The art of working with Damascus steel goes back thousands of years. It means that steel or iron objects are decorated by engraving a pattern into the surface. Next, a thin sheet of gold will be placed over the pattern and will be embossed deep into the material with the help of a little hammer. In order to show the newly filled pattern, the object will then be heated to approximately 800°C. By doing so, the steel surfaces will oxidize and turn black, while the gold starts to shine. This technique came with the Arabs into Spain and has been perfected throughout the centuries, particularly in the famous Spanish town Toledo.
In the year 1931 Pelikan adopted this technique for the model Toledo with so much success that the design has remained virtually unchanged throughout the years. Today the decorative sleeve is made of one piece in Sterling Silver and is treated carefully in many different steps until the motive is covered with a layer of gold (or palladium to obtain a silver surface).
Every Toledo fountain pen is a unique piece made in Germany because the tiny engravings in the motif are made by hand and make each Pelikan feather come alive. Due to the high amount of work, a maximum of 200 pieces can be created per month. If you own a Toledo fountain pen, you own a piece of art and a small piece of history.
The fountain pen Toledo is available as part of the standard collection of Pelikan in two sizes in the color-combination black/gold. The Toledo in the small size 710 will be produced for the first time in 2009 in the unusual color-combination red/silver as a special edition. The large size 910 already came out in 2007 in the same color-combination. It was a very successful special edition and is already sold out. The recommended retail price for the model 710 in red/silver is 790,00€.
We have tested this model. The fact which is sure is that if you are looking for a huge pen with a huge nib..forget it. With its 12 cm, this is a thin and elegant pen. The hand work on the barrel is just amazing !. The piston filling system is smooth. Nice 18 carat gold nib with no flexibility.
