BIC Vermeil Silver Anniversary Pen c. 1975

by Jim Mamoulides, March 30, 2005, Updated October 20, 2023

BIC vermeil Silver Anniversary pen c. 1975

Time For An Update

In the twenty-two years I’ve been writing about pens and the eighteen years since first posting this article, it continues to be one of the top generators of questions and comments. They range from “My dad had one of those!” to “I just found one of those!” to “How much do you think they are worth?” What’s also interesting is the very little additional information I’ve been able to find out about them in all those years. Given some recent questions and sales valuations, I thought I’d give the article an update.

Whenever I set out to do an update on an older article, I not only review the text and update any facts, but I also review the original images to see if I can bring them up to date with the format presently being used on PenHero.com. In this case, the original images were done on one of my first digital cameras which had the amazing resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, far below today’s standards. I’ve tried to use some recent Photoshop AI magic to upscale them without losing any detail, but it’s a big jump of about four times the resolution. The original shots were done with a loaned pen for a specific poster shoot and there is no chance of me making a do-over with it. Should a reader have one and would like to loan it so I can update the images, it would be very much appreciated! The images here are only upsized a small amount and I got rid of the annoying bacground.

A Trick Question!

BIC vermeil Silver Anniversary pen c. 1975

Ask pen collectors what the most successful pen in history is and many will name famous fountain pen models, such as the Parker 51 or Sheaffer Balance. There is no doubt in terms of influence and impact on the design and marketing of fountain pens, these two certainly stand out. Arguments could also be made about other fountain pens. What's interesting is to wait for this name: BIC Cristal. The elephant in the room is slender, boring, invisible, and yet there it is, hiding in the very pockets, pocketbooks, pen cups, or briefcases of many who would engage in the debate.

This amazingly simple pen was introduced in 1950 by a small pen company in Paris, France. It had no moving parts, no refills, and no complex instructions. It was self-evident: pull the cap and write. The new pen was the antithesis of the decades run up to more complex and expensive pens being produced by the established fountain pen companies. What began in the nineteenth century as a self-contained eyedropper filled pen had by the 1930s evolved with many exotic filling systems, finally reached the pinnacle of complexity in 1952 with the Sheaffer Snorkel. Even the ballpoint products of traditional fountain pen companies were complex, with the pens of the mid 1940s being designed and priced like their fountain pen counterparts. If ever increasing complexity and price was the poison, this new ballpoint was the antidote.

Marcel Bich, son of a French engineer, born in Turin, Italy on July 29, 1914 and died in Paris, France May 30, 1994, founded SOCIÉTÉ BIC in 1943. In 1945 (some accounts say 1944), Bich, with his partner and friend Edouard Buffard, started the company that would produce this breakthrough product. Bich had been working for an ink manufacturer and brought his production skills and knowledge of the pen business to the new venture. The new company started off making fountain pen and mechanical pencil parts, but Marcel Bich had seen the potential in the new ballpoint pen and acquired the patent rights to the Biro ballpoint pen.

The Biro ballpoint was the invention of the two Hungarian brothers, Ladislo and George Biro, who applied for the patents in 1938. They fled to Argentina during World War II and there introduced the Biro ballpoint pen through the newly formed Eterpen Company. The pen was well received, and the Biros claimed it could write for a year without refilling. In May, 1945, Eversharp partnered with Eberhard-Faber to acquire exclusive manufacturing and marketing rights from Eterpen and poured millions into acquisition, development, advertising and production, in order to rush the pen to market. Eversharp made press releases months before the pen was actually available, in order to stir up demand and quickly recoup its investment, likely banking on the base of its market leading Skyline pens. The Eversharp CA (1945-1947), was a product that suffered because it was rushed to market too soon and without sufficient product testing.

BIC vermeil Silver Anniversary pen c. 1975

In June, 1945, Milton Reynolds was in Buenos Aires and saw the very same Biro ballpoint and came to the same conclusion as to its potential. He bought several sample pens and returned to Chicago, Illinois and started the Reynolds International Pen Company to manufacture it. Reynolds did not have patent rights, and the Reynolds pen was a reverse engineered product that beat Eversharp to the market with essentially the same pen. It was introduced it in October, 1945 at Gimbel's department store in New York. The Reynolds Rocket ballpoint pen was priced at US $12.50 and 8,000 units were sold on the first day, valued at US $100,000. This action prompted a legal fight between Eversharp and Reynolds that drained the resources of both companies, and it didn't help that both the Eversharp and Reynolds pens suffered from leaking and skipping problems that led to heavy returns that eventually crippled both. Reynolds folded in 1951 and Eversharp never really recovered, being purchased by Parker in 1957.

Into this turbulent market entered Marcel Bich with his new ballpoint, based on the same design that killed Eversharp and Reynolds. No doubt Bich had seen the issues with the previous ballpoint products and spent some time perfecting the design. The Bich ballpoint was introduced in December 1950. With its clear hexagon shaped plastic barrel and ink-color plastic cap, the new pen was like nothing else on the market. It was a strong departure from the pricey pens that had preceded it. Bich used a shortened version of his own name, "BIC" as the brand and "Cristal" as the name of the pen, to play on the clear, ink view design. Priced aggressively low, Bich marketed the new pen as, "a reliable pen at an affordable price." The BIC Cristal pen has been made continuously ever since.

Today, BIC is the world's leading manufacturer of ballpoint pens. In an interesting turnabout, BIC acquired Sheaffer in 1997, one of the pioneers of the pen making business and a leader in cartridge filling fountain pens. BIC sold Sheaffer to the Cross Company in 2014.

BIC vermeil Silver Anniversary pen c. 1975

Silver Anniversary

Like any manufacturing company proud of its successful heritage, BIC celebrated the 25th anniversary of the BIC Cristal by creating a special version of the flagship product. A series of special edition pens in sterling silver, vermeil (gold plate over sterling silver), solid gold, and briar wood were made in the same hexagonal design as the Cristal and with the same refill insert. The precise year of the pen is not known, but if it celebrates 25 years of the BIC Cristal, it would date from 1975. Since it appears to celebrate the BIC Cristal, I believe these pens were made in 1975. As to who or where they are made, the included guarantee paper suggests the pens were made in Italy, though the maker is unknown.

These pens, according to Jim Rouse, were not intended for sale, but were given to employees and executives to commemorate the event. The exact number of each type is not known, but it would seem as the relative value of the pen increases fewer would be made and the more valuable pens would be reserved for the highest status recipients. The sterling silver pens appear to be the most common, and the vermeil and briar wood pens appear to be quite uncommon. I’ve only seen one reference to a person having one of the solid gold ones. These represent a unique treasure from a company noted for turning out millions of inexpensive throwaway ballpoints.

BIC radica (briar wood) Silver Anniversary pen with vermeil cap and trim c. 1975
Image courtesy of David Nishimura

Identification guide and features:

There are four known versions: three all metal pens with the cap and barrel made either of sterling silver, vermeil (gold plate over .925 sterling silver base metal), or solid yellow gold (unknown type), as well as a briar wood (radica wood) barrel version with a sterling silver or vermeil cap and trim pieces including the BIC logo on the barrel and barrel end cap. It's unknown how many of each type were made. I've seen no evidence that they were made for retail sale.

• Four types, as described above
• Raised BIC logo toward the top of the barrel
• Large metal parts are hallmarked, for example the cap on the sterling silver pen is marked 925 on the underside tip of the clip
• Slip on cap
• About 6 inches long capped and a very long 6 5/8 inches with the cap posted on the end of the barrel
• Weighs about 1 ounce
• Uses as refills the ballpoint insert from BIC Crystal ballpoint pens
• Presented in a special BIC Silver Anniversary gift box that compliments the type of pen material

As to valuations, several recent (2023) sales indicate value ranges as follows:

• Sterling Silver $600-$900
• Briar Wood $599

Performance

This pen is so many contradictions in one package. First of all, it's really no different than any other BIC Cristal ballpoint, except for the fact that it's all metal and therefore a lot heavier. Like every other throwaway Cristal, it's about 6 inches long capped and a very long 6 5/8 inches posted. It will ride quite high in the pocket, and that gold colored cap may get noticed. Since the original posting of this article, BIC has introduced all silver and all gold color plastic BIC Cristal pens.

BIC vermeil Silver Anniversary pen c. 1975

Refills are obtained sacrificially. Buy a pack of Cristals and you have a ready-made refill farm that is harvested by pulling out the inserts from the donor pens, which can double as actual useful pens, when needed, unlike the refills in a Parker Jotter, for example.

The writing quality is, well, just like the BIC pens found literally everywhere. Tell me you don't know how a BIC pen writes. I'm guessing that there are only a few places on Earth where BIC ballpoints aren't used, but none come to mind immediately. I'll ponder that a bit later.

This pen has seen a few miles of use, and the gold plating is showing a little wear around the edges. It has held up quite well, though, indicating a good job of plating was done. It all fits together like it should, and I'm sure the pen was very impressive when new.

In effect, the BIC Silver Anniversary Pen duplicates the Cristal pen down to the last detail. A really nice job. It's the perfect match to the gold plated toothpick, and any other over the top rendering of a humble everyday object. It's one of the ultimate pen conversation pieces.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks to Jim Rouse of Bertram's Inkwell for loaning the pen in this article. It was used for photographs to promote the 2005 Philadelphia Pen Show.

Thanks to David Nishimura of The Vintage Pens Website for providing the photo of the BIC radica (briar wood) Silver Anniversary pen with vermeil cap and trim in this article.

References

BIC History, October 2013, BIC SA PowerPoint Presentation

A.T. Cross Company Completes the Acquisition of Sheaffer, A.T. Cross Company, 11 Nov, 2014

"Obituary: Baron Marcel Bich", Stephen Bayley, The Independent, June 1, 1994

Our Story: Writing Our Own Story Since 1944, BIC SA, undated web page