In the early 20th Century, when Dunhill’s items were retailed in the west, Namiki became well established. Because of this, their relationship as a partner company has continued until even now. Namiki even makes a Limited Edition for Dunhill, but this only happens occasionally. However, the writing instrument company, Pilot, now owns Namiki.
Namiki has different ranges of pens that go from highest to lowest. The higher ranged pens include the “Emperor,” the “Ukari Royal,” and the “Ukari.” However, their lower ranges include the “Nippon Tradition” range, as well as the popular Vanishing Point and some other smaller standard series. The Vanishing Point can be sold in the United States for just over a hundred dollars.
The Vanishing Point pen is uniquely made, giving the pen it’s distinctiveness. The pen does not have a cap, and the clip is at the point end, not the button end. Usually, in regular ball-point pens without caps, the clip and button are on one end, with the point on the other end. When writing with the Vanishing Point pen, the clip is between the thumb and the index finger. It is named the “Vanishing Point” because when the hooded nib is clicked, the second time it is clicked, the hooded point/nib vanishes.
Skilled Japanese artisans use the finest materials to create a line of writing instruments that look beautiful and perform flawlessly. These are known as the Namiki Collections. An ancient technique is also used, where multi-layered patterns are drawn on the barrel and cap with urushi, which is sap from Japanese lacquer trees. This technique is known as Maki-e Lacquering. The Namiki is specially designed where the hand-paintings richly construe scenes of nature in valuable metals and lavish pigments.
The Namiki products are made with 18 K gold, sterling silver, and lacquer or celluloid finishes, making them truly unique from one another. The writing instruments are crafted to be used, regardless of their pristine artistry. Because they are crafted with a precision nib and exclusive ink and lead, delivery systems ensure a remarkably smooth stroke and clean line. Because of it’s original enterprise, the Namiki fountain pen is known as the fundamental writing tool.