Meet the brand: Caran d’Ache

Throughout its history, Caran d’Ache has continually made pens to the highest standards. The brand produces a wide range of products including fountain pens, rollerball, and ballpoint pens, pen cases, and mechanical pencils across its collections.

The history of Caran d’Ache

Caran d’Ache is a family business founded in Geneva in 1915 and holds the values of ‘Swiss Made excellence’ very close to its heart. The brand name takes its root from the Russian word for pencil, which is ‘’karandarsh’’.

For over 100 years, Caran d’Ache has become internationally renowned for the sophistication of its products. In Switzerland, most schools use Caran d’Ache instruments, which led to the brand offering educational workshops for teachers to develop and inspire creativity. Each year, over 2,000 teachers take part in these sessions.

The design of each writing instrument is from a highly talented group of passionate craftspeople in the Geneva workshop. Due to the dedication and quality instilled in every piece, Caran d’Ache is proud to work with famous designers, such as Paul Smith and India Mahdavi. What’s more, the brand is also known for supporting young illustrators and artists who bring their creativity to products.

Caran d’Ache and the environment

The brand is particularly admired for its commitments to long-term causes such as sustainable development and social responsibility. Caran d’Ache has taken multiple steps to protect the environment in many ways.

One example of this is when Caran d’Ache set up a recycled water circuit with a capacity of 145 m³ per day, which helps the company reduce water consumption by 20% (equivalent to potential clean water savings of 30 million litres per year).

Another example is Caran d’Ache using sustainable materials throughout its production process. By making pencils from cedar wood that comes exclusively from FSC-certified plantations, this ensures a neutral carbon balance.

Some of the Caran d’Ache products may look a bit unfamiliar, but this is just part of their innovative strategy and approach to the stationary world. The Caran d’Ache 849 Nespresso Ballpoint Pen is the result of an ecologically sound collaboration between Caran d’Ache and Nespresso.

The aim of the collaboration was to give a new life to post-consumer recycled materials. Nespresso capsules are collected throughout Switzerland and then sent to Moudon, where the coffee element is separated, and the capsules are cleaned. The remaining coffee is converted into natural fertiliser, and the aluminium is melted down, to help create the pen.

Range of products

Caran d’Ache has an extensive range of products, which leaves you with the envious task of choosing just which pen or pencil you would like to buy.

If you are looking to get someone a gift, the Caran d’Ache 849 Gift Line Ballpoint Pen has a stylish and modern design. If you want to add an extra personal touch, engraving is available on this product.

For a unique writing instrument, the Caran d’Ache Varius Silas Ballpoint Pen produces a kaleidoscope reflection that ranges from blue to grey. Due to the highly polished metal parts of the pen, a fascinating mirror effect is created.

To conclude, an extremely popular instrument from the Caran d’Ache brand is the Year Of The Dog Fountain Pen. This luxurious pen celebrates the eleventh position in the Chinese Zodiac and includes exceptional artistic detail. The glossy black lacquer is combined with gold-plated accents, which creates a striking illustration across the barrel and cap.