A Black Plastic Waterman Fountain Pen from France

I used to have this really wonderful and stylish black plastic Waterman fountain pen I bought in Paris. It had an orange clip and cost about US $5 (30 francs, I think.). It was cool because it looked good–the plastic was a kind of nylon-like softish plastic with a matte finish. And it wrote pretty well. I liked to use it as my main writing utensil.

But I lost it. I’d picked up another one at some point and given it to my father, and one day over at his house on Lakeview, I quietly lifted it out of his lazy-susan pen tray. (I still need to tell him about that.)

I was happy again. But one day, after telling my students how much I liked the pen and how they weren’t made any longer, it disappeared from my classroom.

Now I’ve been looking for one of them again, but I don’t know what they’re called. I’ve got a standing search on eBay for ‘plastic Waterman’, but I’m not too hopeful.

Anybody know where to buy another one? Or at least what they’re called?

7 Responses to “A Black Plastic Waterman Fountain Pen from France”

  1. Hi,
    sorry to have come here a year late :(
    As for identifying your Waterman, I suggest that you head over to fountain pens network (located at http://www.fountainpennetwork.com) and ask in their forum. It is a huge community of pen collectors, there are knowledgeable people on every fountain pen ever made out there under the sun :) Another option is jetpens.com – also friendly forum.
    Have you tried Waterman’s website? It would take some time searching through all the pens, but might be worth it.
    But I believe they might take older models off their website…
    Anywayz, wish you good luck in your searches :)

  2. lizzy says:

    I think I know the fountain pen you are talking about. I you are interested I can send you a photo of mine. I think the name of the pen was something like jiffy (?).
    Maybe I can try to investigate on that.
    I would like to buy a new one and I am afraid that the only way will be to buy a used one. I haven’t seen those pens for a long time

  3. Erin says:

    lizzy, thanks for the info! I googled ‘jiffy’, but didn’t find anything. I tried ‘jif’ and found some older pens that didn’t look anything like what I had.

    But yes, if you have a photo, I’d sure love to see. Thanks! :)

  4. Brian says:

    Hey, I think I have a few of the pens you are talking about… I work for a French company, so I go to France usually once or twice a year. I would usually buy a few inexpensive plastic fountain pens from the local Auchan store (sorta like a big supermarket). Anyhow, I have three plastic watermans: blue with yellow clip, red with blue clip, and black with red clip. I’ll try and take some digital photos of them and email to you… I love the black/red combo also. I’ll look for some more when I’m in France this April…

    Thanks, Brian

  5. Erin says:

    Brian, wow, that would be really cool.

    The one I had was a matte black one with a light orange clip. The plastic had a kind of soft feel to it, as if it had been made of nylon or something.

    I was told that they were pretty common in France, so I didn’t think I’d have trouble finding them again. However, I suspect that they’re no longer being made.

    Anyway, thanks for taking the time to post! :)

  6. deb says:

    i also had a black waterman pen with an orange clip and steel nib. i also had a white one nad a periwinkle blue that had a white clip. a friend in collegfe brought them back from me when she went home for christmas to paris. she said they were “like bic pens” over there. several years ago, i called waterman as i had lost them all and they sent me a couple for free. i guess they really were cheap pens. they are all lost now, and i am wondering if you ever found the name of the pen. i am trying to find them again.

  7. deb says:

    right after i posted last time, i emailed waterman here in the US who emailed her counterpart in france who, 3 days later, fed-exed me 2 Jiffie fountain pens at no charge. exactly as i remember them. but i can’t find them to buy online.

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