AIBU to think I will never get a refill for my (£620) pen?

[MelanieD29]

I have a few pens that I use, one of my favourite being my Chopard Brescia. The pen still sells on Chopard's website, but I am finding it hard to source refills for it.

www.chopard.com/en-gb/rollerball-pen/95013-0439.html

I'm in a bit of a panic now as I installed my last cartridge for it today. It writes lovely, but worried as have ran out of refills for it now. I normally use a Parker Duofold or Cross Townsend for day-to-day use, and my Brescia normally only comes out when signing important things (quite sentimental!).

Does anyone have ideas as to where I can source refills for the Brescia? I can't seem to see them for sale on Chopard's own website, and Selfridges didn't have any in stock when I visited recently.

Not the point of the thread but in terms of what jobs require writing in 2024, I work in marketing and take hand written notes all the time when I'm in a meeting with my team or on the phone or during a task. I don't need to keep them after I've actioned whatever it is so no sense in typing them up, it's quicker to write and have them there on the desk in front of me (and if it's something I do need to remember my memory for things I've handwritten is far stronger than for things I've typed).

I use a cross I got my 30th. My boss takes a lot of handwritten notes too and uses a lovely Mont Blanc.

I am jealous of your lovely pens OP! I'd also much rather spend on pens than handbags or shoes or a fancy car, if I had that kind of money!

I wonder if all the sneery reverse snobs act like that when they see people with expensive things in day to day life? Anytime someone drives a nice car, has a designer bag, watch? Perhaps it’s the anonymity of Mumsnet that makes people comfortable to take their jealousy out on those more fortunate. Can’t see them walking up to someone driving an Audi and say “hahaha they saw you coming! I’m using the bus!”

Well...if the Audi owner walked up to me and said 'I'm really struggling to find tyres for my car which I spent £75k on, can you help me?!' - then yes, I may well tell him that I thought he was crazy.

Im not jealous of either. Just mind boggled. As someone similarly disinterested in both posh cars and posh pens I really struggle to wrap my head around where these people feel the value is.

Wealth brag post I assume. Why else would you start this at 3 minutes to midnight on a Sunday, when you can get in touch with the manufacturer the following day - something you did say you intended to do 🤔🙄🤷‍♀️

“In case of the worst” 😂😂😂😂😂

Sell the stupid thing and give the proceeds to the homeless.
It'll spare you from laying awake at night worrying about getting refills.
Heart bleeds for you.

As an alternative, Bic do lovely pens.

Yes but they are sexist.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/aug/11/look-like-a-girl-think-like-a-man-bic-outrage-south-africa-womens-day

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lelalondon/2020/07/20/from-bic-for-her-to-bic-for-themhow-cancel-culture-got-bic-back-on-track/

It is compassionate if one is sensitive and mindful of their need to not cause others to feel inadequate. Yes, a reader ought to have boundaries about what stirs their feelings, but a poster also ought to not trigger others.

is this ok…

I don’t really see my dad a lot anymore once now and then in the last few years. I have a 9 year old and 10 month boys.
my dad - there grandad doesn’t come to their birthday or Christmas.
due to covid I fell out with dads partner over where we going at Christmas. I was left alone with just the one boy at the time.
lets call my dads partner Karen , she didn’t want us over.
there was rows on facebook.
I’ve had a baby and still nothing . No sorry etc .

now I’ve heard the sad news that Karen’s sister has passed away and the funeral is on Tuesday.

my sister is relaying texts from our dad to me, about times on the day where it is etc….

do I go?

organise a sitter / which is really difficult because everyone is at work.

I understand someone has died. And I’ve send flowers and my condolences to her husband.

am I being unreasonable if I’m not there.

Wrong thread?? Unless you wrote this on paper first using a Chopard Brescia £620 pen? 😁😁

🤣🤣🤣

Honestly, Mumsnet is crammed with people who spend money on all kinds of shit. There's whole boards dedicated to consumerism. This poster spends her spare money on pens. So what?! Get over it.

You're right! I do prioritise holidays over pretty much everything.

I have never been interested in having things just doing things.

My Mum is the total opposite and often wonders how we afford to go away every year sometimes twice. But we buy little or nothing other than the essentials. I have no hankering for expensive objects (or even mid price stuff) beyond functional things.

And what matters is that you spend your money on something you enjoy and brings you pleasure.

Some people like clothes, bags, watches...

Exactly this!!
I love pens.

I bet loads of people's DHs have spent more than £600 on equipment for their outing hobbies and don't attract this level of censure for it.

I have absolutely no interest in pens, but I am interested in people. So this thread has been fun. What a lot of strong judgemental opinions people have, and no shame about sharing.

Is that you Kate?

God, who gives a fuck what someone else spends on a pen.

There was a thread a few weeks ago where someone asked “What would you spend £100-£500 on?” And the thread was full of answers (Inc some from the whingy folk on this thread) of things like bags, tattoos, teeth whitening. The style and beauty page is FULL of people spending money on bags, make up, clothes (all of which, like a pen, you can choose your budget)

So what’s wrong with a pen?

And who gives a shit what someone’s handwriting looks like after using it. I can’t run for shit but I still buy nice trainers.

I don't think MN is a forum just for people struggling financially.
There are plenty of threads where people talk about spending tens of thousands on holidays, buying homes for millions of pounds, thousands on handbags.

It would be inappropriate on a thread where someone is discussing how they are struggling for someone to pop up with e.g. "while I shopping for refills for my £620 pen, I noticed there was a food bank".

You're right! I do prioritise holidays over pretty much everything.

I have never been interested in having things just doing things.

For me, having a decent pen I love isn't about having the actual object, though - it's about making the experience of writing things by hand (which is an everyday experience for me personally, and something I enjoy) more pleasurable and less annoying, in terns of the way it feels and the way it looks on the page (which makes me happy).

So for me, it's about enhancing an everyday experience rather than about owning the pen itself.

Also, the reason I switched from bic biros (that I swore by for decades) was the reliability of knowing I could avoid that erratic blobbiness in everyday life, especially on things where you only get one shot to write it neatly, like when you've gone out and bought a lovely sympathy card and written a long message inside - you need a pen that's not going to randomly splurge a blob of ink whenever it feels like it.

Also, I think whether standard cheap pens work for you is dependent on your handwriting technique and style and your proprioception, etc. I think some people can pick up any pen and write beautifully, in which case, they might be baffled that people are spending money on a problem that simply doesn't exist for them. But other people need something a bit more specific in order to make writing comfortable and to have legible handwriting.

Oh yes, also holidays! Why is that seen as an ok thing to spend hundreds or thousands on, but not something beautiful you can keep forever? Spend your money on what makes you happy.

Edit for clarity: I'm not saying holidays are a waste of money, it's just frustrating that on many, many threads about spending money on a nice item, people will say they'd rather spend that money on a holiday as if it's self-evidently morally better rather than just a personal preference.

As soon as I saw ops post I knew people would moan about it 🙄 yet, if she just said what the pen was and people Googled and saw the price she'd be accused of stealth boasting.

Glad someone has helped you find refills op. I have a very expensive pen (£150 birthday gift- it's very expensive to me anyway) that I love using and it's my little bit of luxury I use every day at work, so I definitely get where you're coming from! I struggle to get refills for mine too and always get the wrong ones, they fit, but the roller bit sticks out too far, but they are also expensive so I'm stuck with 5 of them for the time being 😩

Plenty on here own designer handbags at several grand a pop.

I have bought some beautiful brown ink cartridges for my ink pen. It looks gorgeous on cream paper!