KOCHI: Pen making is an art and the art is now looking for a footing in India. With luxury pens having a market of Rs 1,200 crore, which is an improvement from the 700 crore in 2012-14 period, things sure are looking up. Rytol Pens in association with one of the finest pen makers of England Ronald K Caddy, released their president series handmade gold pens here on Friday. The parts of the pen are imported from outside and the making happens here in India. The sales would be through e-commerce stage in the first phase. The e commerce site which will only sell Rytol products was also inaugurated here by Ronald Caddy and and Rytol Pens CEO Sreenath Vishnu. Rhytol also marks the entry of Brahmins, a prominent business group in Kerala, into the premium gifting sector.
The Rytol pens are made in Mumbai, Kochi, Jaipur and Hyderabad by experts in hand-made pends. Only three pens are made every day in a centre. They also provide pens that are unique and cannot be recreated by Rytol either. The pens ranges also have sets with gems and personalised ones.
“Though the parts are imported, it is made here and 40% of value addition happens here, so it is essentially a made in India product. People usually get it for gifting purposes. So far 300 pens of the price range 10,000- 15,000 had been sold in Kerala alone,” said Sreenath Vishnu. “It is an art. One should be focused and their hands should not shake. There are a lot of people who do this in UK,” said Ronald. He also spoke of the possibility of a skill development centre for the art of penmaking in India.