The pen that was made in a week
Just one week before the coronation, Cleave received a call from the palace to create a pen for His Majesty King Charles III.
Creating the coronation pen
The barrel carries a sharp chevron gear pattern, cut directly into the silver so that it takes the light as the pen turns. The cap holds the royal cypher, C for Charles, R for Rex (King in Latin) and III for the Third, beneath the St. Edward’s crown and inside a beaded border drawn from the coronation regalia itself.
The nib is solid 18 carat two-tone gold and features an embossed 'C', while it seems perfectly fitting for Charles, the 'C' actually stands for Cleave & Company.
How we made it in seven days
A pen of this kind is normally weeks of work. Seven days meant the drawing, the engine turning, the nib and the hallmarking all had to run without a single stage waiting on another, and it meant no second attempt at any of them.
We made it in our own workshops and had it hallmarked at the London Assay Office.
How the pen was made
The barrel turning under the light, the design drawn out on paper, the fitted case, and the two-tone nib in close-up.
The pen with the Thames running round the barrel
Six landmarks run round the barrel in enamel, from Battersea Power Station to Big Ben. The pen was used to commemorate the sale of the Ritz London.
Writing InstrumentsThe Silk Road Pen, one of three ever made
A pen carrying the road between Palmyra and Xi’an, hand-painted in vitreous enamel, commissioned to mark a company’s journey from Greater Syria to China.
2018RAF Centenary Trophy
Made for the centenary of the Royal Air Force, and given as the trophy for a new annual award first presented in 2018.