Here is basketweave prototype. Unlike the other (production) basketweave 75, this one has the weave pattern that goes down axially down the cap and barrel instead of at a 45-degree angle.
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This prototype |
Production model |
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This prototype is weaved from 1/8-inch wide strips of yellow and white gold that have been impressed with a diamond-like pattern.
What makes this a prototype can be seen in the cap and tassie. Instead of the normal stacked rings found on the normal 75 tassies, this one reminds me of the ones used on Parker 45s.
Here it is in greater detail.
While it may look like the 45, it is only a facsimile of one. For one thing, the lines to make the arrow feathers are cut deeper, even though it has the same number. But the big difference is that this is made out of solid 18K gold as seen on the barrel end tassie.
OK, so some of you must be thinking, "how do I know this is really a Parker 75?" Well, this picture showing the pen's section should prove convincing. This is clearly a 75 section. Even better, the section has a registered serial number.
I was also able to get some of the history behind this pen. Apparently it was once owned by a man who retired after working for Tiffany & Co in New York City as jewelry designer. My guess is that Tiffany and other luxury merchandise/jewelry houses once sold these Parker pens to their wealthy customers. In turn I believe Parker commissioned these to be custom made by hand, specifically made by a French jeweler named LeFevre.
I am trying to get Tiffany's archivist to provide me with more facts. I will post them here in the future when I get their response to my inquiry.
Click here to see another basketweave prototype.
Here is the matching BP submitted by a collector.
At last month's Washington DC Pen Show I met the collector who owns the above BP. He showed it to me and permitted me to take some close-up pictures of his BP. On behalf of all the visitors to my website I want to thank him for his kindness and sense of community spirit.
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One can clearly see the "750" inscription though there seems to be an extra scratch above the horizontal segment of the 7 digit, making it appear like an oversized '5'. If you look closely at the picture on the left, you will notice that this extra 'scratch' is actually because of a double strike of the die onto the tassie. You can see that the diamond pattern is also shifted slightly almost as if the die had rotated clockwise with its center being the digit 5.
