WATERMAN CF Made in France

[gicoteni]

As a celebration of its 70th birthday, in 1954 Waterman introduced the WATERMAN CF, the first large-production cartridge filled pen. Such an innovative pen needed an exceptional designer: Harley Earl.

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/ArticoloNYT.jpghttp://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/1951-GM-Le-Sabre-Concept-SA-Harley-.jpgHarley Earl

 

©- NEW YORK TIMES

 

Responsible for General Motors styling section between 1927 and 1959, he was the inventor of jets and space crafts motifs in car design, tailfins, two-tone colour, abundance of chrome… Cadillac Eldorado… Chevrolet Bel Air… Buick Skylark ...Corvette… Symbols of wealth and trust in the future.

 

Waterman CF was first produced in U.S.A. and then, after problems of American factory, in Canada, UK an France. The production goes from 1954 to the first years of 80's.

 

We easily find the idiom of Earl design in the CF, especially in the first models, made in U.S.A.: the clip, the metal inlays in the section, the two-tone colour.

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/HECf.jpg

 

Among all models, the pens made in France in the factory of Nantes, in the late production in the '70s and '80s, are the most gorgeous; in those years Waterman competed with Parker and most of the patterns of Parker 75 and CF were the same.

 

I have collected some of these CF France made and I want to show you; it is a small and very incomplete collection, since I see that for every model they made many finishes: gold plate, sterling silver, silver plate, chrome plate, even solid gold. I only have some example.

 

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Lacqu.jpg

 

Lacquè

 

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Goldplate.jpg

 

Gold plate

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Croco.jpg

 

Chevron and Crocodile

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Chrome2.jpg

 

Chrome plate

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Sterling.jpg

 

Barleycorn sterling silver set

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Stainless.jpg

 

Stainless Steel

 

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Milleraiessilver.jpg

 

Milleraies silver plate

 

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Milleraies.jpg

 

Milleraies gold plate set

 

Nibs of French CF are 18 k gold (yellow gold or white gold, as in these crocodile and chevron), or stainless steel. For almost each model you can also find the matching ballpoint, pencil and roller pens.

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Croco3.jpghttp://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Lacqu2.jpg

 

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee36/gicoteni/CF%20Made%20in%20France/Nibs.jpg

Edited September 26, 2008 by FPN Admin Team

[MYU]

Very impressive collection! I am a big fan of the Waterman CF design, with my only wish that flexible (or at least semi-flexible) nibs were made. So many variations... I've collected just a few and had to stop, although there is one other I'd still like to get.

[penmanila]

wow! what a lovely and comprehensive collection! i've just acquired a near-mint gold-plated C/F in the "ripple" design, and it's great to see all these others.

[Brian]

Nice, cool, very informative. Thanks for the info on a classic from the past.

[petra]

Thanks for the great photos!!!

 

Agghhh -- my kingdom for a bright red CF! I have a gold one with Moire pattern, a gold Directeur General & of course the black one I got from Gicoteni! I think they're great!

[Abhik]

WOW! What a collection! Thanks for sharing!

Abhik.

[Aysedasi]

Wonderful collection! Thanks for sharing it with us

[shadowsforbars]

Fantastic collection and a great story.

[davisgt]

 

Todd

[jbn10161]

Gorgeous collection. Thanks for sharing it.

[GirchyGirchy]

Neat! Thanks for sharing the information, and I think that's a very nice collection.

 

Great pictures, too.

[georges zaslavsky]

very nice post, thanks for sharing

[MSA]

I have moired chrome finish C/F. The pen has a very solid feel. It is amazing that this design came as early as 1954. Looks very modern.

[adam11]

CF are indeed beautiful pens, design classic. Pretty bold design for the 50ies, I think.

[penluvva]

What a collection ? More like a mouthwatering collection !! There are some beauties shown in the photos. Have collected Parkers and Sheaffers, and have started with 3-4 Watermans, but looking at this page it looks like I may be after a few more Watermans.

[Preetham]

Superb collection. Thanks for sharing.

[theodoreslee]

wow, awesome collection of waterman ^_______^

[goldenkrishna]

Hello gicoteni,

 

Thank you for the introduction and lovely photos. I like them all, but particularly the Crocodile!

 

I own one C/F stirling silver-moiré and a DG stirling silver from 1979. I still love them, though I do not use them.

Now you own a beautiful collection of C/F pens! I enjoyed looking at the photos.

 

With love,

goldenkrishna

[lovemy51]

amazing looking pen! i have a fp/pencil set i bought at the SF pen show for $25. is it just me, or does the 14k nib have a little bit of flex? ok, maybe just springy -quite nice!

 

http://i338.photobucket.com/albums/n419/peterpaul_rguez/PC210074_zps5df3a161.jpg