Writing utensils

Fountain pens and mechanical pencils ideally illustrate technical advances in the smallest of spaces. The development of refillable pencils by the Caran d’Ache firm around 1920 drew on the expertise of the watch industry in French-speaking Switzerland. Pens produced by Parker, Lamy, and Pelikan are also branded products that reflect their maker’s corporate design and set new trends. Illustrious designers such as Raymond Loewy, Ettore Sottsass, and Hannes Wettstein have also designed writing instruments.