There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
We made special arrangements with the vendor to be able to offer the fullest possible range of colors and nib sizes for this drop, but some quantities were still very limited.
Pelikan goes above and beyond when it comes to providing service and will typically offer anyone who recently purchased a Souveran a nib swap at no charge. However, I can't make any promises on their behalf, and I know that there is a very limited supply of M400 fine nibs.
So, you could get a different size and hope that a swap is possible, but I wouldn't count on it.
1) Pelikan offers to swap nibs ONLY for Souverans that have just recently been purchased, and requires that you submit a receipt showing the date of purchase to verify this info.
2) Replacement nibs retail for about $150-$180, and supply is very limited - especially for Oblique Broad. We have been told that the Green/OB offered in this drop are the last remaining units available (in the US) before that combinations is discontinued.
I want to be clear that we are NOT advising anyone to buy a combination of color and nib that you wouldn't be happy with keeping. If you like the size of the M400 and want an Oblique Broad nib, then green is your only option currently and for the foreseeable future.
There was a very limited supply of EF nibs in every color of 400 and 405, except for Green.
I would caution you that Chartpak is really great about providing no-charge nib swaps, but does not guarantee stock of replacement nibs. So, it's possible that you would ship them a pen to have the nib swapped and end up waiting 6-12 weeks for a 400/EF nib to arrive from Germany.
We are, of course, very happy to have you join the drop, but I wanted to set expectations.
We've inquired about swapping nibs in an effort to make the broadest possible selection of color/size combinations available, but have been cautioned that stock of all M400 nibs is limited.
If someone cancels their order for the blue/black 405, it it possible to get on a list to switch my order to that one?
sorry to be so complicated and asking so many questions!