Celebrating Caran d’Ache’s 100th Anniversary

This year marks the 100th anniversary of one of our favorite pencil manufacturers, Caran d’Ache (for an in-depth look at those 100 years, check out the timeline on their site). The company was founded in Geneva in 1915, but didn’t begin using the Caran d’Ache name until 1924. The name was in honor of the famous French cartoonist Emmanuel Poiré, who used the name as a pseudonym. The name’s history goes a bit further than that, however.

Caran d’Ache is a French phonetic adaptation of the Russian word karandash, which itself means pencil. According to Wikipedia, karandash can be traced back even further to the Turkish word kara taş, which means black stone. So, truly, graphite is at the foundation of Caran d’Ache’s history and, over the course of the past century, they have proven to be innovators in the industry surrounding this “black stone.”

In the 1920’s, Caran d’Ache introduced the Techograph woodcased graphite pencil. In 1929, Caran d’Ache introduced the Fixpencil, the world’s first mechanical pencil. In 1953, they introduced the Ecridor Ball Pen, a pen that has become synonymous with elegance. In 1969, they introduced the 849 pen, whose timeless design has made it an icon.

In 2015, for their 100th anniversary, they’ve introduced 100 Year Editions of these iconic products, and we’re incredible excited to add them to Pencils.com.

Technograph – 100 Year Edition

The 100 Year Edition of the pencil that started it all comes with four pencils graded HB, B, 2B, and 3B, and a simple one-hole sharpener . Each pencil features the Technograph’s classic yellow lacquer and gold imprint.

Fixpencil – 100 Year Edition

The 100 Year Edition of the world’s first mechanical pencil features a grey, satin finish, two gradual rulers (mm and inches) on its barrel, and a red push button that also doubles as a lead sharpener. It comes loaded with a 2mm graphite lead (B) and four 2mm colored leads (red, blue, green, yellow).

Ecridor Ballpoint Pen – Palladium Plated 100 Year Edition

The 100 Year Edition of Caran d’Ache’s first ballpoint pen features a palladium-coated finish to go alongside it’s timeless design. The barrel of the pen features a chevron design, and each pen comes loaded with Caran d’Ache’s acclaimed Goliath ink cartridge.

849 Ballpoint Pen – 100 Year Edition

The 100 Year Edition of this iconic pen features the 849’s classic hexagonal barrel and Goliath ink cartridge. Instead of the usual solid-colored finish, however, this pen features a finish that mimics the look of a sharpened woodcased pencil.

In addition to these four 100 Year Edition products, we’ve also added three permanent products to our selection of Caran d’Ache items.

Grafik Playing Card Pencils

Caran d’Ache’s Grafik pencils are known for their bold geometric and pop-art inspired designs. Their Playing Card Pencil series puts a classic spin on these not-so-classic pencils by replacing these bold colors and shapes with familiar red and black hearts, spades, diamonds and clubs. Each pack comes with 4 HB pencils (one of each suit) and an eraser.

Bicolor 999 Red/Blue Pencils

The Caran d’Ache Bicolor 999 pencil features a split core that is red on one end of the pencil and blue on the other. This red/blue combination-style pencil is extremely popular with architects, draftsmen and teachers alike, and this particular pencil is renowned for its smooth, colored lead.

Swiss Wood 348 Pencils

Caran d’Ache Swiss Wood 348 pencils are made of beech wood from the Swiss Jura forest. The wood has an earthy, almost chocolatey smell and a fine, straight grain. Each pencil features an HB graphite core and is finished with a matte, clear varnish that shows off the natural dark brown color of the wood. Each pencil is also end-dipped with a red cap decorated with the iconic Swiss Cross.