Pelikan

In case you were wondering about this year’s Pen of the Year from Graf von Faber-Castell: The pen itself has case-hardened metal parts and 24-carat gold inlays, while the barrel is made of Caucasian walnut wood and has a hand-carved fish scales pattern.

Graf von Faber-Castell’s Pen of the Year so far:

2001: Olive wood (at the time not yet called “Pen of the Year”)
2003: Snakewood
2004: Amber
2005: Galuchet (Stingray leather)
2006: Mammoth Ivory and Ebony
2007: Petrified Wood
2008: Indian Satinwood
2009: The Equus (horsehair fabric)

In October 2009 Pen and Co interviewed the Managing Director Premium at Faber-Castell. The post includes a paragraph on the history of the Pen of the Year and information about the Pen of the Year 2009.

According to an article from LZ-NET more than 10% of Faber-Castell’s turnover is generated by their premium products. Faber-Castell is manufacturing the Porsche Design pens as well, but only until the end of 2010. From 2011 Pelikan will be manufacturing the Porsche Design pens.