Cross Peerless 125 Fountain Pen With Sailor Nib

[manray086]

Recently I saw a review claiming that the Cross Peerless 125 fountain pen has a Sailor nib. I am very much impressed with the pen and am looking forward to purchasing one. Especially because of the Sailor nib. I contacted A.T. Cross and spoke to their customer service department asking the origin of the nib since it is a 18k gold and not the normal 21kt gold used by Sailor. I was informed by the representative that the nibs are made in China and they have no idea of the manufacturer's name. Does anyone have any information whether the Sailor nib applies to the current supply of the Cross Peerless 125 pens?

[Jerome Tarshis]

I was informed by the representative that the nibs are made in China and they have no idea of the manufacturer's name.

 

"They" seems to be a dangerously ambiguous word here. That a low-level employee in Rhode Island has no idea of the manufacturer's name I can believe. Telephoning a company from outside, one doesn't always reach a person who knows the answers.

 

That Cross has no idea of the manufacturer's name rather strains belief. Does Cross know only the manufacturer's bank-transfer details, but not the company's name? Surely the nib manufacturer expects to be paid. By a fine old New England company that doesn't know where it is sending its money?

[KellyMcJ]

Nibs.com claims that the Peerless nibs are made by Sailor offers it with the full line of Sailor nibs (see here: https://www.nibs.com/pens/cross/cross-peerless-125-platinum-plate)

[manray086]

Thank you Jerome Tarshis for your comment. I might have spoken with a low level employee but then she spoke with her supervisor and that was the information I was given. Perhaps you can make a suggestion as to where I might call to get an actual knowledgable person. I also read on another FPN forum that Cross has transferred all of its manufacturing of pens to China and that most of the nibs will be made in China but does not specify the Cross Peerless 125. Any input would be appreciated.

[manray086]

Thanks KellyMcJ

I've already checked that site but don't believe it's up to date.

[Jerome Tarshis]

In this world there are many questions that don't have answers obtainable by an algorithmic process. In some cases, "telephone the manufacturer" is advice that will yield the desired answer. In other cases, no.

 

Among the unknowns I am now dealing with, we have how old the OP is, where he or she lives, what his or her experience of life has been, where he or she normally travels, in everyday life or on vacation, and quite a few more.

 

I have had decades of experience of finding things out as a journalist and as a researcher, but only in somewhat specific areas. Including, at times, pens.

 

My advice is to get to know people. Talk with people who work in pen shops. Talk with exhibitors at pen shows. Especially become acquainted with people whose business includes spending a lot of money with A T Cross. I have met, at an excellent shop with an excellent pens department, the regional distributor of Cross pens in my part of the country. People like that, if they ask Cross a question, have a better chance of getting a serious answer than I do.

 

Really, the answers may not be anywhere you're going to find them. The name "Man Ray" indicates some knowledge of art. In the art world there are many objects whose origins are not clearly known. Even if they appear to be clearly known. That is also true in the world of manufacturing. Some manufacturers are not only willing but eager to disseminate the very information you want to know. Some are not so willing or eager. Some may not know.

 

To take seriously the idea that Cross doesn't know who makes the nibs of the Peerless is to believe Cross doesn't "manufacture" pens in China, but buys them from a contractor that doesn't divulge the names of its suppliers. That's really interesting. If Cross were filing annual statements with the SEC, some information not available now would be available, because there are rules for publicly traded companies. Private equity is, ah, private.

 

A Man Ray admirer might well approach Web sites with the idea "cut and paste" firmly in mind. Collage, montage, avant-garde film. Surrealism is meant to be exciting, not informative in a precise way.

 

Get used to not knowing, is my first advice. After that, inquire a little.

[flipper_gv]

It's 100% made by Sailor.

 

You can even get a zoom nib on it.

[Jerome Tarshis]

It's 100% made by Sailor.

 

 

That is plausible. The idea that Cross has no idea who makes its nibs is not plausible.

[KellyMcJ]

 

That is plausible. The idea that Cross has no idea who makes its nibs is not plausible.

 

More likely the specific person OP spoke to didn't know who made the nibs. Even though each employee is technically a representative of the company, well. There are a lot of things I don't know about my company's products for example. If you were to ask me a question about one of them and I didn't know the answer would you say "(company) doesn't know?" Nah. You'd say "Kelly doesn't know."

 

Cross makes a lot of products. I wouldn't expect every customer service agent to know every supplier who makes every part for every pen.

[Jerome Tarshis]

Not to beat a dead horse, but the assertion in the original post seems to have been that *Cross* didn't know. Has no idea. I used to pick up the telephone on behalf of one or another employer, and I didn't tell people *I* don't know and let it go at that. If *I* didn't know, I found out.

 

The obvious conclusion here is that Cross doesn't wish to inform the general public that the Peerless 125 nib, or entire pen, is made by Sailor. If indeed that is true. But businesses in general do not always wish to tell people who makes what for them. Barbara Lambert's history of Cross is rather rich in examples of non-transparency.

[hari317]

FWIW,

 

https://www.nibs.com/pens/cross/cross-peerless-125-london

 

Edited December 28, 2017 by hari317

[KellyMcJ]

Not to beat a dead horse, but the assertion in the original post seems to have been that *Cross* didn't know. Has no idea. I used to pick up the telephone on behalf of one or another employer, and I didn't tell people *I* don't know and let it go at that. If *I* didn't know, I found out.

 

The obvious conclusion here is that Cross doesn't wish to inform the general public that the Peerless 125 nib, or entire pen, is made by Sailor. If indeed that is true. But businesses in general do not always wish to tell people who makes what for them. Barbara Lambert's history of Cross is rather rich in examples of non-transparency.

 

I am not reading that "assertion" into it personally. You seem to be reading an awful lot into someone not knowing something.

[Poision Pen]

I dont know about the Peerless nib but I just received a Townsend model, Year Of The Rooster limited pen. It also has an 18k gold nib and I must say that it does write very smoothly. Reminds me of the buttery writing of all my Sailor and Nakaya pens.

However, the medium nib is rather big, as in the writing characteristic. One would think that if it is Japanese it would be the finer line that we all know.

But even as I write this I recall that I needed to change the medium nib of a Pilot Vanishing Point pen to a fine as the medium was way to heavy a writer for me, but this Cross is even broader a medium than the Pilot was.

If Cross is using Sailor nibs I would be surprised. I will be ordering a fine from Cross as a replacement

Edited December 28, 2017 by Poision Pen

[Fishkabob]

I dont know about the Peerless nib but I just received a Townsend model, Year Of The Rooster limited pen. It also has an 18k gold nib and I must say that it does write very smoothly. Reminds me of the buttery writing of all my Sailor and Nakaya pens.

However, the medium nib is rather big, as in the writing characteristic. One would think that if it is Japanese it would be the finer line that we all know.

But even as I write this I recall that I needed to change the medium nib of a Pilot Vanishing Point pen to a fine as the medium was way to heavy a writer for me, but this Cross is even broader a medium than the Pilot was.

If Cross is using Sailor nibs I would be surprised. I will be ordering a fine from Cross as a replacement

Only the Peerless 125 has a sailor nib

[flipper_gv]

I dont know about the Peerless nib but I just received a Townsend model, Year Of The Rooster limited pen. It also has an 18k gold nib and I must say that it does write very smoothly. Reminds me of the buttery writing of all my Sailor and Nakaya pens.

However, the medium nib is rather big, as in the writing characteristic. One would think that if it is Japanese it would be the finer line that we all know.

But even as I write this I recall that I needed to change the medium nib of a Pilot Vanishing Point pen to a fine as the medium was way to heavy a writer for me, but this Cross is even broader a medium than the Pilot was.

If Cross is using Sailor nibs I would be surprised. I will be ordering a fine from Cross as a replacement

 

Pelikan makes the nibs that are used on the Townsend. That is why the nib grading feels "western".

Edited December 28, 2017 by flipper_gv

[Poision Pen]

Yes, I just noticed on the CFP site that the Townsend nib is from Germany. So, Pelikan

[wpj_ole]

I just stopped by at Century (35 year old pen shop in Chicago) and the owner dipped the ink for me to try (the peerless in fine nib - which was my first Cross experience) - and I was literally like, “OH MY GOD!”

I’ve been using Montblanc fountain pens for a while thinking it is a quality/long-lasting purchase (and admittedly partly spoiling myself with its fanciness) - I pretty much know how 145,146,149, and writer editions write (plus Lamy and Platinum)... I must say, I’m totally speechless for how perfect that Cross nib I tried wrote. It feels (well subjectively) better than all of my MB nibs (perhaps except one tuned by Mike.......) so my point is: Whoever makes it, I think it is one of the best. (:

[Russ]

I agree completely. You have more experience with MB than I do, yet of my many pens I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this nib. I just wish they ran a little wider.

[BillZ]

I have a Peerless 125 purchased when they first came on the market. I got it from Dromgoole's in Houston. It is an XF nib. Although it isn't marked SAILOR I cna't imagine anyone else making an XF nib any smoother. Plus I saw the advert about it that was shown earlier. I'm sticking with Sailor for the $$$pen

[A1979]

I bought a separate nib unit for my Peerless AK47 - it came in a small box labeled with “made in Japan”.