Pelikan Pen's Special Edition Series

The Pelikan Special Edition Series is an ambitious project initiated by the Pelikan Pen Company to create a visually pleasing, as well as extremely functional, series of fountain pens. This series currently has 3 lines which can be groupe as the Cities Line, the Special Places Line and the Natural Phenomena Line and they all explore some of the most notable and easily recognised places and spectacles on the planet, reflecting them in the presentation of the pens themselves.

To date the Special Edition Series is 15 pens strong with, I'm sure, more to come. These pens are highly collectable pieces and well worth tracking down.

The series consists of the following releases: Natural Phenomena - Polar Lights; Sahara; Niagara Falls; Special Places - Grand Place; Piccadilly Circus; Place de la Concorde; Piazza Navona; Cities - Shanghai; Athens; New York City; San Francisco; Chicago; Madrid; Stockholm, and; Berlin.

All of the fountain pens that make up this series use the style known as Pelikan M620 which is part of the Pelikan Souverain M600 series.

You've got to agree as you scan down through these fountain pens, they're a mighty fine looking bunch of writing instruments.

The Pelikan "Polar Lights" fountain pen is a stunning representation of the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.

The barrel of the pen is made with a metal shaft finished in a high-grade resin that is topped off with a multi-colored varnish. The Polar Lights after which the pen is named are then captured in striking, shining platinum streaks that run down the body of the pen. The "lights" flow into a black resin finish towards the bottom of the pen. The pen nib is made from 18 karat gold with rhodium trim.

Although it is a difficult pen to find, collectors should be able to be able to buy the Pelikan Polar Lights Fountain Pen.

The Sahara issue in the Natural Phenomena Special Edition collection celebrates the vast desert, 9 million square kilometres of it stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea. Although when you think of the Sahara Desert you think of sand, only 10% of the Sahara is sandy desert, the rest is salt marsh, gravel and rock.

The Sahara fountain pen has a very distinctive look to it as it represents the rippling sand of the deesert. The main focus is on the metal shaft which has been given a sandy color and then etched with a sand-wave pattern. The body of the pen has then been gilded and coated with several layers of lacquer.

This is a fountain pen with a distinct personality and is easy to equate with the desert scene it has been designed to depict.

Niagara Falls, where Lake Erie connects with Lake Ontario in spectacular fashion, is the most famous waterfall in the world with more than 18 million visitors attracted to it every year.

The focal point is the metal shaft whose silver-colored elements consist of an elaborate Rhodium alloy. The shaft of the fountain pen simply glimmers with blue and white streaks reminisicent of the water and spray from the falls.

The Grand Place Pelikan Special Edition fountain pen is named after the famous Brussels theatre known as "the world's most beautiful theatre". And I'll tell you what, the pen has been given the most stunning finish to pay tribute to its representation.

The pen casing is decorated with a complex pattern of gently graduating colors that make this pen a true thing of beauty.

Picadilly Circus is synonymous for pulsating nightlife located in the middle of the bustling city of London. The square is famous for the bright neon lights that illuminate the surrounding area at night.

As a consequence the pen that has been issued as part of the Pelikan Natural Phenomena Special Edition reflects that kind of bright illumination with a riot of red, blue and silver swirls.

The Pelikan Place de la Concorde fountain pen is another of the Famous Places Line of the Natural Phenomena Series.

The Place de la Concorde is another of the world's most famous and most recognisable landmarks. It was a significant site during the French Revolution and is home to a signature obelisk as well as statues and fountains.

The Place de la Concorde pen is cast in a striking blue and grey resin with silver-plated accents. It's a noble looking pen that justifies being representative of such a notable place.

The Piazza Navona fountain pen is part of the Famous Places line of the Natural Phenomena Special Edition Series.

Celebrating the Rome city square in which sits the spectacular fountain, la Fontana dei Fiumi. The Piazza Navona is surrounded by the ruins of the remains of the Circus Domitianus. The Piazza Navona pen makes its tribute to the square with the cream color base, the pale marble effect that is suggestive of the texture of the buildings that surround the square.

The city of Shanghai is China's most cosmopolitan and complex metropolis, home to 14 million inhabitants. Shanghai has forged ahead with the modern times giving it a fascinating link between ancient tradition and a bright new future.

The Pelikan Shanghai embraces both the traditional look and the promising future in the golden orange barrel with transluscent red and orange stripes with silver-plated accessories.

The ancient city of Athens boasts tremendous tradition, bounded by mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. This is the city of the Olympics, of great etheral beauty.

The Pelikan Athens fountain pen captures the essence of both the mountains and the sea with the stunning beauty of the shimmering green and blue colors brought together with a fine hint of yellow in between that distinguishes this pen.

New York City is as diverse a city as you will find in the world, filled with glaring contrasts. The city changes dramatically from one end to the other from the biright lights glitz and glamor to the harder, tougher, meaner streets.

To represent the contrasts found in the city of New York, the Pelikan New York comes with an elaborate black and white design. The contrast swirls and mixes to form a striking look as extroverted as the city itself.

One of the world's most thriving cities Chicago has a dangerous appeal to it. From the days when it was known for its gangsters and crime to its title as The Windy City, Chicago can give you plenty of in-your-face attitude. It's only to be expected that a brash, leading-edge city like Chicago would have a pen made to represent its edginess.

Reflecting the gray steel and marble architecture that features so prominently throughout the city skyline, the Pelikan Chicago is a subdued, almost brooding black, charcoal and pearl that eddy down the barrel of the pen.

The City by the Bay is known as the home of the Golden Gate Bridge, it's a welcoming city that is known the world over as an open-minded, tolerant city that is as cosmopolitan and as colorful as any city in the world. The pen that represents such a city is equally as distinctive and colorful.

The city of San Francisco is represented by a dark amber moss, black and pearl swirling richness that gives the pen an extraordinary beauty. The accessories for the San Francisco pen have been cast in gold-plate.

The city of Stockholm is built on 14 islands making it a city surrounded by water. There is a beauty built straight into such a location with the sparkling water an ever present reminder when the sun hits it.

Fittingly the Pelikan fountain pen from the Special Edition Series has been crafted with appropriately brilliant blue colors. as you turn the pen the light is caught a multitude of ways thanks to its shining translucence.

Madrid is the sun drenched fiery Spanish city that radiates a fire and passion that cannot be denied. It's not surprising firstly that Pelikan chose Madrid as one of the cities to be part of the Special Edition Series and then, even less surprising the colors chosen for the pen.

The Pelikan fountain pen that has been issued to represent the city of Madrid is fittingly a fiery combination of radiant red, charcoal black and swirling pearl. There is a fine transparency to the outer shell of the pen's body and cap giving you a peek into the depths of the fire within.

Berlin has undergone a steady growth of revitialization over recent years as the city has opened itself after years of being split in two. As well as plenty of new construction taking place throughout the city there has been a massive project of tree planting.

The Pelikan Berlin fountain pen has captured the greening of the city with the deep green color in the barrel and cap.

The Pelikan Special Edition Series may not yet be finished dazzling fountain pen collectors with the innovative, fresh and highly interpretive pen designs that have been issued for 6 years now.