The latest in their line of special editions honoring cities and places throughout the world, the Pelikan Place de la Concorde celebrates the famous square in Paris with a striking light blue and gray pen set off with silver trim.
The
Place de la Concorde is located by the river
Seine in the 8th arrondissement of the French capital, and is the last
and largest of the Parisian royal squares. Built in 1755 and originally
named “Place Louis XV” it was created as a setting for a large
equestrian statue of this monarch. In the shape of an octagon, the square
separates the gardens of Tuileries from the beginning of the Avenue
des Champs-Élysées.
As
the French revolution brought about the introduction of first French
Republic, the square was renamed “Place de la Révolution”
in 1792. One year later a guillotine was erected where King Louis XVI
and Queen Marie Antoinette were beheaded.
After the July revolution of 1830 the city of love entered a period
of somewhat more peaceful times and the square became known as the “Place
de la Concorde”.
The pen that Pelikan has created for this edition is a bit of a departure from their previous special edition pens in this series. Using strong horizontal bands of light colored material, coupled with light colored silver trim, the Place de la Concorde comes across as a very "light" pen. It's a great example of how the choice of material can make a pen "feel" different before you even pick it up!
The Concorde is made in the M600 size, as have the previous special edition pens. This means that it's not what you would call a "large" pen by any definition. It is, however, a very usable one, and certainly fits easily into a pocket. While I find these pens a bit too small for my hand, I think that the success of this size pen for Pelikan has proven their case. It is basically the same size as the original Pelikan 400 of the 1950s. That's a pretty long continuous production run for any pen!
The cap is threaded to screw on, and it also posts very securely on the barrel end. With this size pen, I prefer to post the cap, as I find the pen definitely too short when trying to use it without. These pens, like most all Pelikans, are very lightweight, and posting the cap doesn't change the balance much beyond a very slight shift to the rear. It is more for the added length than the balance that I post the cap on these pens.
The nib is the standard Pelikan 18K nib, and so can be had in a wide range of sizes, from extra fine through a double broad. Pelikan are well known for the quality of their nibs, and for good reason. They have been producing an excellent product! The nib on our sample was a medium, and seemed to behave exactly as all Pelikan medium nibs do. Be aware that most Pelikan nibs tend to run a bit on the wide side of the marked size, thanks to a generous ink flow. I prefer this, as it means that the chances of skipping are somewhat reduced.
The Place de la Concord should prove to be an excellent pen for those who simply want a writing instrument. After all, it's a Pelikan! Add in the striking material and the special edition status for those of us who are collectors as well, and you've got a pretty good combination.
copyright 2005 William Riepl