Dupont

Place Vendome Paris, the eternal city of light, is enriched by its places for romantic strolls, such as the banks of the Seine or the Pont des Arts, its literary quarters. such as Saint-Germain-des Pres, its Haussmann-style grey stone buildings, and its many internationally-renowned squares.

Place Vendome, commissioned by King Louis XIV and designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, architect of the Palace of Versailles, is defined by its majestic proportions and a strong sense of symmetry, as well as by its octagonal shape, unique in the world. A large number of sophisticated sculptures embellish the sand-coloured stone of its buildings. It is also one of the most emblematic squares of French 17th century architecture. Following his victory at Austerlitz at the beginning of the 19th century, Napolean enriched the square by erecting the Vendome Column, made using the bronze from cannons left behind by the Austrians after the battle.

S.T. Dupont has engraved into each palladium cap and barrel, a quote from Napoleon: “Impossible n’est pas Francais” (Impossible is not French). Each Place Vendome pen features eight hematite stones hand placed into the cap and an individual serial number from the 1810 pieces produced worldwide.

Shanghai – 2009 Limited Edition of 1088 pieces
A mix of very sophisticated placed lacquer “rain” on the cap and an added filigree metallic part “waves”on the bottom of the products. A subtle pale gold effect ornaments the black lacquer. Eight citrine stones are set on the clip of the pen; 8 being a lucky number in Chinese culture. The Citrine stone is a fine gem from the quartz family that has a warm yellow colour and is believed to have healing properties. The top of the pen is signed with a pale gold D circled with black lacquer, and the bottom of the pen is engraved with the Shanghai logo. A black lacquered wooden box magnifies all the products of this limited edition.

The Shanghai is the first Limited Edition range of pens to use the Néo-Classique XL format (Président). There was also an exclusive edition called the “Diamant” which had the filigree done in white solid gold on the bottom of the pen with sparkling diamonds with a white gold powder delicately decorating the green celadon lacquer.

The placed lacquer “rain” is set with a mix of 8 jade and 8 alexandrite stones on the pen’s clip. Jade is a gem that was linked to the emperor in Oriental culture, and thus, absolute power.

The alexandrite gem has been named after the tsar of Russia, Alexander II, and is very rare. The top of the cap is signed with a rhodium D monogram in celadon lacquer and the bottom of the pen is engraved with the happiness ideogram.