Yard-O-Led x The Ian Fleming Estate Casino Royale Limited edition

YARD-O-LED and the Ian Fleming Estate are proud to collaborate on a limited edition luxury writing set celebrating Casino Royale, the first James Bond novel. British craftsmanship meets one of literature’s most iconic creations in a set which contains YARD-O-LED’s new time-telling writing instrument, directly inspired by the author’s famously punctual approach to writing.

At the heart of the collection is a remarkable sterling silver writing instrument with a built in timepiece. What could be more appropriate for such a routine orientated wordsmith, than an elegant silver writing instrument, with a built in timepiece that he could have checked without his flow being interrupted?

With Casino Royale as the logical starting point, the creative team looked back in the extensive YARD-O-LED archives and discovered a pencil pen from the 1920s that incorporated a miniature clock. The idea was on its way.

Yard-O-Led artisan craftsmen created the exquisite handmade 11mm diameter silver dial using traditional engine turning techniques, the sterling silver contrasting with blued steel hands for instant legibility. To maintain each pen’s elegance, a traditional crown has been eschewed in favour of a specially developed lateral corrector – one of the smallest ever made – that advances the hands electronically.

The edition will be limited to 253 fountain pens, reflecting the original publication date of Casino Royale on 13 April 1953.

Also included are an exclusive new collector’s edition of the 1953 novel, a set of unique Ian Fleming playing cards, a leather pen case, and just to evoke a frisson of 007-style tension, there’s also a bottle of blood red ink that releases a realistic smell of gun smoke as it flows onto the page.

Sterling silver was selected and the team manually engine turned 72 pinstripes onto the hallmarked cap and barrel to honour Fleming’s sartorial pinstripe tailoring. The sterling silver grip has been meticulously engraved with a set of jacks, spades, hearts and clubs symbols, referencing the theme of Casino Royale.

The base is finished with an inlaid gold Jamaican doctor bird, the symbol of Ian Fleming who described them as the “most beautiful bird in Jamaica, and some say the most beautiful bird in the world” in For Your Eyes Only. An 18 carat white gold nib completes the design of the fountain pen model.

Fountain pen available with n° 53