Sunday, November 22, 2020

PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX

PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
Pen cases and pen storage boxes are at least equally big business as the pens we put in them. That makes sense, we want to protect our prized possessions after all... and in a stylish way too, if possible! 

So today we're looking at something I actually have never tried out: pen boxes! I got in touch with Breton (Absolute Breton), a luxury and custom leather goods maker from Spain, up until recently perhaps one of the more obscure brands on the scene, but they seem to be slowly gaining traction within the community especially for their leather 'Travel' pen cases.

We're not looking at the Travel pen cases today though, instead Breton sent over the 11-pen box with glass lid (their products don't seem to have actual names). I was actually surprised because I didn't know Breton also made pen boxes like this. In fact, it seems that I didn't know much about the brand at all. If you have some time to peruse their website, I'd definitely urge you to do so. Breton is known in the industry for their custom work on yacht interiors and upholstery of suitcases to accommodate everything from watch or pen collections, to entire minibars. They even make custom safes for watches and pens, fully upholstered in leather, of course! 

So yeah, we're talking really high-end products here, and serious eye candy, to say the least! But anyway, back to the pen box, because there's quite a lot to talk about... 

PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
I'm all too often put off by pen boxes due to their often gaudy, ornamental, and very classic designs, which doesn't fit my personal style at all. This had me a bit worried about the design of Breton's pen box, because I tend to associate their brand with a fairly classic look and styling. The Breton pen box managed to change my opinion, though, with a pleasantly modern design. 

It's a nice, straightforward rectangular design, unadorned from all sides and covered entirely in leather. Of course with a glass window in the lid that takes up almost the entire top of the case for a more or less unobstructed view of the pens inside.
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
The box has no handle to open the lid, so on both sides of the case, you'll find oval indentations through which you can lift the lid. I like this solution because it means there are no knobs or handles sticking out from the case, and no metal hardware is visible for a clean and simple look.

The style of leather further aids in providing the Breton pen box with a modern appearance - although of course you can choose from a selection of leather types and colors when you order from them directly (for example with crocodile leather, you'd clearly step away from the modern appearance of the finish I tested!) Unfortunately, I have no idea what the exact name or specification is of this leather, but it's some kind of perforated, black leather. All I can say is that it's very soft to the touch, and it looks modern - which fits the overall design of the box. The perforated leather reminds me of steering wheels in luxury sports cars, which is quite cool. The inside of the box is finished in light grey microfiber material, giving an overall muted color scheme.
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
It's subtle, but the pen box is angled about 5 degrees towards you, because of two sturdy metal feet at the back. The feet are rounded, so I don't expect them to damage the surface you put the box on, but I would've preferred if they were rubberized to keep the box from sliding. Because the box does like to slide around a bit, especially since it's surprisingly lightweight without any pens in it (with 11 pens inside, the case becomes rather heavy, of course!). Some high-end pen boxes feel weightier, which might be associated with quality, but I honestly have no complaints in terms of build quality so I think it would be unfair to make the same association here. 
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
In fact, I'd say the build quality is downright excellent. The leather on the outside is neatly applied (the perforated pattern doesn't show any stretching or warping anywhere), corners are nicely tucked in, and no seams or unfinished edges are visible. The bottom of the case is finished with a durable fabric to prevent wear. 
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
If I'm being very picky, maybe one area where I do think they were a bit too fanatic (if that's even possible?) about the finishing, is in covering up the lid hinge. This strip of leather covering the hinge, overlaps on the top of the lid, causing a slightly bulkier finish and more seams than necessary. In my opinion, having the hinge visible wouldn't distract from the overall clean aesthetics of the case. 
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
Talking about the hinge, it's probably my favorite feature of the Breton pen box! It's incredibly well-adjusted to the weight of the case and requires just the right amount of force to neatly lift it open without having to brace the rest of the box. You can literally open it with a single finger, and the hinge is nicely dampened, so even when you let it fall closed, it shuts relatively quietly. The lid only opens to less than a 90-degree angle. It would've been nice if it opened up a bit further to give more unobstructed access to the pens inside. It's not really a dealbreaker though.
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
L to R: Wahl-Eversharp Decoband, Scribo Feel, ASC Bologna Extra, Pelikan M1005, Montblanc 149, Leonardo MZ Grande, Conid Kingsize, Lamy Safari, Lamy 2000
The entire 11-pen box (other sizes are also available) measures 26cm/ 10.2" by 18 cm/ 7.1", and is about 5cm/ 2" deep at the highest point. To give some perspective, Visconti's - now discontinued - Dreamtouch 11-pen case isn't much smaller, measuring 26.5cm/ 10.4" by 16.5cm/ 6.5" by 3.5cm/ 1.4".  So the Breton pen box manages to be quite compact and doesn't take up too much space on your desk.

On the inside of the Breton 11-pen box, you'll find a rather interesting layout for the pen slots, which don't cover the interior top to bottom. The pen slots only run up until about two cm from the top of the case, where a horizontal 'channel' cutout interrupts the pen slots. I assume the design is meant to provide easier access to taking out the pen by the cap, but the functionality of this design quirk depends quite strongly on how large the pens are.

The slots of the Breton box are wide (pens up to 21mm/ 0.83"), and every square inch of the interior is lined with an incredibly plush and soft microfiber material. The slots are concave too, not just flat, so your pens can be neatly aligned and will stay that way. Larger pens have ample space, even going into really oversized territory. Up until 16cm/ 6.3" long pens - effectively the size of the ASC Bologna Extra pictured above - will fit... but barely! Ideally, you'd want to stay below that 16cm threshold, because it just looks a bit weird when it's squeezed in there like that. 
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX
The Breton 11-pen display box made me look at pen boxes differently, I have to say. I've always been a bit wary of them and used to prefer pen cases for their more versatile (read: portable) nature. But there's a certain elegance of having your pens displayed on your desk, and especially a smaller box like this is not too terrible in terms of the space it takes up on your desk. In fact, there's also 3- and 6-pen variants available in this design, which may be even more appropriate if you just want to keep a couple daily carry pens on your desk. Particularly the modern looks of the Breton pen box appeal to me, especially since so many brands (from budget to extremely high-end) stick to a very classical styling that just doesn't' resonate with me.

Given Breton's luxury status, I expected a price tag to match, so I was pleasantly surprised by this 11-pen box's price point. While 271€ is arguably still a lot of money for a case that only holds 11 pens, it can certainly be a lot worse when looking at other high-end brands like Agresti or Ladon, which are easily double the price for a similar setup. Breton's website offers these pen boxes in different sizes (up to 34 pens - 491€), with a variety of leather options to choose from. But of course, you can always inquire about a fully bespoke design (although you might have to dig a bit deeper into your wallet for that!).

This product was sent to me by Breton, so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.
PEN CASE REVIEW: ABSOLUTE BRETON PEN DISPLAY BOX

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