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
My "Holy Grail" pen is probably still the Graf von Faber-Castell 2004 Pen of the Year (https://www.graf-von-faber-castell.us/pen-of-the-year/natures-luxury/poty-2004):
The fact is, my choices of pen may be limited by the ink I've chosen to use, which is Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing:
And for that reason, I limit myself to relatively inexpensive pens like the Pelikan M205 demonstrator:
the "disposable" Platinum Preppy:
My third ECO, the Transparent Blue shown here, is currently on its way to me from TWSBI. I use an EF nib to write in my Filofax diary, an M nib for general writing, and I will by this time next week have a 1.1 mm stub nib for cheque and document signing.
This ink and these pens have ruined me for anything more expensive. They are everything I could wish for: beautiful, functional, and inexpensive.
Next thing is getting a new Filofax Classic Croc Personal in Indigo to match:
…and while I'm at it, maybe a new Warwick Streamer CV: