User:Snowmanradio/Parker Sonnet

The Parker Sonnet article was deleted twice: The two deleted versions are copied below for reference (WP:USERFIED). Oldest first.
 * In October 2015 (deleted after unchallenged proposed deletion and brief AfD Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Talk:Parker Sonnet)
 * In June 2017 (very little content, unreferenced, speedy deletion as per WP:G11)

Parker Sonnet fountain pens, ball-point pens and rollerball pens are ranges of pens made by the Parker Pen Company.

Sonnet Mk 1 fountain pens were first sold in 1993, in a thin and thick cap band depending on model. Its manufacture has been superseded by the Sonnet Mk 2, which has a uniformly sized cap band which is of medium width, not as wide or thin as any of the earlier Sonnet models. Both the Mk 1 and Mk 2 Sonnet fountain pens have several variants; some have solid 18kt gold nibs, some have gold plated trim, some have caps and shafts made with sterling silver and others with stainless steel & brass, some are coated with lacquers or paints or other substances, and some are silver plated.

Sonnet Mk 1
The Parker Sonnet was released as a successor to the long-running but dated design of the Parker 75, and before the subsequent release of the new Duofold was the flagship model of the Parker lineup. Parker originally wanted the call the pen the Senator but a pen company of that name already exists so it was never launched under this name. It was designed by Hollington Associates, a London-based product design agency. The pen was offered in a large number of variants with models made out of coated brass, and some made out of precious metals. The lowest in line was made out of stainless steel.

The top line included precious metals and maki-e lacquer techniques and came with a rhodium-masked 18k gold nib, and wide cap band. They included complicated designs like the Ambre and Chinese Red, with metal finishes like gold plated, silver plated or Sterling silver.

The middle series was available with lacquer finishes not made by the maki-e technique, like the Firedance finish. They were generally made with a very thin cap band, but thick-banded variants do exist.

The lowest series was made in simpler finishes and had gold plated or unplated steel nibs. The bands offered in these were always thin.

Sonnet Refresh and Sonnet Mk 2
The Sonnet Refresh was released as the latest variant to the Sonnet, ending the decade of the Mk 1 Sonnets. The Refresh had a medium cap band, not as wide as the original wide band, but wider than the thin cap band variant. The engraving no longer ran through the cap's length, but was engraved horizontally on the cap band. The clip lost two of the seven feathers of the Mk 1, now having only five. The nib also changed, being steel with a newer v-shaped design, while the gold nib was an entirely new lattice work unit.

Nib sizes
Parker originally offered the Parker Sonnet in four nib sizes: Fine, Medium, Broad and Extra Fine; now, they offer eight nib grades, with obliques now featuring in the series.

Special editions
Parker also had Special Editions in the Sonnet line. One was the terracotta; the other was a silver and blue. Both were available in fountain, roller-ball and ball-point pen modes. The box in which they were packaged was bigger than that of the usual Parker Sonnets. Recently, there have been two Limited Edition Sonnets; the Sonnet Crocodile Vermeil and Sonnet Fu, the Fu being a release alongside Parker's flagship model Duofold

Counterfeit pens
The Parker Sonnet is one of the most counterfeited pens, with fake Sonnets commonly showing up on second-hand markets such as eBay. It is one of only a few major pen models (as well as the ST Dupont Orpheo and many Montblanc pens) that were so widely counterfeited that fake pens are regularly sold in many markets. Only the weak plating, uneven finishes, side-by-side comparison with a genuine unit and a few more factors are a giveaway to the fake Sonnet's origins.