Few things are as popular and consistent in the world of pens as people's love for the Parker sterling silver cicelé design. Even if you aren't familiar with the name of the design, you've likely seen these silver beauties with cross-hatched pinstripes. Amazingly, this design has been in constant production for 63 years over multiple models.
Company president and owner Kenneth Parker was inspired to put the design into production in 1963. He had just picked up a handsome, new cigarette case with the same design in London and thought it would look great on a pen. Instead of introducing the design on a current production model, Parker decided to use it for a new pen called the Parker 75, which saw mainstream release in 1964, to celebrate 75 years of the Parker Pen Company.
In my opinion, the Parker 75 was the last great release by Parker of the golden age of fountain pens. It was a true luxury pen, and it had a delightfully innovative nib (first used on the Parker VP) that could be rotated to better fit the hand using the ergonomical grip/section.
More than 11 million Parker 75s were sold during a 30-year span. The public could not get enough of the sterling silver cicelé design. As a result, that pattern on sterling silver has been used on myriad other Parker pens including the Parker Premier, Parker Classic and the formal successor to the 75, the Parker Sonnet.
As Parker 75 production came to a close in 1994, a new pen was needed to replace it in the Parker line-up. That pen was and is the Parker Sonnet. It was introduced with a sterling silver cicelé option. Released in 1994, the Sonnet remains in production to this day. In many ways, the Sonnet is the most timeless of pen designs. It touches on all of the major elements people have loved in many different fountain pens over the years. It also happens to be one of the most faked reproductions by Chinese copycats.
Given the continued success of the sterling silver cicelé design, I imagine we'll see it on many future Parker pens.
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