Why Every Watch Collector Is A Potential Pen Collector Too!

Thanks to Samuel Naldi, who nails it in his YouTube, where he describes how close watch collecting and pen collecting are.

https://youtu.be/Y3joKMkHMbE?si=85YvD1y4ywA1IZta

There are significant parallels in both industries, like Samuel Naldi describes them. I see a crazy rise of retail prices that don't stand to any reality like in the hot watch bubble. For example we gifted our oldest son a set of Diplomat Excellence A2 pens with the fountain pen being the gold nib version when he started into law school. Five years later the same set more than doubled the price and the fountain pen alone is more expensive today than the set five years ago. That is crazy but based on the same mindset that is in power in the watch industry and the watch collectors.

Samuel Naldi states, that very well made fountain pens are in the range between $500 and $2000. Well, yes, but no. Yes, because in this range are plenty of remarkably excellent fountain pens. But no, because the entry is more around 300 € and it ends more near to 5000 €. But to be very clear, there is a lot of space for precious materials and artisanship. For those who can and want there are enough options to go for fountain pens of 10,000€, 20,0000€, 40,000€, 80,0000€, ... >1,000,000€. Bespoken fountain pens, one of kind, only one piece editions, all these things are as real in fountain pens as in watches. They don't write any better than a 700 € pen, sometimes even worse, but the artisanship in that pens is incredible.

This Lamy Dialog 3 Piano Black is the coolest pen I own, because there is a lot of craftsmanship and ingenuity hidden inside it. It is thick, full metal, a shiny black piano lacquer and the cool Bauhaus style that I like so much. Moreover it writes deliciously. Its current MSRP is at 360 €. A very good deal to be one of about five fountain pens in my EDC, and it is most of the year inked up and in my active rotation.

These Dialog 3s are technically identical to my Dialog 3, only that they are the Four Seasons Urushi Lacquer limited edition. Breaking up the seasons is a sacrilege, so that they were sold in sets of four only. Just for mere 80,000 € what makes a single pen worth 20,000€ compared to my 360€ standard edition. The artisanship of the finish is incredibly stunning. Urushi is a natural material that needs knowledge, craftsmanship, artisanship and a lot of time. These fountain pens are limited edition by nature. But is it really 19,640 € per pen stunning? Maybe it does bend Bauhaus aesthetics a bit too much to feel natural to that pen 🤷🏻‍♂️🤔.

Don't we see exactly the same game in watches too? Limited editions, special editions, a bit more polish, that blow prices exponentielly through the roof? So are pens the next prey for watch lovers?

What do you think?