Happy anniversary, Graf von Faber-Castell!

The new Elemento collection from Graf von Faber-Castell was created in honor of the company's 250th anniversary. It uses cross-grain cut olive wood inlaid on the barrel--six individual pieces, or "elements." The wood is lacquered and hand polished several times to achieve a gorgeous finish and to bring out the interesting grain of the wood; the cap and trim are in silver. Wood is also used on the end caps of the various modes: fountain pen (with 18-karat gold bi-color nib in fine, medium and broad sizes), rollerball, ballpoint and multi-purpose pen.  Each comes in a wood presentation case. The fountain pen is priced at $1,495; the rollerball, $995; and ballpoint, $895. The multi-purpose pen is available with the set of four pens, priced at $4,195. A set of two pens, fountain pen and ballpoint, is also available and priced at $2,295. Well done, and happy anniversary to you!