Is My Coral Lamy A Fake?

[HollyGolightly]

Hey all,

 

These are the first pens I've ever owned, also my first Lamy's. I purchased these via Amazon.com. I didn't realize until I had all three out that two of the Lamy's were fairly consistent, and the coral one differed. Since it's a limited edition color I wondered if I had been duped.

 

I made a gallery with images showing off the pens and differences here so as not to slow down anyone's computer. Once you click the link you can see all the pictures if you scroll down to the bottom of the page.

 

To sum it up though this is what I noticed:

1. The GERMANY stamp on the white and clear Lamy's are in the same position (top, aligned with the flat side) while the coral is stamped along the curved side of the pen)
2. The Coral Lamy didn't include a Lamy warranty booklet but the other two did.
3. The stickers on the pen cap were the same for the white and clear but different on the coral (again I don't know if that means much if it's a LE color)
4. The engraving of the LAMY logo on the body of the pen seems slightly deeper on the white versus the coral. The demonstrator has silver where the logo is so it's difficult to compare it to the other two.

The cartridges all appear to be the same Lamy blue cartridge though I initially thought the coral had lighter ink I think it's just a case of the ink not flowing as freely and currently the inks look identical to me as well.

 

Any and all help is truly appreciated. I just want to make sure before I point fingers at someone that I have all my facts straight.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

nothing jumps out to me, but I am by no means an expert. I think you are fine, just manufacturing variations.

 

beside, not that it cannot be done, who would counterfeit a Lamy Safari?

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

did you purchase it from Amazon or from an Amazon marketplace vendor.

 

not that Amazon could not supply a counterfeit but it would be more unlikely that they did.

[Wolverine1]

Chinese companies are known to make counterfeit Lamy Safaris.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

Chinese companies are known to make counterfeit Lamy Safaris.

Should have known that, I guess they would make counterfeits of any product nowadays.

[benincanada]

Unless you bought it for $5 I'm pretty sure it's real

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

Unless you bought it for $5 I'm pretty sure it's real

?

 

if I was selling a counterfeit , best was to pass it off as the real mccoy is charge a realistic price. EVEN MORE PROFIT!

[HollyGolightly]

did you purchase it from Amazon or from an Amazon marketplace vendor.

 

not that Amazon could not supply a counterfeit but it would be more unlikely that they did.

They were purchased and supplied through amazon but the seller was a 3rd party.

[HollyGolightly]

?

 

if I was selling a counterfeit , best was to pass it off as the real mccoy is charge a realistic price. EVEN MORE PROFIT!

That's what I figured too. If it was being sold for 5 dollars it'd obviously be a fake. I'm just nervous and am thinking I should return it to be on the safe side. I'm so torn!

[RMN]

There are some topics about fake safaris, I remember a recent one in Market Watch.

 

These Fakes look pretty much like the real thing until you compare them. Then it appears the fakes ones have more imprints, while the real pens have deeper etched lettering (like the word Germany on the barrel end)

 

Look for that topic and the pictures in it.

 

 

D.ick

[HollyGolightly]

I just noticed that when I hold my white Lamy (from a different seller than the Coral) the Lamy logo faces up towards me, whereas the Coral one faces down toward the floor. Should they all universally have an upward facing logo when being held to write?

 

There are some topics about fake safaris, I remember a recent one in Market Watch.

 

These Fakes look pretty much like the real thing until you compare them. Then it appears the fakes ones have more imprints, while the real pens have deeper etched lettering (like the word Germany on the barrel end)

 

Look for that topic and the pictures in it.

 

 

D.ick

I did a forum search and found a thread with lots of pictures but a lot of differing opinions as to it being a fake pen or not. I suppose I'll take another look at the search results.

[______Zaphod_Beeblebrox]

so does it write as good as the others?

 

what about the nib?

 

did it come with a box?

 

I would think, as long as it writes good I would not worry about it. however you can always request an exchange or get a refund and buy from another seller.

[HollyGolightly]

so does it write as good as the others?

 

what about the nib?

 

did it come with a box?

 

I would think, as long as it writes good I would not worry about it. however you can always request an exchange or get a refund and buy from another seller.

It's a different size nib- I have EF on the other 2 and a F nib in the coral. They write fine, not scratchy, and I'm pleased. I really enjoy the safari line from my limited evening spent with them (I got the package after work today). There was a box but no booklet within the box (silver rectangular booklet indicating the ins and outs of the warranty).

[bmillicent]

I understand your concerns and cannot give you a definitive answer. I did look at your pics and then pulled out a handful of mine (let's just say I am well into the double digit count of Safaris/Al Stars). In my sample, the Germany insignia isn't in the same place from pen to pen. That section is inserted into the body just like the top of the cap is placed on to hold the clip. So that particular characteristic is not necessarily indicative of anything.

 

The sticker with the UPC threw me because all I have ever seen was the narrow little ones on the pens and boxes. Having worked in the computer industry with inventory control and tracking, I was curious about the UPC image you posted. My verbatim internet query = "upc for lamy safari". Among the matches was upcitemdb.com. Within that site, I narrowed the query to "lamy safari fountain coral" to get more specific. There are still several images to scroll through, since there is a specific number for each nib designation. Your sticker appears to match the upcitemdb image for the fine point. If you would be so kind, take a look at the website yourself and compare with your sticker and post whether you concur or if I missed something

 

Hope these details are helpful - looking forward to an update!

[Jamerelbe]

From the pictures you've supplied, it's hard to tell whether this is a fake or not: if it is, it seems to be a pretty convincing one! My charcoal Lamy Safari, bought from a very reputable Australian store, has the 'Germany' imprint in the same place as your Coral Lamy.

 

The barrel is double-threaded, which means that the logo on the barrel can be oriented either way (up or down). And as for the stickers? They could have been added at any point along the way - it may indicate different supply chains, perhaps?

 

I don't *think* you have anything to worry about - but again, it's hard to say from the pictures alone!

[gammada]

I own over 21 Safaris/ Al-Stars so I can attest that its pretty common for amazon shipped items (direct or third-party) to be missing warranty cards, brochures or even boxes. The Germany lettering on the bottom is not consistently placed among pens, but you can easily differentiate fakes ones by looking at this thread and this page:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/index.php/topic/267633-buyer-beware-lamy-safari-on-ebay/

 

http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2933849141?

 

Hope those help!

[HollyGolightly]

 

 

 

 

I just want to thank all three of you for such extensive information. I'll comb through the links you've all supplied but it's a comfort to know that there are inconsistencies from pen to pen and that I am most likely a scaredy-cat newbie who wanted to make sure she hadn't made any blunders. The last three comments have eased my mind a bit. I'll comb through all the links and pop back in at some point but I'm leaning on the side of it being real.

 

Thanks again for all the wonderful help. It means the world to me, truly!

[pen2paper]

the tag on my pen reads:

1626263

041 F

F-Pen

 

same tag on box end

 

box tag reads:

Lamy Safari Fount. Coral F

L41F

0 21274 26263 5

 

same Germany on end

 

typical grey slotted box, printed silver LAMY on side, with interior card, and silver warranty paper

 

It would be good to return to the documentation page we started, and update with new tag/number/color info

[Mike 59]

Just checked my three Safaris, the Germany marking is in a slightly different position on each. So if that part is a separate moulding and pressed into the barrel then it could be any way around, I would have thought. The Coral pen in the photos looks ok to me.

With new pens, it's well worth flushing them through a few times with warm water with a drop of dish washing up liquid mixed in.

[Sheshka]

I just noticed that when I hold my white Lamy (from a different seller than the Coral) the Lamy logo faces up towards me, whereas the Coral one faces down toward the floor. Should they all universally have an upward facing logo when being held to write?

 

I did a forum search and found a thread with lots of pictures but a lot of differing opinions as to it being a fake pen or not. I suppose I'll take another look at the search results.

 

In the case of where the Lamy logo faces, this is because there are two entry points to the barrel thread, it can screw on either way depending on the positioning of the logo when you start to screw it on. What works for me on Safaris is: nib facing ^, Lamy barrel logo to the > (from the barrel end of the pen, < if you are looking at the pen from the nib end). Hopefully that makes sense, but try a couple of times either way if it doesn't. The threading entry points seem to line up with the top and bottom of the nib, so it's easier to be sure which way it'll screw on if you start from there.

Interestingly (or not), the Al Star has an extra half-turn to get it on, so where I use > to line up the logo on the Safari, the Al Star needs <.

 

All this because I prefer how it looks with Lamy facing upwards...oh dear.