DUKE Bright Pearl in the Dark Green Sea

Need bottled ink or refills?

"Fabulous! The Bright Pearl is exactly what you said - far more beautiful in the flesh. It really is an astonishing piece of craftsmanship. I have a custom limited edition abalone inlay pen that I thought was the best thing since sliced bread until I saw the BP. It's not just the materials - the way the shell is cut and inlaid is wonderful. (And no, I won't be giving it as a gift - they'll have to prise it out of my cold dead hand first!)
Needless to say, I'm also enamored of the Bright Pearl box. That's a thing of beauty too."
Karen Traviss, noted novelist, England
 

"Duke Pens - Bravo. As the proud owner of the Duke Bright Pearl in the Dark Green Sea, I can attest to it's unique beauty and . . . surprise! It worked perfectly right out of the box! Is that amazing or what? The medium nib seems a bit finer than what I think of as medium, but the flow is terrific and it lays down a lovely line. I think you'll be hearing more about these pens. Their price is reasonable, their look is unique and their quality deserving of praise." S.H., Newtown, CT

"The Bright Pearl is an absolutely gorgeous pen! I am pleased to have it, and I know it will be enjoyable to use." Sen. John Stauffer, Lancaster, PA

DUKE Bright Pearl    $250.00   Sold out

Here's the DUKE pen which often seems to attract attention first at pen shows. With its embedded abalone shell in a black lacquer base, this hefty lacquer-over-brass pen just naturally grabs the eye. Being made from natural shell, the pattern of each pen is unique. Although substantial in weight, I would place this pen in the 'full-sized' category, as these things are reckoned these days, with a capped length of 5-1/2" and a posted one of 6". Despite the heftiness of the materials used, due to its design and balance, I've found this pen to be a pleasure to write with for extended periods of time, whether posted or not.

Photographs can't due justice (at least mine can't ) to the iridescent depth of the abalone. As striking as it is, it doesn't overpower the pen, due to the visual balance provided by the black lacquer base and gold highlights.

Those highlights include a prominent cap crown and clip (engraved with 'Duke 2000' (the year this model was introduced, to celebrate the new millennium), as well as a very wide cap band, which is engraved with 'DUKE', 'Germany GmbH' and '14K gold pen'. A simple gold band toward the end of the barrel provides further design balance.

Removing the slip cap (which securely clicks back into place), displays the beautiful two-toned 14K gold nib, which I judge to be a American/European medium in line, with its concentric half-oval design engraved alongside 'Duke', '14K' and '580' (which should read '585' for 14K gold!).

 Unscrewing the all-metal fittings between the section and barrel reveals a rubber gasket for a tight seal, as well as the piston converter for bottled ink.

As impressive as the pen is itself, the pen box (enclosed in an outer gift box) is breathtaking in its own right. The beautifully knurled wood instantly reminded me of that used on the dashboards of Jaguar automobiles. I tried to capture some of its beauty under natural light, but again, it has to be seen in person to truly appreciate it.

The pen also comes with a lifetime warranty, serviceable through Shanghai, and a DUKE leather pen case for on-the-road travel. Shipping weight for the pen and box is 4 lbs.

IMPORTANT SERVICE NOTE: Every nib that ships from His Nibs is closely examined under high magnification and tuned or adjusted if needed. About 85% of modern nibs need some adjustment out-of-the-box from the manufacturer for an optimal writing experience. Most commonly, the tines of the nib are misaligned -- which would cause scratchiness at the minimum; the slit between the tines is partially or fully closed -- which would starve the nib of ink and at best cause skipping; or the slit between the tines is too wide -- which will either again cause skipping, or conversely, flooding. There are other factors  -- such as separation of the nib from the feed -- that are inspected and repaired before any pen leaves the Palace.

The only 100% guarantee of course comes when the pen is actually filled with ink and written with for the first time, but our pre-shipping inspections and tunings have eliminated 99.99999 (my finger is getting tired) of the frustrations that a customer experiences when first using a new fountain pen. Although this can be time-consuming on occasion, it affords our customers a much more pleasant experience when receiving a fountain pen from His Nibs -- and saves us the frustration of dealing with returns!

Ordering Procedures & Returns

International customers, please note, we will not falsify shipping documents

Credit cards, for the quickest fulfillment of your order, are accepted through PayPal, a secure site allowing you to use your credit card without us even seeing the information. If you'd like to make use of this credit card service, please let us know when you email your order and address, and we'll email you the appropriate Request for Payment, and instructions for the simple payment procedure (you don't need to join PayPal to use it).

If you would like us process your credit card directly instead, then please email us:

1. Card # (dividing this number in two, between two emails, will ensure security)
2. Expiration date
3. Name on card
4. Address for billing statement
5. Card verification # (3-digit number printed on the back of your card. It appears after and to the right of your card number, or 4-digit number on the front of your AMEX card).
 

If you'd rather pay by money order or check, kindly make payable to:

His Nibs.com
  2540 W. Union Street
  Allentown, PA 18104

We ship via insured Priority Mail
(email for cost)

Please send your order and shipping address (along with any questions) to:

orders@hisnibs.com
(on PayPal transactions, the email address may also display as stonebri@sprynet.com -- both are valid)

We will email you back with your order total (PA residents please add 6% sales tax)

Warranties and returns

If an item proves to be defective, in most cases the manufacturer's warranty will apply. However, please email us first so that we can determine the easiest way to resolve the problem to your satisfaction. In the case of fountain pens -- which are a bit more individualistic than other writing instruments -- what may at first appear to be a defect (hard starting or poor flow for example), can in almost all cases be resolved with a few simple 'tweaks' to the nib, which we'll be happy to guide you through or perhaps suggest returning to us for adjustment.

Should you wish to return a non-defective item within 3 days of receipt because it doesn't suit you for some reason, again please email us and we'll arrange an exchange, credit or refund (minus any shipping/insurance charges), if the item is returned in an 'as new' condition. If you've dipped a fountain pen to try its writing characteristics, kindly clean off any ink residue prior to shipping -- to save us both a nasty surprise .

We want you to be happy with your purchase from His Nibs.com and hope to have you join the ranks of our many long-term, repeat customers!

Revised: July 21st, 2008

Copyright ^© 1999-2008 (His Nibs.com, LLC). All rights reserved.
All images and products on this site are trademarks, registered trademarks and/or copyright of their respective
company and used with permission. Unauthorized reproduction of any image or product is strictly prohibited.