Cross Peerless

The Cross Peerless blends two icons from Cross history, the original 1889 Peerless and the 1935 Century. Sitting at the top of the Cross lineup, the Cross Peerless features a wide, comfortable body with lacquered or gold-plated finishes plus a Swarovski crystal set into the cap top. The Cross Peerless fountain pen is fitted with a solid 18kt gold nib in fine or medium, finished to match the trim, so it feels as special on paper as it looks on your desk. It is the kind of pen you choose when the writing instrument needs to celebrate a milestone, land as a memorable gift, or become your daily companion for the next twenty years.

The Cross Peerless is the 2015 relaunch of Cross's original 1889 Peerless fountain pen, redesigned as a wide-bodied modern writing instrument to mark Cross's 125th anniversary. It comes in three formats (fountain pen, rollerball, and ballpoint) and three core finishes (Obsidian Black Lacquer, Translucent Quartz Blue, and 23KT Heavy Gold Plated), with a Swarovski crystal set into the conical cap top across the line.

You should choose the fountain pen for the most expressive writing experience, with a solid 18kt gold nib. Choose the Cross Peerless rollerball if you want a wetter, smoother line than a ballpoint without the upkeep a fountain pen requires, and the Cross Peerless ballpoint if you want a no-maintenance pen ready to use on demand. All three share the same wide-bodied profile and substantial feel in the hand, so the real difference shows up once the pen touches paper.

The Cross Peerless fountain pen has a solid 18kt gold nib, available in fine or medium. The nib's surface finish is matched to the trim of each model: rhodium-silver on the Quartz Blue, platinum on the Obsidian Black, and gold on the 23KT Heavy Gold Plated. The fountain pen uses a Cross proprietary cartridge-converter filling system, with both included in the box.

You should pick a fine nib size if you prefer a thinner line or write small, and medium if you want a noticeably wider, wetter line for signatures, journaling, or correspondence. Cross's 18kt gold nibs run slightly finer than typical Western nibs, so a writer used to a Western medium may find the Cross medium closer to a Western fine.

The Cross Peerless is the top tier of the Cross lineup and is priced accordingly. The fountain pen has a solid 18kt gold nib, the body is lacquer or gold-plate over engraved metal, every model has a Swarovski crystal in the cap top, and the whole line is backed by Cross's lifetime mechanical warranty.

The Peerless pen is comfortable for most writers, with a 13mm barrel, an 11.5mm grip section, and a 156mm posted length. The fountain pen weighs about 42.5 grams, noticeably heavier than slim Cross pens like the Century.

The Cross Peerless uses a different refill depending on the format: the fountain pen takes a Cross proprietary cartridge or converter (both included in the box), the rollerball takes a Cross Selectip rollerball refill, and the ballpoint takes a Cross ballpoint refill. All three refill types are available in the Cross refills collection.

The Cross Peerless is a good luxury gift, especially for graduations, retirements, anniversaries, and other milestone occasions. It ships in a Cross presentation gift box, can be engraved in-house at Goldspot with text, a signature, or a logo on the side cap panel, and is backed by Cross's lifetime mechanical warranty.

The Cross Peerless city editions are called Citizen, with three pens inspired by landmark architecture in Tokyo, London, and New York City. The Tokyo edition is finished in steely satin black with engraving drawn from the Skytree Tower. London is finished in 23KT gold plate with engraving inspired by the Gothic Revival detailing of the Elizabeth Tower. New York City is finished in platinum with Art Deco engraving inspired by the Chrysler Building. The Citizen series is available as rollerball and ballpoint models.