What I refer to as “heritage brands” have taken off in recent years, and in the pen world, Esterbrook serves as the best example of a brand resurrection done correctly. While I certainly can’t speak for everyone, I’ve personally enjoyed both the Estie (Esterbrook’s first release), and the Camden (the second). This past year, Esterbrook has begun issuing both pens in special and limited edition finishes, and recently announced an exclusive collaboration with another heritage brand, watch company Accutron.
Those who follow the watch world may be familiar with Accutron, a line of watches formerly manufactured by Bulova and recently relaunched as a separate company by the Citizen Group. You can read more about both vintage and modern Accutron watches on dedicated watch sites such as Hodinkee, and the story behind the development of the technology is fascinating. Short version: Accutron watches bridged the gap between traditional mechanical watches and modern quartz watches, introducing a unique “tuning fork” movement that was one of the first mass-market electronic watches available. The vintage Accutron pictured here belonged to my father, and dates from the early 1970s.
To commemorate the release of the new Accutron watches, the company has partnered with Esterbrook and other American boutique brands to offer special release products that compliment the new lines, including a green Esterbrook Camden. While clearly an Esterbrook fountain pen (and marketed as such), the Esterbrook branding has been replaced by Accutron’s, including the Accutron “tuning fork” logo on the cap finial and engraving around the base of the cap.
Takeaways and Where to Buy
As I noted in my original review of the Camden, Esterbrook fountain pens make excellent writers, and the Camden is no exception. The dark green color on this pen is stunning. That said, accessibility on this particular release will be limited. The Accutron Camden limited edition is priced at $295, approximately $100 more than the MSRP on a standard Esterbrook Camden, and from what I can tell, is currently available exclusively from Accutron dealers. Clearly, this pen is targeted towards the Accutron collector and enthusiast, and if you are looking for a fountain pen to match your new electrostatic Spaceview watch, the two will pair together nicely. Most interesting to me about this collaboration, however, are Esterbrook’s emergence as a higher profile presence outside the niche of fountain pen enthusiasts, and the convergence of the watch and pen communities. As a small-scale watch collector, I’ve always believed that pens and watches complement each other, and two companies with similar histories successfully embracing the overlap in their customer bases should generate a lot of excitement about similar collaborations in the future.
Disclaimer: I received the pen featured in this review from Esterbrook and Accutron for review purposes, free of charge. This post does not contain affiliate links.