British company Yard O Led is preserving the time-honoured craft of pen making for the next generation.
As technology fatigue continues to grow in this digital age, the art of handwriting is coming back into fashion. Just as a watch is redundant for timekeeping to those with a phone, a quality pen holds an unspoken power that transcends practicality. A quality fountain pen remains the gift of choice for business leaders – a statement of a job well done – while a hand-written letter bears greater impact than an email. It’s for these reasons that Yard O Led is preserving the art of British pen making.
When it comes to craftsmanship, Britain has dominated the world’s production of fountain pens and nibs since the 19th century, when three quarters of the world’s pens were produced by some 300 nib makers, mostly in Birmingham. Today, Yard O Led is the only historic manufacturer left in the city’s Jewellery Quarter.
Dating back to 1822, Yard O Led is one of the world's oldest pen manufacturers. It’s revered for its luxurious, sterling silver writing instruments, which are hand made using the same techniques and machinery that the company has used for over 100 years. The brand, which sells just 2,000 writing instruments a year, is coveted and collected by people around the world. Its treasured pieces are often passed down between generations, lovingly restored at the workshop and protected by the brand’s lifetime guarantee.
A fresh challenge
Giles English, co-founder of Bremont Watch Company, joined Yard O Led in 2024 along with his business partner and brother Nick, with the aim of reinvigorating the historical brand and re-igniting the British pen business. "Nick and I have always liked pens. Our grandfather had a Yard O Led," Giles says. "When I came to the workshop, I completely fell in love with the history and the handmade craftsmanship. It’s a different level – it’s not just a pen, it’s a piece of jewellery."
"My involvement is about waving the flag for craftsmanship that has been dying off in the UK, especially in Birmingham," he says. "Whether it's a beautiful watch, a beautiful boat or a beautiful pen, when you come across a beautifully made product that lasts forever, it's just so lovely. When the craftsmanship behind it is lost and those machines are chucked out, it never comes back, so you've got to keep these things going.”
Expert craftspeople with decades of experience use machines and engine turners that are hundreds of years old. There is no electricity involved and all the polishing, finishing, soldering, and so on, is done by hand. "There are 5,000 hits of a chisel to do a chasing on one of our pens," says Giles. "It is an amazing handcraft.”
In an age of consumerism where plastic is king, Giles hopes to highlight the benefits of investing in quality silver writing instruments. "Two billion plastic pens are thrown away each year. Plastic cracks over time and doesn't survive, whereas silver lives on and on. As a material, silver has gone up 50% in the last six months. It's almost like gold now in terms of its growth, and we have lifetime warranties on our pens and pencils.”
ICONIC CRAFTSMANSHIP
One of the company’s most iconic writing instruments is the Diplomat, the first ever propelling pencil which Yard O Led invented in 1822. "We invented this pencil that could fit a yard of lead within it," Giles says. "It has become our classic pencil, and we are still using the identical mechanism today.”
More recently, Yard O Led has relaunched the archive model of its famous ‘Deco 34’ pencil, originally sold in 1930 and made famous after saving the life of Lt Leslie March in 1942. "Lt Leslie March was given a gold Yard O Led pencil for his 18th and he took it with him when he went off to World War Two. When he got shot, his pencil was in his pocket over his heart and it took the full force of the bullet," Giles says. "We have the original in our museum.”
The limited-edition model is identical to the original – including its unusual square body and distinctive pattern and ball clip – and limited to 734 sterling silver and 734 gold vermeil editions – the number of Lt March’s dog tag.
In 2024, the writing instrument market was valued at $18.44 billion and is forecast to rise 4.4% over the next six years, and Yard O Led is set to be at the frontline of the revolution. "The pen market feels like the watch market was 30 years ago," says English. "It’s an amazing area and craft." For more information visit: yard-o-led.com
