Help! Is This Parker Sonnet Real Or Fake?

[DominatoSpace]

Hello! I wanna buy this pen. Found a guy who sells it cheap enough. But is it real or fake?

[DominatoSpace]

Another photo.

[Beechwood]

There are a great many fake Sonnets out there, many excellent and almost indistinguishable from the Parker product.

 

If you have found this on ebay it will probably be a fake

[mitto]

The wide cap band and the nib design do not match. Quite possibly a fake.

[Beechwood]

The feathering is also quite light.

 

My son bought what was claimed to be a Sonnet from an English seller on ebay. I have to say that it was very well made, had a very nice nib and a feeling of quality, even took Parker cartridges. But it wasnt a Parker and the seller admitted it, He has modified his listings to something like Parker imported from China, still a lie but there you go.

 

The OP says that he wants to buy the pen, the question is do you still want to buy it if it is not what it is claimed to be.

[DominatoSpace]

The seller is on the Ukrainian website. I live in Ukraine. He says it is original.

[DominatoSpace]

I saw a comparison between fake and real. Fake one is a darker blue. This one is not.

[Beechwood]

Its up to you, Mitto has given his comments on the validity of the pen, the feathering on the clip looks false.

 

In the heading you asked is this Parker Sonnet real or fake, you have had an opinion based on the limited information and photographs that you have provided. You may want to ask the seller for evidence that it is real such as the Parker warranty.

 

Best of luck whatever you decide.

[DominatoSpace]

Thank you! I am actually not a proficient fountain pen user. I am writing a fantasy novel, and I want some sort of a pen that will be not expensive, but good at the same time. And this pen is very nice in terms of disign. It costs 30$ from that guy in Ukraine. It is used, so maybe it's real. Who knows, it's a mystery.

But thank you still.

[Beechwood]

Fake Parker Sonnets sell for under $10 here.

 

Genuine Parker Sonnets are often a problem, some people find that they leak ink. If you simply want a good quality fountain pen then you would be better advised to look at a Jinhao X450, similar in styling to the Sonnet but much cheaper, around $5 delivered

[mitto]

The cap band with the vertical writing came with pens in early/mid 1990s and the nib design came on pens from 2010s. The pen is fake. What converter does it take? Most probably it takes Standard International cart/converter and not Parker.

Edited July 15, 2017 by mitto

[DominatoSpace]

Here is the photo of it disassembled. Dont know whether the converter is Parker.

[parban]

Its easy to fit a genuine converter in a fake pen. Some sellers of fake Montblanc 144 have already taken this strategy.

[DominatoSpace]

OK, found another one. Is this one original? This one is 3 900 grivnas which is 150$

[DominatoSpace]

A nib

[DominatoSpace]

One more photo

[TassoBarbasso]

A nib

 

Almost certainly fake: the hallmark on the bottom-left of the nib doesn't looks like the typical Parker hallmark - there should be two small "P"s with an arrow in between. Have a look at this picture: the one on the top is a fake nib, the one on the bottom is a genuine Parker one, with the characteristic "P-arrow-P" hallmark. Yours on the other hand seems to be more similar to a simple cross, as seen in the fake nib on the top.

 

The writing on the cap band also seems rather poorly made. Have a look at this, it's a picture of a genuine Sonnet Fougere. As you can see, the "R" looks different, and the writing on the real thing is much more crisp than in the picture you provided.

 

Слава Україні!

[Chrissy]

My vote is that the first one is fake but the second one might be authentic. When fakes have fake gold nibs, their tipping is rarely silver coloured because the whole nib is just plated. But I know little about Parker Sonnets, so hopefully an expert will come along to help.

[DominatoSpace]

 

Almost certainly fake: the hallmark on the bottom-left of the nib doesn't looks like the typical Parker hallmark - there should be two small "P"s with an arrow in between. Have a look at this picture: the one on the top is a fake nib, the one on the bottom is a genuine Parker one, with the characteristic "P-arrow-P" hallmark. Yours on the other hand seems to be more similar to a simple cross, as seen in the fake nib on the top.

 

The writing on the cap band also seems rather poorly made. Have a look at this, it's a picture of a genuine Sonnet Fougere. As you can see, the "R" looks different, and the writing on the real thing is much more crisp than in the picture you provided.

 

Слава Україні!

Героям Слава! Thanks man!

[mitto]

Do NOT buy a Sonnet but from a honest, reputable and knowledgable seller.