Introduction to the Michel Perchin Imperial Fountain Pen Collection:

This discussion pertains to the Michel Perchin Imperial Fountain Pen Collection, a set of beautifully hand crafted, sterling silver and enamel fine writing instruments from this world class manufacturer in celebration of its Ten Year Anniversary in business.  As with our other “guides” about Michel Perchin pens, we will define the edition size, detail the color palette, and highlight the important features of these unique, limited edition, luxury fountain pens, for the benefit of new and experienced collectors alike.

Design Elements:

In celebrations of 10 years in business, Michel Perchin, Inc., undertook production of a wonderfully complicated new fountain pen in 2005.  The precision crafted Imperial Pens, were inspired by the extraordinary designs of the Russian Royal Palace.  The intricate, high relief, or double level, guilloché work, (engraving), resulted in a pen better admired througha 10x loupe so the the incredible detail can be truly appreciated.  Only the cap and the very edn of the pen barrel were enameles using the old world art of hand applied vitreous enamel.  The barrel of the pen remains uncovered by enamel so the writer is treated to feeling the texture of the mult level engraving in full three dimensions.  The crwon style cap was revisited from the Michel Perchin Fleur-de-lis Fountain Pen, a popular earlier edition.  The Michel Perchin Imperial Pens were produced in three primary colors, royal blue hard enamel with 22 carat yellow gold plating, ruby red hard enamel with gold plating and opalescent (pearl) white hard enamel with gold plating.  There were two special makeup colors, canary yellow hard enamel with Rhodium plating and colonial blue hard enamel with Rhodium plating. 

Edition Size:

The Michel Perchin Imperial Pens were produced in extremely limited edition quantities, as follows:
Royal Blue with Gold Plating                       88 pieces
Ruby Red with Gold Plating                         88 pieces
Opalescent White with Gold Plating             88 pieces
Colonial Blue with Rhodium Plating              50 pieces
Canary Yellow with Rhodium Plating            15 pieces

Total aggregate production quantity           329 pieces

Although not the case in every edition of pens, production of the full quantity of each color combination of Imperial Pens was completed so no remaining pens will be produced in this collection.

Pricing and Availability:

Although no longer being produced by Michel Perchin, Inc., the Imperial Pens are likely still available at an Authorized Michel Perchin Retail Dealer, including White Mountain Trading Company, an eBay Power Seller.  However, some colors have been reported as sold out at the retail level although these items can show up in the secondary and/or pen collector’s marketplaces.  The MSRP was $3200 each for the Imperial Pens, a price considered low by many measures relative to other early edition Michel Perchin pens.  Although scarcely available, a buyer may still find a matched serial number set of the three primary colors but because of the different production quantities of all five colors in the collection a matched set of five pens would be impossible to find.

Precious Materials:

Once again, the Michel Perchin Imperial Pens feature (.925) pure, solid Sterling silver with English hallmark, in a two piece, (cap & barrel) design.  Further, the pens are completed with a vitreous hard enamel, a painstaking process whereby liquefied enamel is applied to the engraved pens, by hand, using a goose quill.  Layers of enamel are subsequently built up and alternatively hard fired to bond the enamel to the Sterling silver.  The finished pens are then plated in either 22K yellow gold or Rhodium, a precious white metal in the Platinum family, for a lasting luster. 

Serialized Edition:

The serial number for each pen is engraved on the cap ring after the words Michel Perchin.  The numerator, or top number of the serial number, indicates the pen’s position in the production sequence.  The denominator, or bottom number, indicates the MAXIMUM number of pens to be produced in the series.  As mentioned before, the total edition size of the Michel Perchin Imperial Fountain Pen Collection is 329 total pieces across five different colors. 

Components:

The Michel Perchin Imperial Fountain Pens were each fitted with a special 1oth Anniversary Michel Perchin brand, medium size nib.  (See picture below.)  Fine or Broad nibs were also produced in limited quantities only.  If a customer prefers a Fine or Broad nib Michel Perchin, Inc., can perform the conversion based on availability of the nibs.  Extra nibs can be purchased outright at a price of $200 per additional nib either from an authorized retail dealer or from Michel Perchin directly, again based on availability.

The 18K yellow gold nibs, (alloyed with Iridium for strength), with the special Michel Perchin X, 10th Anniversary logo are fabricated in Germany and feature ebonite feeders.  The pens use a converter cartridge but a simple ink cartridge refill can also be used and, brand new, the pens were shipped with 6 ink cartridge refills.  Each pen came seated in a Swiss made, leather display box, smartly packed inside of a cardboard dust cover box with Perchin logo.  Further, each pen package, again when new, contained a Michel Perchin Certificate of Authenticity, that should be completed with a purchase date and location of the authorized reseller, care instructions and one cleaning cloth. 

Quality:

Michel Perchin writing instruments give the word quality a new meaning.  Their unique designs reach back into time to capture elegance unknown in today’s world of mass production.  No expense is spared in materials and workmanship.  The result is a powerful statement of value to be handed down from one generation to the next.  The uncompromising quality of Michel Perchin writing instruments is recognized by their presence in the Pen Museum, in Paris, France.

Thanks for reading and hope you found this information useful.  If you wish to send us a question about the Michel Perchin Serpent pens, or other editions, please feel free to contact us by clicking on the Ask Seller a Question button in any of our eBay listings!   Also, be sure to read our other eBay Guides and check back regularly for updated pages in our eBay Store.  Thanks for reading!