There is a village, not far away from Berlin, Germany, hosting a royal palace surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Place of culture and fine arts, this fairy-tale palace has been honored by Graf von Faber-Castell with a series of dedicated pens.
They have now been awarded “Pen of the Year” 2015: the Sanssouci Potsdam series is now available at Giardino Italiano.
“A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in”
King Frederik the Great
Potsdam, the rival of Versailles
Once upon a time, in Germany, King Frederik the Great of Prussia used to spend his summers at Sanssouci Palace, in Potsdam. Known as one of the finest examples of Rococo art, with its temples and follies in the park, Sanssouci palace is considered to be a worthy rival of its French counterpart, Versailles.
A place for lightheartedness
The palace was designed and built between 1745 and 1747 as a private residence for King Frederik the Great, to allow him some rest from the pompous ménage of the court in Berlin. The palace name itself, sans souci, is the French for “no worries”, highlighting the nature of relaxation and lightheartedness for which it was created.
An indissoluble tie
Frederik’s influence on the design of his dream-like palace was so great that its style is often identified as “Frederician Rococo”.
King Frederik now rests in a tomb overlooking the gardens, guarding his palace. The entire site became a World Heritage Site in 1990 under the protection of UNESCO.
Sanssouci Potsdam by Faber-Castell
The fascinating architecture of Sanssouci Palace inspired the design of the pen bearing its name. Inserts of precious Silesian stones, especially serpentinite, immediately stand out in its line. In fact, this gem gives each pen a unique color between the shades of apple green and emerald green. In the past, the King himself would go to the mines to personally choose the stones for his palace.
Faber-Castell’s pens use prestigious stones by Herbert Stephan and the stone-cutting fine expertise of Idar-Oberstein. In fact, Sanssouci Potsdam’s platinum barrel and cap are decorated with four Silesian serpentinite and Russian smoky quartz.
Gold or Platinum for a precious gift
Sanssouci Potsdam Pen or the Year 2015 is available in two different versions: platinum-plated or golden-plated, both as a fountain pen or a roller pen.
Both versions of the fountain pen feature a hand-finished 18k bi-color golden nib. The end of the barrel protects the twist button for the piston.
Each pen is numbered and comes with a black lacquered wooden box that can also be used as a case for other pens and as a writing desk. Furthermore, the box contains a certificate of authenticity by master artisan Herbert Stephan from the gemological laboratory, which confirms the authenticity of the stones.
Where you can find it
With the lightheartedness of its style, the solidity of its design and such an elegant line, Sanssouci Potsdam is both a precise and powerful writing tool and a rare jewel: it’s the answer to the issue of the ‘leaking crown’ in King Frederik’s pragmatic yet artistic style.
You can now have this exquisite pen from Giardino Italiano, the Italian expert in fine curios from all over the world.
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