  1991- |
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By 1992 the line had the following designs:
• Sterling silver cicelé, dimonite g trim • 23k gold plated grain d’orange •Silver plated grain d’orange, 14 k dimonite trim •14k Fileté. Dimonite G barrel and trim. Fileté pattern •Dimonite Z. Gunmetal grey Diminite Z cap, barrel and trim. Fileté pattern •Laque black w 14k Dimonite G trim •Matte black epoxy coated w 14 k Dimonite G trim •Stainless steel GT Dimonite G trim •Stainless steel CT cpt
By 1994 the Athenes was discontinued while three new finishes were offered: • Laque topaz
By 1997 the laque pens were replaced by costum pens with laquered barrels and 14k dimonite G gold plated caps. The Black laquered pen was offered in both the laquered and a gold plated cap versions. Although they are not depicted in the catalogue costum fountain pens were also produced. • Custom Black
In 1998 the blue, burgundy and green costum pens were replaced by intricate laquered designs, not unlike the thrift time pens of the 1930's. There was also a fountain pen offered in these three designs, along with the costum version, the only Insignia fountain pens made. Very attractive and and very collectible.
In 2001 the gold plated grain d’orange was discontinued aswell as the three laquered finishes. The word "Dimonite" was dropped from the fileté gold pen and in the 2003 catalogue all Dimonite references had disappeared. The Dimonite z was renamed Gunmetal Fileté. The 2005 setup: •Laque black with stainless steel cap
In 2007 the very attractive chiselled Perlé was introduced
The Insignia continues to sell well and it's still being produced (2007). Special thanks to Mike Cameron |
he 1970's and 1980's had been tough decades for Parker. There wasn't much buzz around high class fountain pens and for many years Parker relied heavily on the famed Parker 75 as their top selling item. Of course there were other pens offered during this period. The famed T1, a very collectible pen made in titanium, but this proved too hard and expensive to manufacture and didn't really catch the public eye either. The Parker 180 with a new style, double sided pointed nib is also very collectible but this didn't bring home much bacon either. The Premier was very much an upscaled Parker 75 and of course the low end Vector, which eventually became one of Parkers long survivors. 
n 1979, Kenneth Parker, the last son of the founder George, died. Kenneth had been a true inspiration for the company. He had been the one who persuaded his father to listen to Lewis Tebbel when he proposed the Duofold line in the 1920's. Kenneth was the driving force behind both the Vacumatic and the Parker 51, and he also helped design the Parker 75. Within six years of his death the Parker factory in Janesville was sold to its subsidairy in Newhaven, UK and by 1993 the company was in turn sold to Gillette who, in 2000, shut down the old Geo. S. Parker Arrow Park factory in Janesville, Wisconsin and had 300 workers laid off. Which in fact ended the Parker as an American pen brand.
s for ball pens and roller balls Parker relied heavily during the 1980's on the Jotter for the low end market and the Classic as a top end pen. By the 1990's Parker needed to revitalize the $10 to $100 gift market and commissioned Hollington Associates in London to design a completely new ball pen and pencil. The Insignia was introduced in 1991. The principle designer of the pen being Geoff Hollington (who went on to design the Sonnet in 1994 and award winning Parker 100, inspired by a jet engine, in 2004.) The new line was marketed as a precision-crafted, high-performance writing instrument based on an ergonomic design. As a top-line Parker it qualified to bear the Sterling Silver Cicelé pattern that Kenneth Parker once "borrowed" from a cigarette case in the early 1960's, made by a London silversmith, and used on the Parker 75.
arker boasted 5,5 km of skip free writing for the ball pen that worked with a twist action. The pencil had a new two stage button action continous feed with a retracting tube ment to prevent the pencil from getting stuck in the pocket.
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