In 1779, Catherine the Great summoned to her court a Scottish architect who attracted considerable attention in Europe: Charles Cameron travelled to Rome in 1768 to seek the Pope’s permission to measure a site and excavate in the ruins of Roman imperial thermae. Cameron’s investigations met the tastes of his contemporaries and laid the foundations for his reputation as an outstanding authority on ancient architecture. His big moment came when the Russian Empress gave him the opportunity to combine his fascination for Greco-Roman antiques with another favorite subject of high nobility: the world of minerals. This resulted in the brilliant Agate Rooms of the Catherine Palace.
At the request of the Empress, the walls were adorned with ornately ground and polished jasper from the Urals. At the time, jasper was called agate, which gave the rooms their name: the Agate Rooms. Setting the gemstones on such a large surface area in such extravagant amounts represented quite a challenge for the artisans because these precious minerals are very hard and difficult to work, unlike marble. Nevertheless, the venture was a success. The magnificent rooms won the favor of the Empress.
Paying homage to these magnificent rooms, the “Catherine Palace” Pen of the Year brings the luster and aesthetics of a major era alive in such a fascinating manner. Three large, red-brown jasper stones are embedded into the platinum-plated barrel of the plunger-type fountain pen and envision the aura of these magnificent rooms perfectly. Numerous polishing steps give these vibrantly grained gemstones an inimitable radiance. The barrel is also engraved with a chain pattern that echoes a formative style element of the Agate Rooms. The cap of the fountain pen is adorned with grey, shimmering, Russian quartz with a facet finish.
The luxurious Special Edition of the “Catherine Palace” Pen of the Year combines 24-carat gold plating with gemstone workmanship of extraordinary refinement. The barrel is decorated with six beautifully designed jasper stones: they are framed by intricately worked rosettes in 24-carat gold, which are embedded by hand into ebony precious resin platelets. Two sun yellow Russian quartz stones with a facet crown the cap and end cap of the plunger-type fountain pen.
Each writing instrument is individually numbered and comes in a highly polished, deep-black wooden case. It includes a certificate personally signed by the Director of the Amber Workshop, Boris Igdalov, attesting to the authenticity of the Russian gemstones. The wooden case can also be used as a collector’s case because a second insert has room for an additional six writing instruments.
Fountain Pen, Platinum-plated - Limited to 1,000 pieces.
Rollerball Pen, Platinum-plated - Limited to 300 pieces.
Fountain Pen, Special Edition 24ct Gold-plated - Limited to 150 pieces.
Rollerball Pen, Special Edition 24ct Gold-plated - Limited to 30 pieces.
*The 2014 Pen of the Year is no longer available.
