Top Pen Trends of 2010

Goldspot works with dozens of brands and manufacturers every year that roll out their newest styles and colors to captivate the fine writing market. Some ideas tend to overlap when a need has been discovered for a particular type of pen. Here are the hottest pen trends that we have found in 2010 (in no particular order):

• Always Bet on Black -  The style of black on black has been a hot one replicated by several prominent brands. For example, Monteverde has their Invincia Stealth Black, Retro 51 made a Tornado Stealth and Parker released their Premier Special Edition in all black. 
• More Special Editions - Speaking of the Premier Special Edition, more manufacturers are leaning toward producing limited runs (in the neighborhood of 50 pieces) of pens that use a specific material or design that is exclusive to the production. Conway Stewart has been offering a special edition finish every month that usually sells out. Just recently, Visconti developed a few Opera Club special colors that are in short supply.
• A Rollerball that Writes Like a Fountain - Both Visconti and Monteverde have jockeyed for the claim to fame that they are producing a rollerball pen that refills like a fountain pen. On one side, you have the Monteverde Invincia Ink Ball, which is a current iteration of the Mega Ink Ball pens that were once popular a few years ago, but have sizzled after the economy tanked. In the opposing corner, you have the Visconti Rembrandt Eco Roller, which promotes eco-friendly writing, despite needing a new replacement front end every 15 fills.
• Paper is Important, Too - With a resurgence in idea notebooks like the Moleskine, writers and creatives across the world are now toting a little black book to dump all ideas, sketches and brilliant (or not-so-brilliant schemes) that may come to mind. However, fountain pen users have quickly responded to the sub quality paper for their nibs. In comes Rhodia, who has filled the market demand for high-quality, affordable notebooks that work like a dream with any fountain pen. Rhodia has worked out so well that Levenger decided to offer their infamous Circa notebook system with Rhodia paper.