Tag Archives: Cross Century

President Trump’s Pen of Choice

By on July 30, 2017
Leave a reply

(DISCLAIMER: This is part of an on-going series of posts and not a political piece intended to stir any ire of pen collectors. Please do not flood the comments section with your love or hatred of the man. It will not be published.)

This week we head to Washington for the DC Pen Show! It will be our first time there, and it is only fitting that we look, once again, into the pens used by our presidents. As we have covered most of the signing instruments of presidents dating back to John F. Kennedy, it is time to look at the pens most used by Donald Trump.

The early days of the Trump administration saw several pens used to sign his initial executive orders.

Six months into the new presidency, it appears Trump has settled on Cross Century pens that are black with gold trim. These are the iconic skinny pens most associated with the Cross brand. Trump appears to use the rollerball version with felt-tipped refills.

Although most of these pens are made in China, Cross is still considered one of the few remaining truly American pen brands. Now that Cross also owns the iconic Sheaffer brand, I had wondered if we might see Sheaffers in the White House.

What Pen Does Robert De Niro Use?

By on October 14, 2015
2 Replies

I have reached a state of predictability. While out on a date with my girlfriend to see “The Intern,” a pen-and-pencil set flashed across the screen.

Without missing a beat, she turned to me with a whispered question, “So, what type of pens were those?”

“Cross Centuries, my dear.”

For those who aren’t familiar with it, “The Intern” is a feel-good comedy about a retired executive who takes on a “senior” internship with a hot start-up dot com. Robert De Niro stars as the title character to Anne Hathaway’s fashion retail start-up. Both actors are lots of fun to watch in this tightly written script. The jokes gently run both ways while poking fun at the generations: Baby Boom, X and Y.

Here is an example of the Cross Century ballpoint pen used by Robert De Niro in "The Intern." It has a chrome finish with gold trim.

Here is an example of the Cross Century ballpoint pen used by Robert De Niro in “The Intern.” It has a chrome finish with gold trim.


The Cross Century pen and pencil make their first appearance in the montage of Robert De Niro settling into his new office space with an “old-fashioned” physical clock, attaché case, traditional office supplies and his pen-and-pencil set in a leather case. The Cross instruments were chrome models with gold trim. It is interesting that Mont Blanc didn’t jump on the merchandising bandwagon, but the Cross Century really came into prominence in the 1970s and ’80s–the era from which the film most tries to paint De Niro as a dinosaur.

Yet, the suit-wearing De Niro stands in appealingly sharp contrast to his bearded, unkempt, T-shirt-wearing Gen Y cohorts whose desks are festooned with toys. Cue the standard jokes about Generation Y’s inability to grow up and Baby Boomer’s inability to adapt to technology. Once those are out of the way, the movie really takes heart as both generations learn from each other and help one another navigate life.

It’s a fun movie and definitely a thumbs up.