Diplomat?

[nagual]

Hi guys,

Does anyone can tell what model of Diplomat is that? Barrel and cap are made of metal, section is plastic. There is "Diplomat" inscription on the nib and also a logo - three parallel stripes (the middle one is bit longer than the other two). Same logo is shown on the top of the cap. Can you help mi to identify this pen?

 

http://files.tinypic.pl/i/00349/k91gay187zki.jpg

[nagual]

Anybody?

[Bo Bo Olson]

No, why don't you look up Diplomat...the company still exists. Perhaps you can find the model.

 

I think some one said the granddaughter of the founder is running the company.

(Could be a grand daughter is running Senator...one of the two.)

 

I had a very nice black and gold Diplomat I sold because it was a nail. :hmm1: It was a very light for metal and well balanced pen. Not your model..which looks more modern than my '90's one.

 

My wife 'has' a silver plated one with a gold plated stirrup for a clip with a jumping horse in the jewel. There is a tennis version of that pen too.

Edited March 23, 2013 by Bo Bo Olson

[nagual]

Well, the thing is I did the serch on the internet and I found nothing. Except of two or three similar models on eBay. I wrote to Diplomat last week (contact email on the company website) but I still didn't get any answer.

[TomSch]

Hi together from Germany!

 

You're right! You search for "Diplomat" and "fountain pen" and You'll get: --- nearly nothing. Diplomat is one of my special collectors interests. Unfortunately it has a very eventful history. It was sold a few times and is now a part of "Helit". I've had lots of questions, but I couldn't get any satisfying answers from the company at all, in spite of the actual models. It seems that no one wants to remember the older history of the organization?!

 

Your type of fountain pen is a custom one, built in the 80ies like the attached one.

 

Best regards, Thomas

[Kaweco]

Hi together from Germany!

 

You're right! You search for "Diplomat" and "fountain pen" and You'll get: --- nearly nothing. Diplomat is one of my special collectors interests. Unfortunately it has a very eventful history. It was sold a few times and is now a part of "Helit". I've had lots of questions, but I couldn't get any satisfying answers from the company at all, in spite of the actual models. It seems that no one wants to remember the older history of the organization?!

 

Your type of fountain pen is a custom one, built in the 80ies like the attached one.

 

Best regards, Thomas

Hi Thomas

Are you serious? You will get a lot by googeling Diplomat fountain pen. And also by Diplomat Füllhalter (its German, ya know?), And the headline by googeling "Diplomat" will link you to the original website diplomat-pen, history page included.

Kind Regards

Thomas

[TomSch]

Hi Thomas

Are you serious? You will get a lot by googeling Diplomat fountain pen. And also by Diplomat Füllhalter (its German, ya know?), And the headline by googeling "Diplomat" will link you to the original website diplomat-pen, history page included.

Kind Regards

Thomas

Hi

Sure You get a lot of information You don't need. And "Yes!" again, I know about the German roots.

And "No!" Diplomat is - as far as I know - a part of >Helit< as Parker is part of Rubbermaid. The spare parts I ordered I got from Helit.

The history page is nothing but a joke: superficial, nothing precise, no historical model names at all, just a few basic datas. Did You mention that the model names on their whole website are only the current ones?

When You are looking for some historical facts and need information about older models like "100", "CD800" or "Ambassador" You'll get some in newsgroups and networks, but nothing from Diplomat.

Best regards, Thomas

Edited April 6, 2013 by TomSch

[Kaweco]

 

Sure You get a lot of information You don't need. And "Yes!" again, I know about the German roots.

And "No!" Diplomat is - as far as I know - a part of >Helit< as Parker is part of Rubbermaid. The spare parts I ordered I got from Helit.

The history page is nothing but a joke: superficial, nothing precise, no historical model names at all, just a few basic datas. Did You mention that the model names on their whole website are only the current ones?

When You are looking for some historical facts and need information about older models like "100", "CD800" or "Ambassador" You'll get some in newsgroups and networks, but nothing from Diplomat.

Best regards, Thomas

Hallo Thomas

Nein, ich habe keine Information zur Diplomat Historie, die Firma liegt nicht in meinem Sammelgebiet. Die spärlichen Eintragungen auf der Diplomat webseite sagen natürlich auch nichts aus. Der dort auftauchende recht unübliche Begriff "gedrechselte Füllfederhalter" erscheint mehrfach auf verschiedenen webseiten, was den Schluss zulässt, dass hier rigoros voneinander abgekupfert wurde. So eine Handlungsweise ist selbst für renomierte Marken bekannt. Gibt man die Begriffskombination bei google ein, dann kann man weitere webseiten finden. Ungewöhnliche Begriffe oder Fremdwörter werden oft vom Ur- Schreiber selbst eingefügt (Bijouteriewaren, Acronym...), dann können diese sowie "versehentlich" falsch geschriebene Eigennamen in den Kopien nachverfolgt werden. Die Ur- Schrift ist, soweit ich vermute, ein pbs Bericht vom August 2007, der allerdings über die alten Modelle auch nicht viel mehr hergibt. Weiter geht es nur über eine personenbezogene Recherche, die eigentlich nicht schwierig, aber für heutige Vorgehensweisen unüblich, eher analog ist. Die Firma ist noch nicht allzu alt und die Namen der Gründer sind bekannt. Gibt man Karl (oder Carl?) Räuchle und Hennef bei google ein, dann erscheint dort, dass er auch gesellschaftlich in dieser Stadt aktiv war, also bekannt ist. ( + 1954) Nachkommen, Verwandte, Mitarbeiter, Karnevalsbrüder, Heimatverein... sollten eigentlich auch noch existieren, irgendwer hat sicher noch ein Andenken an die ehemalige Firma, zB Kataloge, Fotos, Mitschriften o.Ä.. Die vor-Ort Recherche ist allerdings von Ostfriesland aus nicht einfach, detaillierte Inhalte, die noch nicht im Netz stehen, sind aber wohl nur durch eine persönliche Ansprache zu erhalten.

Gruss, Thomas

[PeterPenPencil]

This company in Germany is the distributor or manufacturer

http://www.helit.de/english/index.php

see the part of the menu that says: DIPLOMAT WRITING INSTRUMENTS

Ýou go to eBay and the seller "pensboutique" have many of the pens you see in the catalog that is downloadable in

Adobe Acrobat. Pens boutique appears to be a distributor in the USA for the available Diplomat pens models.

You can download the Diplomat catalog here:

http://www.diplomat-pen.de/

 

PenBoutique has a web site:

 

http://www.penboutique.com/

 

All these I found it searching Google.

Und, ich kenne ein bischen Deutsche. Gerne.

Edited April 9, 2013 by PeterPenPencil

[ballboy]

Looks like a predecessor to the current Esteem, or smaller Traveller series. Diplomat don't seem to elaborate on their history much indeed, but I do like the sturdy construction and unfettered build quality.

[Braxfield]

With renewed interest in Diplomat pens, it may be worth updating the previous corporate information. I think it gives perspective to current designs and strategies. What follows is incomplete and pieced together from public sources. I don't have direct knowledge and I hope others can fill in gaps and correct the inevitable inaccuracies.

 

"Diplomat Cunewalde", as an enterprise, dates back to 1922 (hence the famous strap-line). For those who wonder, Cunewalde in a tiny municipality in Saxony close to what is now the Czech border, lying some distance east of Dresden. Human population around 4,500. Dog population (registered) around 247. I have no idea how many unregistered dogs live in Cunewalde; for present purposes I don't think it matters.

 

In 2004, "Diplomat Cunewalde" was acquired by the long-established Helit group, based in Kierspe, in the west of Germany. Helit had been owned (briefly) by Gillette but was acquired by a private group in 1996, just in time to celebrate its centenary. Helit has its own interesting and convoluted evolution, starting in metals, then bakelite and plastics, before moving (very successfully) into office equipment. A logical progression, I suppose, but complicated.

 

For the next 12 years or so, Diplomat operated as a brand of Helit.

 

In 2016 Helit divested itself of its Diplomat division. The business was acquired by another "pool" of investors, this time based in Paris (the westward trend continued). In September 2016 Mathias Ringeard was appointed CEO, a position he holds to this day. Some FP Networkers may have met Mathias at pen shows in the US and elsewhere. The corporate offices of Diplomat are now on the rue Saint Honore. In one sense, some might say, Diplomat is now a French company. Better, it is an EU company.

 

Ringeard had previously worked for Pilot in France and had been involved in the development and marketing of pens such as the FriXion and Begreen.

 

This is all background, but I find it interesting to map the products to the company. Pen enthusiasts often talk about brands. But ultimately our "loyalty" (if that's the word) is really to ways of doing things, to techniques, methods, and influences. And those factors are affected by who is calling the shots.

Edited October 20, 2019 by Braxfield