What do you get for the W pen brand that has everything? In its over-100year history, Japan's Platinum Pen has been a leading manufacturer of fine writing instruments and performative daily writers, inks, and accessories. Its products are prized by collectors and professional artists. And yet this historical brand has never won a Pen of the Year Readers' Choice Award.
You, the subscribers of Pen World, have rectified that oversight in 2022, awarding Platinum Pen its first-ever Pen of the Year award for the Platinum Izumo Uroko-mon fountain pen. The Izumo collection is Platinum's large-bodied ebonite fountain pen collection, the most luxurious of its writing instruments.
"Uroko-mon" is the name of the maki-e style depicted on the fountain pen's black urushi backdrop-a geometric design of repeating triangles meant to resemble fish scales, in this instance an application of Raden, colorful natural urushi, and sprinklings of gold and silver powder. Due to this brilliant urushi and maki-e application, PW readers have awarded the Platinum Izumo Uroko-mon an RCA not just for Pen of the Year but also for Best Urushi Arts.
The other two of Japan's "Big Three" of leading writing instruments companies also received recognition in 2022. Sailor once again wins in the Best Writing Experience category for the Sailor 1911 Pen of the Year 2021. The sparkling, cranberry-colored acrylic is matched to a highly performative bicolor 21 karat gold Sailor nib. This marks Sailor's fourth win in the Best Writing Experience category in the past five years.
Not to be outdone, Japan's Pilot is recognized in the Best Fine Art category for the Namiki Emperor Coral Limited Edition fountain pen. Only 99 of these maki-e masterpieces were hand-crafted in 2021 by Pilot's maki-e artist Seiki Chida. The design features colorful urushi and various maki-e applications to create a wrap-around design depicting a coral reef.
This story is from the August 2022 edition of PEN WORLD.
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This story is from the August 2022 edition of PEN WORLD.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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