Parker 45 Solid Gold Basketweave Pattern
#1
Posted 18 July 2011 - 10:31 AM
From an estate sale in our neighborhood, I recently acquired a Parker 45 with a Basketweave Pattern on the cap and barrel. The pen is solid gold which I believe is 14K. The owner I bought it from does not know anything about it except that it came with a group of pens given to him by his grandfather in 1997.
To my inexperienced eye and limited knowledge about this pen, I believe it is a custom made gold overlay made by a jeweler. Even the pen's section is gold sheet overlay and the "Parker Arrow" clip is also solid gold.
This is the photo near the barrel opening showing the detail of the Basketweave.
I have searched the internet for more info about it but didn't come up with any definitive information. The pen does not have any gold hallmark except the one on the nib nor does it have any imprints saying it is a Parker 45 or where it was made.
The only similar gold Basketweave Pattern pen I saw was of a Parker 75 on Li-Tah Wong's excellent site here :
http://www.parker75....arker75_Ref.htm
and here:
http://www23.addr.co...rototype_26.htm
The very obvious thing when looking at it is that it has the nib unit, size and shape of a Parker 45. It uses a Parker Aerometric Converter which came with the pen.The 14K gold nib is marked 14cts. Made in France with a french hallmark for gold content. Could it be a french made Parker 45 with overlay done by a french jeweler? Did Parker make any Parker 45s in France?
I hope someone can help in identifying this beautiful pen and give any information about its origin, maker, value, and if possible confirm if it was custom made or a factory issue by Parker.
Cheers,
Pentangeli
#2
Posted 18 July 2011 - 01:18 PM
#4
Posted 18 July 2011 - 04:04 PM
Hello FPB,
From an estate sale in our neighborhood, I recently acquired a Parker 45 with a Basketweave Pattern on the cap and barrel. The pen is solid gold which I believe is 14K. The owner I bought it from does not know anything about it except that it came with a group of pens given to him by his grandfather in 1997.
SNIP
The very obvious thing when looking at it is that it has the nib unit, size and shape of a Parker 45. It uses a Parker Aerometric Converter which came with the pen.The 14K gold nib is marked 14cts. Made in France with a french hallmark for gold content. Could it be a french made Parker 45 with overlay done by a french jeweler? Did Parker make any Parker 45s in France?
I hope someone can help in identifying this beautiful pen and give any information about its origin, maker, value, and if possible confirm if it was custom made or a factory issue by Parker.
Cheers,
Pentangeli
Hi, that's a fairly monstrous "lucky find". Nice.
I've had pleasure to own one. Paul Erano and I stumbled across it in an antiques shop in lower Manhattan, while hanging out one weekend. No joke. I sold it via my website to a pen friend and serious Parker collector.
I have more images here n' there. Will have to dig them up. Sweet item no doubt. Scarce, In books, web and in person I doubt I've seen 6 of these.
Really, a great find.
Vague recollection of discussion is that we consider these Parker sanctioned product, though we are not certain the overlay itself was made in the factory as would be most Parker elements from this era. Mine was 18k iirc with "750" imprinted on clip, etc, reflecting the carat gold. I'm trying to recall if the overlay itself had Parker imprints. Will have to find the close up shots.
Thanks for sharing this quite special pen.
regards
David
Email: isaacson@frontiernet.net
#5
Posted 18 July 2011 - 10:18 PM
I've had pleasure to own one. Paul Erano and I stumbled across it in an antiques shop in lower Manhattan, while hanging out one weekend. No joke. I sold it via my website to a pen friend and serious Parker collector.
I will admit to being the "pen friend and serious Parker collector..." though someday, I aspire to be the "serious friend, and pen collector."
At any rate, I can't add much as I'm in New Jersey, the pen's in Virginia, and I won't be back for another week. My recollection is also that it's 18K. It does differ by having a regular black plastic section, as evident from the photos. Due to faulty memory, I can't testify as to whether it's marked "Parker" though I strongly believe that it is stamped so. Although in a Tiffany box, I'm quite sure that the pen is not marked Tiffany.
I have seen a photograph of a comparable 61 basketweave, attributed to the French jeweler Boucheron (but again, can't say if it had Parker or Boucheron markings), in the collection of C. Eric Fonville. I can spout a lot of theories on how the pens came to be, but I have nothing in the way of evidence to back them up... however, I doubt that well established houses like Boucheron or Tiffany would produce unauthorized products. And so, my completely unsupported guess is that they were sanctioned. Whether produced by Parker or the jewelers... just more speculation on my part. One hopes someone with more knowledge will chime in. Eric??
-Harry
#6
Posted 19 July 2011 - 07:32 AM
I did a more thorough and 10X magnified search on the pen and saw the number 750 stamped at the side of the bottom tassie and nowhere else. Initially, I thought it was at least 14K but now the "750" stamp clearly confirms that it is indeed 18K solid gold.
The pen definitely does not have any other markings indicating that it was made by Parker nor an independent jeweler. I've read somewhere that some of these Basketweave Pens (Parker 75s) were made by a certain Le Fevre who might have worked for one of the French Jewelry houses like Boucheron, Cartier, or even Tiffany.
Here is a close up of the Parker 14K hallmarked nib of the pen. I own several Parker 45s with gold nibs but this is the first time I've seen a French gold nib on a 45. This nib is also quite springy and lays a fine to medium line with some pressure.
This is the Parker pen box/case that the pen came in. I doubt if this is its original pen case but it sure looks good together.
I would love to see the close up photos of the pen that is now owned by the "serious friend, and pen collector," if and when David finds them in his basement.
Regards,
J.P.
#7
Posted 19 July 2011 - 12:03 PM
I will admit to being the "pen friend and serious Parker collector..." though someday, I aspire to be the "serious friend, and pen collector."
At any rate, I can't add much as I'm in New Jersey, the pen's in Virginia, and I won't be back for another week. My recollection is also that it's 18K. It does differ by having a regular black plastic section, as evident from the photos. Due to faulty memory, I can't testify as to whether it's marked "Parker" though I strongly believe that it is stamped so. Although in a Tiffany box, I'm quite sure that the pen is not marked Tiffany.
I have seen a photograph of a comparable 61 basketweave, attributed to the French jeweler Boucheron (but again, can't say if it had Parker or Boucheron markings), in the collection of C. Eric Fonville. I can spout a lot of theories on how the pens came to be, but I have nothing in the way of evidence to back them up... however, I doubt that well established houses like Boucheron or Tiffany would produce unauthorized products. And so, my completely unsupported guess is that they were sanctioned. Whether produced by Parker or the jewelers... just more speculation on my part. One hopes someone with more knowledge will chime in. Eric??
-Harry
Ahhh the ambiguity of English. Being a pen friend is not exclusive of being a serious friend, and the "pen" modifier was applied to note that Harry became friend via the pendom context and that he is a friend in addition to being a serious collector. Sigh
You guys want some images? Here be some bloody images...
regards
David
Email: isaacson@frontiernet.net
#8
Posted 19 July 2011 - 05:13 PM
The pen in your photos was made with an alternating pattern of yellow and white gold which in my opinion is more striking compared to the all yellow gold pattern.These pens are true works of art worthy to be kept as heirlooms or for serious pen collecting. Do you know of other serious Parker pen collectors? Maybe I'll sell mine like you did.
Regards,
J.P.
#9
Posted 19 July 2011 - 05:27 PM
Do you know of other serious Parker pen collectors? Maybe I'll sell mine like you did.
Regards,
J.P.
#10
Posted 20 July 2011 - 02:37 AM
Whoa! Those are serious and bloody images. I had to wear sunglasses to shade my eyes from all that bling. Thank you for sharing them David.
The pen in your photos was made with an alternating pattern of yellow and white gold which in my opinion is more striking compared to the all yellow gold pattern.These pens are true works of art worthy to be kept as heirlooms or for serious pen collecting. Do you know of other serious Parker pen collectors? Maybe I'll sell mine like you did.
Regards,
J.P.
Hi, Yes this one is yellow and white.
I know many serious Parker pen collectors. Some of them even buy from my website
Feel free to drop me a note once/if you have sense what you want for it or wish to explore options or... whatever. No doubt this pen will gather interest.
regards
d
Email: isaacson@frontiernet.net
#11
Posted 20 July 2011 - 03:45 AM
there's one right here, but he'd have to be your slave for life... seriously now, you owe our pen club a long, free lunch
If you're seriously interested, I'm sure we can make an arrangement. That is also why I'll have to sell the pen first before I can treat the pen club to a long free lunch. Ha, ha!
#12
Posted 20 July 2011 - 04:25 AM
but i'm pretty sure your lunch budget will be coming from rochester, not manila.
If you're seriously interested, I'm sure we can make an arrangement. That is also why I'll have to sell the pen first before I can treat the pen club to a long free lunch. Ha, ha!
#13
Posted 21 July 2011 - 07:11 AM
I know many serious Parker pen collectors. Some of them even buy from my website
Feel free to drop me a note once/if you have sense what you want for it or wish to explore options or... whatever. No doubt this pen will gather interest.
regards
d
David,
Thank you for the encouraging offer. I will definitely let you know if and when I decide to let go of the pen.
Best regards,
J.P.
#14
Posted 21 July 2011 - 08:54 AM
David,
Thank you for the encouraging offer. I will definitely let you know if and when I decide to let go of the pen.
Best regards,
J.P.
All good. Note too that we do have a sales forum here. But, really, I believe you should consider keeping the pen. There is good chance you will never encounter another.
regards
david
Email: isaacson@frontiernet.net
#15
Posted 21 July 2011 - 10:45 AM
Regards
Hugh
#16
Posted 21 July 2011 - 12:57 PM
All good. Note too that we do have a sales forum here. But, really, I believe you should consider keeping the pen. There is good chance you will never encounter another.
regards
david
/quote]
Thanks! Your advice is well taken. I don't believe I will get another chance to encounter a pen like this again, at least not in the wild.
Regards,
J.P.
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