Inflation

Itoya, the Japanese stationer with headquarters in Ginza, Tokyo, has just released yet another Lamy Safari—the “Lamy Safari x itoya Copper 02 Fountain Pen”. Quite a mouthful to simply describe a limited edition made exclusively for this shop.

This new Safari follows the trend initiated with the previous Itoya-exclusive Safari, the Copper 01 from last year (although announced December 2022). Matte finish, black nib, and a distinctive brass clip. And again with the possibility  of implementing the kanji nib.

So, is this all? Yes, but at a cost. It is hard not to notice the inflation associated to these pens.

As far as I know, Lamy has produced three Safari with metallic clip—the above-mentioned Copper 01 and 02 made for Itoya, and the Green Field model marketed earlier this year. They are shown on the following pics:

From back to front, Copper 01, Green Field, and Copper 02.

All three with kanji nibs.

And then we can compare the prices:

The brass clips. From top to bottom, Copper 01, Green Field, and Copper 02. The prices are inclusive of taxes (10%), and correspond to the versions with kanji (KJ on the reference) nibs. The Copper 02 with regular (EF, F, M) nib costs JPY 6000, plus taxes.

The relative high price is in part associated to the kanji nib those particular pens sport, but what is indeed striking is the constant increase over the three pens in about a year and a half. Each of those pens is JPY 500 more expensive than the previous. And at the final price is 14% higher than the initial.

Is there a reason behind this inflation? Is this caused by the free falling Japanese yen in the financial markets? Is it a deliberate strategy to make the popular and even humble Safari a more upscale pen?

I do not have any answer, but I think an expensive Safari would lose a great deal of the current appeal among users and collectors.

Parker 50 Falcon – Sailor Yama-dori

Bruno Taut
July 14th, 2024
etiquetas: Lamy, mercado