S.T. Dupont Classique Ballpoint — Black Lacquer & Gold

The S.T. Dupont Classique Ballpoint in Black Lacquer & Gold is the ballpoint for the partner who signs everything and fills nothing — solid brass under black lacquer with gold finish, an articulated clip in the same lacquer, made in the maison's workshops at Faverges. It is the pen for the signature page, the engagement letter and the card that goes with the gift, and it never asks for a bottle. Lacquer over brass is the argument. The rest is a refill.

The Classique is S.T. Dupont's revival of a design from the 1970s, reworked, the maison says, to be unisex and more ergonomic; S.T. Dupont also says the original was created for Jackie Kennedy, and that is the maison's story to tell. What is in the hand is brass for weight, lacquer for the surface, gold finish for the trim, and Dupont's mini ballpoint refill inside. The same body can be converted to a mechanical pencil with Dupont's mechanism part 408811, which is the kind of detail a maison includes when it expects the pen to be kept.

Specifications

• Maker: S.T. Dupont
• Origin: Faverges, Haute-Savoie, France
• Model: Classique ballpoint
• Body: Solid brass
• Finish: Black lacquer with gold finish
• Clip: Articulated clip in black lacquer
• Refill: Dupont mini ballpoint refill, 040770 blue or 040771 black
• Conversion: Mechanical-pencil mechanism available from the maker, part 408811
• Warranty: Two years from S.T. Dupont, plus our Thirty-Day Assurance

Exhibit B — The maker's film

Two minutes thirty-seven, shot in the Faverges workshop, captions theirs. The lacquer goes on at 0:54, and it is the reason this pen is on the site. It is the last item in the gallery above.

Questions we are asked

Which refill does it take? S.T. Dupont's mini ballpoint refill — 040770 in blue, 040771 in black. It is the maison's own format, so buy the Dupont refill by number.

Does it write on carbonless forms? Yes. A ballpoint presses, and pressing is what makes the copy on a multi-part form.

Is it a gift for a new partner? It is the pen for the partner who signs and does not fill: lacquer over brass, one D on the cap top, no bottle to keep and no nib to learn. We do not engrave it, so it arrives as the maison finished it.

Can it become a pencil? Yes. S.T. Dupont makes a mechanical-pencil mechanism, part 408811, that fits this body.

Fountain, rollerball, or ballpoint — which one signs? Read Fountain, Rollerball, or Ballpoint?

Built for the one you don't hand across the desk. The one you do is the Estie Ballpoint in Ebony — acrylic, lower in price, and the right pen for that job. The German twist-action alternative is the Souverän K800.

See the rest of our ballpoint pens for lawyers, or the full Writing Instruments collection.

Barrister & Bespoke Curated Collection — hand-selected from S.T. Dupont, the Paris maison that has made leather cases since 1872 and lighters since 1941, for its craftsmanship and fit within our world. Curated pieces carry their maker's own identity rather than ours; our house collection, designed and branded exclusively for Barrister & Bespoke, is marked separately throughout the shop.

Why we carry it. S.T. Dupont began where we did. Simon Tissot-Dupont opened a Paris workshop in 1872 making document cases, briefcases, and travel trunks for diplomats and businessmen — objects whose quality lived in hinges, locks, frames, and fittings. The lighter, four decades on, was the same discipline applied to a smaller object. The workshop has been at Faverges in the Haute-Savoie since 1924, took in its first master lacquerer in 1935, and holds the French state's Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant designation for living heritage craft. We sell leather cases for a living. So did they, first.

Warranty. This Product carries S.T. Dupont's two-year warranty against manufacturing defects, and Barrister & Bespoke's own Thirty-Day Assurance for the first thirty days after delivery. Full terms, including how to make a claim, are stated in our Warranty Policy.