Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter 2007-2017

by Jim Mamoulides, January 7, 2007, updated April 24, 2023

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter 2007

A Trip to the Mighty Giant Planet

Classic Pens, co-founded in England in 1987 by avid pen collectors Andreas Lambrou and Keith G. Brown, is best known for its limited edition pens, customizations of many flagship models of leading pen makers. The first Classic Pens series was the CP Collection, launched in 1990 with the Classic Pens CP1, a specially engraved and packaged sterling silver Sheaffer Targa. The Targa, itself launched in 1976, is a modern era classic.

In 2005, Classic Pens began development of its own lines of pen models. Andreas Lambrou worked with well-known artist, silversmith, and designer Paul Rossi to design and prototype the new pens, the first of which was a large size handcrafted 5 3/4 inch long capped cigar shaped pen with a 5/16 inch wide cap band, a cravat shaped clip, and an 18 karat gold Peter Bock nib. By the end of 2006 the new model, given the name Legend, was ready for production, including both an international cartridge / converter fountain pen and a capped rollerball/ballpen that used Parker ballpoint ink cartridges. The LB3 Jupiter series, released in May 2007, was one of the first pens using this design. The new pen also marked the twentieth anniversary of Classic Pens.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter rollerball/ballpoint pen 2007

How the Pens Were Created

The Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter cap, barrel and section were individually crafted by Paul Rossi using Space Blue color multi-layer diffusion bonded acrylic developed and produced in England by Carville Limited of Dorking, Surrey, United Kingdom. The finished Space Blue material was exclusively made for Classic Pens. The manufacturing process began with taking thin sheets of the acrylic and stacking them on top of one another, then joining them together using Carville’s diffusion bonding process, a combination of heat, pressure, and time, that bonds the sheets at the molecular level without the use of any adhesives and creates a finished material that is essentially the same as a solid, strong and highly stable block that can then be cut and shaped as normal pen rod blanks. The acrylic sheet colors were chosen from samples sourced from Du Vergier Plastics in London and the final selections were sent to Carville to be processed.

Paul Rossi and Andreas Lambrou collaborated to create the design for the inlay work on each pen including the planet Jupiter, its four primary moons, three constellations, and background stars and Paul then worked out the practical aspects of applying the inlay design to the production pens. The Space Blue acrylic represents the night sky background. Once Paul completed the main pen components, the cap, barrel, and section, he then made the acrylic, gold, and sterling silver inlay pieces and finally inlayed them into the shaped caps and barrels.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter 2007 cap and nib detail

The planet Jupiter is represented by a round plug made from Flame Red diffusion bonded acrylic and the Great Red Spot, an enormous storm system in Jupiter’s cloud cover, is made from white acrylic. Why Andreas and Paul decided to represent Jupiter in reverse color is a mystery and this was updated to more correct color on a later version of the pen, discussed below. Jupiter’s four brightest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are made from white or blue acrylic plugs and are shown orbiting Jupiter. There are twenty-one stars made from 18 karat gold wire, inlaid in three constellation formations, with seven stars each formation. On the cap, on either side of the clip, the design shows the Big Bear, Ursa Major and the Little Bear, Ursa Minor constellations. On the barrel the stars represent the constellation Orion. Finally, smaller stars made from sterling silver wire are inlaid artistically on the cap and barrel to compliment the design.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter 2007

Paul said it took ten hours to complete each inlay design. The completed caps, barrels and sections were then highly polished and inspected for assembly. The final steps would be attaching the cap band, clip and nib and feed unit.

The palladium plated 5/16 inch wide cap band covers the cap lip and is laser engraved with the Classic logo on the front face, the LB3 Jupiter edition name, and the edition number clockwise around the band, flanked by a single decorative line cut at the top and bottom. There are two palladium plated 1/8 inch trim pieces, one on the barrel end and one making the washer for the clip. Only one hundred of these hand crafted pens were planned for production, each with its own unique edition number laser engraved on the cap band.

About Paul Rossi

Paul Rossi began to make things at a very early age, in his native Switzerland. As a teenager, he chose to acquire the finest writing instrument he could afford at the local stationery store, an inspiration for his later work with pens. He is known for his high standards of quality and craftsmanship. Today, his handcrafted pens are admired and sought by collectors throughout the world. Andreas Lambrou and Paul Rossi enjoyed a long working relationship. In 1997, Paul created two unique silver overlay designs using the Parker Duofold Centennial and later, he and Andreas Lambrou collaborated on the further development of Paul’s sterling silver overlay designs for a Classic Pens edition. The first pens were five unique sterling silver overlay designs on the Parker Duofold Centennial and were shown at the Los Angeles Show in February 2001. Paul made ten pieces of each design.

How the Pens Were Prototyped

The LB3 Jupiter had at least two prototyping phases. One was to decide on how the trim pieces would be made and the other was to decide on the base material for the cap, barrel, and section as it functions as the night sky background for the inlayed design.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter prototype with sterling silver clip and plain Peter Bock 18 karat gold nib

The first prototypes I saw and photographed were made of Space Blue diffusion bonded acrylic and looked very much like the final production pens except that the cravat style clip and cap band were handcrafted by Paul Rossi from sterling silver. The sterling silver clip was much heavier looking than the final production clip and was deemed too expensive for the target price point. The production cravat design clip was made using a less expensive stamped and plated brass process. Likewise, the sterling silver cap band was replaced by a plated brass one.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter prototype with sterling silver clip and inlay parts

I took this shot of an early prototype Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter pen showing the solid sterling silver clip, similar to those on the larger pens made by Paul Rossi. The final design decision was to use the same cravat clip and wide plated cap band intended for the LM1 with palladium plated trim to complement the Space Blue diffusion bonded cap and barrel material. The photo shows some of the actual inlay parts used by Paul Rossi to give a perspective on how deeply they would be inlaid into the cap and barrel.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter pens left to right:
Production rollerball/ballpoint pen, Indigo Fire prototype pen, and production fountain pen

There was a second prototype Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter pen made an acrylic they named “Indigo Fire.” I believe Indigo Fire and Space Blue were both prototyped early in the design process so that the final base material could be chosen. Only a few of these prototype pens were made and all the ones I saw have the standard cravat clip and cap band.

Identification Guide and Features

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter 2007

The purchaser would have the choice of fountain pen or rollerball/ballpoint front ends. The fountain pens were offered with 18 karat gold, two tone nibs in a choice of fine, medium, broad, and broad italic, stamped with the Classic Pens logo. The pens were not all made at once and at least once during production the cap and barrel shape were given a slight additional taper, so early and later pens will look slightly different. The original LB3 Jupiter was a 100 pen limited edition released in May 2007 for $1,495 and a matching rollerball/ballpoint pen was $1,395. Prices were raised a few years after introduction to $1,995 for the fountain pen and $1,795 for the rollerball/ballpoint pen.

• Production limited to 100 fountain pens
• Cap, barrel, and section individually crafted from diffusion bonded Space Blue acrylic rods
• Hand inlaid elements including Jupiter in Flame Red with a white plug for the Great Red Spot, three constellations inlaid as twenty one 18 karat solid gold stars and additional sterling silver stars
• Palladium plated cravat style clip/li>
• Palladium plated trim
• Laser engraved cap band with the Classic logo on the front face, the LB3 Jupiter edition name, and the edition number clockwise around the band
• Peter Bock 18 karat gold two-tone platinum masked nib with the new Classic logo stamped in the center
• Fine, medium, broad, and broad italic nib choices
• Cap unscrews
• International cartridge converter filling system
• 5 3/4 inches long capped, 6 3/4 inches long with the cap posted on the end of the barrel
• Blue gift box
• Retail price in 2007 was $1,495 and a matching rollerball/ballpoint pen was $1,395

Identification Guide and Features - Vermeil Trim Version

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter with vermeil trim 2017

An LB3 Jupiter Special Edition was offered in 2017. These pens were hand crafted by Paul Rossi with yellow gold plated sterling silver clips and curved cap bands. The clip is decorated with an engraved star field behind each of the four primary moons of Jupiter. The planet Jupiter is cut from Marble White diffusion bonded acrylic and has a Flame Red acrylic insert representing the Great Red Spot. Paul cut the plugs from the material to make the inlay resemble the cloud formation on Jupiter as much as possible. This change updated a puzzling feature of the original LB3 pens, which had reverse colors for Jupiter. The same three constellations and the other stars were all cut from gold wire to harmonize with the clip and trim.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter with vermeil trim 2017

The Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter with yellow gold vermeil trim was 5 ¾ inches long capped. Each pen has a Peter Bock 18 karat solid gold two tone nib. Retail price for these pens was $2,750.

• Unknown number of fountain pens made, probably only a few
• Cap, barrel, and section individually crafted from diffusion bonded Space Blue acrylic rods
• Hand inlaid elements including Jupiter in Marble White with a Flame Red plug for the Great Red Spot, three constellations inlaid as twenty one 18 karat solid gold stars and additional 18 karat solid gold stars
• Yellow gold plated sterling silver cravat style clip decorated with a star field behind each of the primary moons of Jupiter
• Gold plated trim
• Laser engraved cap band with the Classic logo on the front face, the LB3 Jupiter edition name, and the edition number clockwise around the band
• Peter Bock 18 karat gold two-tone platinum masked nib with the new Classic logo stamped in the center
• Fine, medium, broad, and broad italic nib choices
• Cap unscrews
• International cartridge converter filling system
• 5 3/4 inches long capped, 6 3/4 inches long with the cap posted on the end of the barrel
• Blue gift box
• Retail price in 2017 was $2,750

Performance

The LB3 was the first pen from Classic Pens based on the Legend design. It's large in size, measuring 5 3/4 inches capped and nearly 6 3/4 inches with the cap posted on the end of the barrel. The pen is plenty big enough to write with comfortably unposted, and I found this my favorite writing position. It's a cartridge / converter filler, and the converter is an especially nice Schmidt unit that works very smoothly.

Classic Pens LB3 Jupiter 2007

This is a space themed pen with a striking inlay design of Jupiter, its four primary moons, three constellations and a star field on shimmering Space Blue acrylic background. It’s very effective. The puzzler was the choice to do Jupiter in red and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot in white. For whatever reason this did not hinder sales of this pen at all, and I’ll have to admit when I first saw the gold trim version with a more color correct Jupiter inlay I found that pen to be the one that looked odd after seeing so many of the first pens.

The clip design gets its inspiration from the top mounted clip of the Soennecken 111 Superior, a highly prized and high quality German pen designed to compete with the large Montblanc piston fillers in the 1950s. The V shaped tip of the clip also became the key design element for the Classic Pens logo. The clip has enough spring to let the pen ride high and securely in the pocket. The cap thread is very fast and secure, and the wide look is quite attractive. The nib is a Peter Bock two-tone platinum masked 18 karat gold with the new Classic logo stamped in the center. The nib I tried was the medium, and it writes wet and even and has a nice spring to it.

This was the first of several space themed pens produced by Classic Pens working with Paul Rossi and probably the most well known and popular. They are top quality, very nice writers, and values have increased since first released.

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References

"Diffusion Bonding of Plastics" Carville Limited, website link