Inspiration

The edition takes inspiration from both the popular novel and Ian Fleming’s life, featuring a detail closely tied to the author’s daily writing routine. Fleming was known for sticking to a strict writing schedule while working on the James Bond novels. Rumour has it that he followed a four-hour daily writing routine, allowing him to complete the first draft of Casino Royale in just four weeks. While exploring its archives, Yard-O-Led came across a pencil pen from the 1920s fitted with a miniature clock and drew inspiration from the idea, using the timepiece as a subtle reference to Fleming’s punctuality and writing routine.

Design & Materials

The writing instrument is crafted from sterling silver and sports an integrated 11 mm silver watch dial, made using traditional engine-turning techniques and paired with blued steel hands for clear legibility. To preserve the pen's clean overall design, Yard-o-Led replaced the conventional watch crown with a lateral corrector built into the pen that advances the hands electronically.

Fleming's preference for pinstripe tailoring is subtly illustrated across the cap and barrel, which are decorated with 72 manually engine-turned pinstripes. The sterling silver grip section of the pen is engraved with jacks and the four playing-card suits, linking the design back to the casino setting of the novel. At the base of the pen is an inlaid gold Jamaican doctor bird, a symbol closely associated with Fleming and his adopted home, Jamaica.

Writing Experience & Collectibility

The fountain pen version is fitted with an 18k white gold nib and is limited to 253 pieces worldwide, each presented as part of a collector's set. The edition is also offered as a rollerball pen, limited to 253 units. The number refers to the publication date of Casino Royale: 13 April 1953.

The box includes a new collector's edition of the 1953 novel, a set of Ian Fleming playing cards, a leather pen case, and a bottle of blood-red ink. To bring you a little closer to Fleming's world, the ink was developed to release a scent reminiscent of gunsmoke as it flows onto the paper.