The Parker 45 Insignia was introduced, in the U.S.A, around 1967 but was redesigned and made in France from the early 1970s. The French pens don't have a 'tail' to the barrel but the barrel is elongated to a fine taper with a black terminal end 'jewel'. the vast majority are fitted with 14Ct. gold nibs but very rarely one turns up with an 18Ct. nib, such as on this pen.
Constructed in rolled Gold engraved with groups if fine longitudinal lines, it is a strikingly attractive pen with a good solid feel. At the very top of the Parker 45 range, this version of the 45 was substantially more expensive than the standard pen and was only sold in limited numbers,
The pen is in excellent, ding free condition and is supplied with the original Parker ink converter and a new ink cartridge so it is ready to write in either configuration.
It has very little sign of use and no restoration was needed, although I did remove the nib to confirm the nib is , in fact, 18Ct. as shown in the photograph. It is an absolute pleasure to use, delivering a super smooth medium line, it has the pleasing 'soft' feel of a top quality nib.
the Parker 45 Insignia is not easy to find in such great condition and the French 18Ct. nibbed version is quite a rarity and highly collectable.