Cross Peerless 125

[TheRealMikeDr]

This is my first shot at a proper review and I’m a relative rookie (bought my first FP in Nov 2015) so take all that into consideration!

 

Bought a Cross Peerless 125 from Century Pens in Chicago. The deciding factor for me was the smooth writing Sailor nib (f) on the pen.

 

Presentation Box:

 

The Cross box is substantial! It includes the pen and a nice acrylic stand as well as a converter and a couple cartridges and the standard marketing booklet. Very classy packaging and fitting for the price tag.

 

 

The Peerless is a substantial pen - I found it interesting to compare it to my 20 year old Cross Classic Century ballpoint pen - in person the size difference is HUGE!

 

 

Appearance:

 

At first glance I thought the pen was HUGE. It is quite substantial and the largest pen I own. The pen weighs 47 grams (with a little ink) posted, 29 grams un-capped. So while the pen is quite large the weight, while not light, isn’t necessarily in direct proportion with the size. Which is to say it’s not as heavy as it looks in my opinion. It’s got a glossy black finish but not slippery and is easy to hold. On the flip side the finish attracts dust and tiny little particles so it will never be clean – unless you lock it in a glass cabinet.

 

Length is 156mm, width is 13.2 mm (from the Cross website – I didn’t measure mine)

 

I find the looks to be very classic – maybe modeled after the Montblanc 149 sans the rounded ends. The middle band says Cross Peerless 125 and the clip says Cross.

 

 

Up near the top of the cap is an engraved serial number – and at the very top of the cap is a black Swarovski jewel. Having a symmetrical icon on the top and an engraved serial number reminds me of an iconic German pen maker as well, but frankly I think it adds to the aura of the pen which I quite like.

 

 

Overall I like the looks of the pen: big, hearty, classic.

 

 

Function:

 

The cap screws off (takes three twists) and clicks into position when posted – so it will not come off until you give it a proper tug. I never post my pens so any posted pen will have a different balance feel and of course with a cap that’s 38% of the total weight this pen is no different. I wouldn’t categorize it as top-heavy but you may feel different. Un-posted the pen sits perfectly in my hand – I like the girth and the weight and the feel of the finish. It isn’t for everyone, I’m sure, but if you want a larger pen you may find it interesting.

 

 

The Sailor nib – I got the fine – writes like a dream. You get just the slightest feedback (a little less than my Pilot Metropolitan which writes great for a $15 pen!!) and a nice flow of ink. I’ve never had it skip and it starts immediately every time. The Sailor fine puts out a perfect line for me. Truth be told I had no intention of spending $475 for a pen but really like the way it writes which won the day! My only nit with the nib is that it, like most everything with this pen, is big. I like to have my fingers a little closer to the paper but in the end that’s minor and I’ve adjusted to writing with my hand up higher.

 

 

Traditional Sailor Feed:

 

 

Writing Sample:

My handwriting is bad but this should give a feeling for the line the fine nib puts out:

 

 

Verdict:

 

I'm very pleased with the pen!

 

 

 

[ArchiMark]

Enjoyed your review/pics and your enthusiasm for this great handsome pen....

 

Have this model and it's a great writer too.

 

The Cross Townsend models are excellent pens too, but for me, the barrels are too narrow. The Peerless 125 takes care of this issue....

 

Very well made, feels solid and good in the hand.

 

Have fun,

 

Mark

[Drone]

Thanks for the great review of a beautiful pen. The designers at Cross do some really nice work sometimes. I just wish this pen was available with gold-tone furniture and an unplated gold nib; the one combination that is totally missing from the 125 line.

[TheRealMikeDr]

Enjoyed your review/pics and your enthusiasm for this great handsome pen....

 

Have this model and it's a great writer too.

 

The Cross Townsend models are excellent pens too, but for me, the barrels are too narrow. The Peerless 125 takes care of this issue....

 

Very well made, feels solid and good in the hand.

 

Have fun,

 

Mark

 

 

Thanks Mark - I've got a Townsend BP which I like quite a bit too - it is smaller in girth. It's a beautiful well made pen which replaced my old Century Classic bp which seems ridiculously small at this point!

 

Truth be told I was looking for something more exotic but I couldn't be happier with the Cross!

 

Thanks for the great review of a beautiful pen. The designers at Cross do some really nice work sometimes. I just wish this pen was available with gold-tone furniture and an unplated gold nib; the one combination that is totally missing from the 125 line.

 

Aye - the Black and Gold look is as classic as it gets! I have a few too many black pens with gold trim though and was glad to get the white gold nib with the chrome trim.

[BillZ]

I have the same pen but with XF nib from Sailor. Still writes smoothly even on cheap paper.

[Dr. Saleem Ali]

Congrats on acqusition and love for your cross peerless .I have yet no experiance of writing with the same .your review and pics are provoking and excellant .would you throw some light why nibs from sailor choosen for this pen .

[TheRealMikeDr]

Congrats on acqusition and love for your cross peerless .I have yet no experiance of writing with the same .your review and pics are provoking and excellant .would you throw some light why nibs from sailor choosen for this pen .

 

That's a good question and unfortunately one I didn't ask the store associate who helped me with the pen - so I'm unable to shed any light on it. If I were to venture a guess it's because Sailor has a superb reputation for making quality nibs and Cross wanted to make this a high end pen - so using a Sailor nib would help them based upon the reputation. That's simply a guess though.

 

Cheers!

[JonB55198]

great review! The nib is actually a bit springier than you demonstrate it to be. I tested one last week and I could get it to flex a little bit. I'll post a writing sample soon.

[langere]

The pen looks okay and I like Cross - they make really good pens.

 

I will wait until the price comes down before I can afford one. I find it kind of pricey right now.

 

Erick.

[JonB55198]

I find it kind of pricey right now.

 

Amen to that. They're making people pay the "bling bling tax" on this one. For the money, you could do much better with a pelikan. I have an entire cross collection and grew up with cross. So I love cross. But it's very expensive for what it does...

[pararis]

David Parker posted a review yesterday,,,

 

https://youtu.be/tbOgChSCpwA

[JonB55198]

I ended up getting a used Platinum Plate/Medalist Cross Peerless 125 with Zoom nib. This is a pretty classic cross color combination. I was able to get a pretty great price on it. It didn't come with box tho. Cross says that a box can be purchased for $8.50. But I'm not sure if this comes with documentation and acrylic pen stand. So, if anyone wants to sell me their box with these items, please let me know.

 

I forgot to take a photo of the actual pen. But below is a writing sample to show what the Zoom nib can do. You can see how the line width varies with writing angle. You can also see when I make the S-Swirls and the vertical lines to the right, that if I put pressure on the nib, it is semi-flexible and produces some variation that way as well.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/jonb55198/Fountain%20Pens/20170309_152230_zpsf4htbgzv.jpg

Edited March 18, 2017 by JonathanBarboza