PILOT "CUSTOM 72" FOUNTAIN PEN, 1990.
Black and gold resin barrel.
Limited edition. Limited edition. 7000 copies.
Nib in 14kt yellow gold. HM tip.
Screw cap. Piston loading.
No box.
Dimensions: 14 cm. length, 19 mm. diameter.
In 1988, Pilot celebrated its 70th birthday and launched a corresponding anniversary pen: the Pilot 70, a limited edition of 7000, described as a "Vest-type fountain pen". This pen, already reviewed in these pages, was the template for a regular edition pen, the Custom 72, first marketed in 1990.
On the Custom 72, the plastic barrel shows a subtle gilloché pattern along with some vertical lines of smooth plastic. What sets this model apart from the limited edition is the presence of two bands on the cap, one of them much wider than the other, and with a triangular decoration. At the flat ends are two gold-plated rings. All these details are reminiscent of the 65th anniversary limited edition biros.
The clip is the familiar Pilot ball seen on many other Pilot models.
The paradox is that this pen, attractive as it is, is also relatively rare. And there is little information about it-A. Lambrou and M. Sunami, for example, do not mention it at all in their Fountain Pens of Japan (2012). We do know that there was a matching mechanical pencil and pen, and we can venture that it is likely that this pen was in production for about two years, until the Custom 74 and related pens were launched and took over the niche used by the 72.