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I contacted Parker about getting a replacement lid for my Vector and Rubbermaid-Newell support basically said "Send us a photo. Oops, no can do, no spare parts. I can, however, offer you a special 50% discount on any of our subsidiary products." (This includes Parker, Rotring, Waterman, Papermate, etc. etc.) So I looked around, and their current top of the range, the Parker Sonnet Cisele fountain (gold/silver) is covered by the 50% discount offer, so could get one for 186.50 GBP. I believe the term is "grail pen". The discount is valid for a couple months. Is it worth it? Are modern Sonnets, especially the Cisele ones, good pens? Do they tend to hold value, e.g. is it resellable for no loss? Or should I just forget it? I've seen fake Cisele Sonnets from China on eBay for 10 GBP, and also have no idea if modern Rubbermaid Parker is still up to scratch... (I've been able to compare older and modern Vectors, where the older ones look just a little nicer/tougher).

This is a Parker 75 medium stub ciselé of around 1968-1971. Writing sample: The line thickness it produces is about 0.9 mm in width. This width is comfortable for writing characters of medium size (see also the writing comparison). The pen’s triangular section is thin, but it is very comfortable to hold. The pen as a whole is on the smaller side, but the nib is big. Since the pen is of some vintage it is a stub proper rather than cursive italic, i.e. the tipping is noticeably thick with the writing edge noticeably but not drastically rounded (see schematic). The side edges are not rounded so as to be visible with the naked eye; the Artpen is also like that whereas the bottom of the Dostoevsky’s tipping has no corners but only smooth curves. It will not tear paper however. All three pens are extremely forgiving with the Artpen being the one most able to be held entirely carefree as if it did not have a broad edge. The 75’s stub nib does not like very much smooth paper, either of the good (Rhodia) or of the cheaper (many modern notepads) variety. On Rhodia the 75 stub flies off the paper surface, often leaving no ink behind. Skipping on downstrokes is usual when writing at my usual speed, which is rather fast. By comparison, the Artpen iceskates on Rhodia leaving a thin film on ink behind and the Dostoevsky swims in its own ink. On school notebooks and on paper with cotton content the stub 75 performs consistently without problems and is definitely wet (the Dostoevsky and the Duofold are wetter, as can be seen on the comparison sheet). Some closeups of the nib: The pen feels light but with a perceptible substance in the hand. Overall, this is a gorgeous pen allowing some very expressive writing.

One of my earliest memories of pens being special and valued was a Parker ballpoint and pencil set my grandfather used to wear in his shirt pocket. I always thought they were special and I guess I coveted a set like that for my very own. He had them for many years, but they seem to have been lost during a move in the 90's sometime. So I don't have them now as a memento, but I remember them clearly and always associate that pen and pencil with him. Fast forward many years and I'm poking around on pen sites and there is the same pen that my grandfather had! Turns out it was a Parker 75 Sterling Silver Cisele (not sure if they used that term back then but that's what is known as now). His set was probably from late 60's or early 70's, but I know it was years prior to 1976. Being a lover of fountain pens and wanting something that reminds me of him, I'm looking for a late 60's Parker 75 Sterling Silver Crosshatch (or Cisele) fountain pen, not ballpoint. I have no experience with vintage pens except for a few Parker 21's and 51's I inherited from my father, so I'm looking for advice on any gotchas associated with Parker 75, things to look out for, where might be a good place to start looking, etc. And I'd like to avoid eBay, not my favorite place and I'm too inexperienced to spot fakes. Are there many fake P75's floating around or is that slanted more to the P51 and Montblanc areas? So any good, reputable dealers you would recommend? Price isn't really an issue as long as it's reasonable for the individual pen. I'm more concerned with integrity and friendly service. If you have one, how does it feel in the hand? Would you say it's a good or bad pen? Again, not so much concerned with the specific nib, I can always get that adjusted as long as it's in decent shape. What about the filling system, C/C yes? Any idea on capacity? Does the cap seal well, even on older or well-loved pens? Something along like this, or maybe the Premier version: http://www.carmenriverapens.com/wp-content/uploads/parker-cisele-sterling-silver-crosshatch-fountain-pen-2-e1394133584573.jpg (shameless lifted from Carmen Rivera Pens...) Thanks for your help.