Everything You Need to Know About the Parker Jotter
Pictured here, from left to right, are the Stainless Steel with Gold Trim, Waterloo Blue, Kensington Red, Chelsea Orange, Stainless Steel, Portobello Purple, and Victoria Violet Parker Jotters.
Few pens around the world are as recognizable as the Parker Jotter. Sleek and stylish, the Jotters are an affordable pen that adds a bit of class to any pen case. Jotters have a long history and have been around for almost 65 years!
The model was introduced in 1954 and over 750 million models have been sold since then. In that time, the Jotter has been made in England, France, Australia, Brazil, West Germany, Peru, Columbia, Mexico, India, China, Argentina, and Canada. Yes, Canada! Funny enough, of all of the changes and redesigns the Jotter has gone through, the current model looks the most similar to the original 1954 make.
Parker, as a brand, is typically associated with the United Kingdom. Parker’s head office has jumped between the United States and England, and though manufacturing now happens in Nantes, France, the pen still has firm roots in the UK. The colours of the pens are even named after locations in London!
Since the beginning, Jotters have had a unique arrow clip. It’s a subtle accent that adds some personality to the pen. All of the pens have a satisfying click mechanism with a bit of feedback, so the sound and feel of getting ready to write is unmistakable! There are many different models of the Jotter, and the pen has been made with many different materials and in many different sizes.
Jotters are great pens to take on the go with you, and they’re great for both work and pleasure. Pictured here are the Portobello Purple, Stainless Steel, Kensington Red, and Waterloo Blue Jotters, as well as an A4 ClaireFontaine Age Bag Wirebound notebook and an A5 Laika Línea DIN notebook.
The current edition of the classic Jotter is made of shiny stainless steel. On most models, the back of the pen, including the click mechanism, is silver-coloured stainless steel, where the bodies of the pens are coloured. There are two models that are all stainless steel, if you prefer that look! On the XL Versions, the back sections are still the shiny stainless steel, but the coloured portions are a nice matte.
Like the vast majority of the pens we sell in the store, the Jotters are completely refillable. Jotters take a “Parker-style” cartridge, which is equivalent to a “standard international” in the fountain pen world. It should say something about how iconic this pen is that other brands have adapted its sizing! The branded Jotter refills are called Quinkflow, and they have been optimized for the smoothest possible writing experience. We currently carry them in black and blue, or you can try the Quink gel refills if you prefer your pens even smoother!
Today, the Jotters are still an iconic staple in many pen wraps. Because of their affordability and durability, they are great for travelling, taking in briefcases, and tossing into a purse. The Jotter now also comes in a fountain pen version with the same sleek body as the iconic ballpoint!
Do you have any great stories about the Jotter? Let us know in the comments, and happy writing!