW. The basic pen has a very light golden color over an aluminum body. More luxurious models have the section gold plated, C-7000GW, or the whole pen gold plated, C-1000GW. The later one was marketed on July 1966.
Original_price.	C-500WM: JPY 5000 C-700GW: JPY 7000 C-1000GW: JPY 10000
Production_years.	1965-? (at least up to 1968)
Nib_unit.	Type IV. 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. The whole mechanism is inside the section of the pen, and it actually pulls the nib in and out of the pen.

Dimensions:

	C-500MW
Length closed	140 mm
Length open	144 mm
Diameter	12 mm
Weight	20.4 g

Nib unit:

Type IV. In 14 K gold.

The type IV nib unit, with the empty pen behind. The metal sheath of the nib covers the converter (CON-W) or 2 double spare cartridges.

The guiding notch is clearly visible on these two nib units.

Detail of the nib. This one was made at the Hiratsuka factory on January of 1968.

Additional information:

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, February 2013
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless