The PILOT Grandee series had many fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball, and mechanical pencil colorways. Some horribly gaudy, like total gold plating over everything. But some a little more austere and refined looking.
I picked this one up about 5 years ago and tried to sell it on eBay, but didn’t get any bites at the price I thought was very reasonable. So I kept it. The original hang-tag price was ¥5000. I think this model came out around the time PILOT had enacted a rather sweeping series of price increases on their upper range. Some that had been priced at ¥3000 had very similar newer models, but priced at ¥5000.
It has a rather slender body, helping to make it understated. And while it has gold plated accents, they’re kept at a minimum. My favorite touch is the center portion, where the two halves of the pencil don’t quite meet, leaving a gap that exposes a finished portion of the internal mechanism, flanked by two thin gold plated rings. The mechanism is supremely smooth. At this price I would’ve expected urushi lacquer for the glossy navy color, but there’s no labeling for it. And the finish does look beautifully polished.
Overall, a stunning, beautifully crafted executive mechanical pencil by PILOT
Yes, with some PILOT models marked “L” I’ve seen delicate / ornate engraved or printed patterns. There’s also fountain pens PILOT made with the script “L” and are slightly smaller. This particular line of Grandee pens/pencils are notably absent of “feminine” accents, but are diminutive compared to other models. So it’s easy to see these without any gender association. I like to think of “L” as luxury or limited.
Thanks, Patrick! Good to see the range of colors that were offered. Weird about that last color, “black & red.” I don’t see any black. It looks pretty much like the deep red, with just a slightly lighter shade of red.
Here’s the Grandee L next to a couple of other models. Sorry for the photography lighting. I was having some challenges. Ended up with too much shadow effect. I’ve now added a burgundy colorway.
I’d never heard of the “Ruano” before. It seems to be a model just a little below the Grandee in terms of design. But it works really nicely. The entire mechanism is metal. The eraser cap is tri-color: chrome steel, burgundy, and gold. The body is one single tube with a faux center piece to make it look like 2 pieces. The winner here, though, is the PLATINUM SurePoint. It’s a ¥5000 model with pipe-slide. I think it predates the PILOT Grandee L. Gorgeous heft and the rear button, while shallow, works nicely & feels premium. You might be wondering, how do you get access to the eraser with the plunger sitting so low. The whole back half pulls off to expose the eraser inside. It’s a standard small type, but it’s VERY long, with lead clearing tool attached.
