With the right amount of skill and acumen, any item can be transformed into a high-end luxury commodity - even a pen -as is shown by Goan entrepreneur Mervin Mascarenhas
JAY JOSHI
Everyone loves the posh life. We would prefer grand mansions over houses, and private jets over planes any day. Those who can afford such life love to show it off, and those who cannot, love to catch a glimpse of it, and dream of reaching there. Apart from dazzling the onlooker with its glory, such a lifestyle also creates a niche market and business opportunities.with the right amount of skill and acumen, any item can be transformed into a high-end luxury commodity -even a pen-as is shown by Mervin Mascarenhas, a Goan entrepreneur, currently based out of Canada, who has created a $90,000 pen.
The pen is made using parts of a meteorite that had fallen on earth from outer space, and is embellished with 18 carat gold and diamonds. This is no doubt, a fascinating creation, but why choose to make a pen when you could have created any other products from such precious material?
“I wanted to specialise in a niche market. There are a number of companies that make luxury pens, but when you look at their pens, they are just made of plastic and resin. There’s no story behind them. I wanted to use Mother Nature’s materials and work with something that has a history of its own,” explains Marvin.
The pen uses crystals bearing GIA certificate stating that they are extraterrestrial. Mascarenhas recently unveiled the pen at the Global Spirits Festival in Vancouver.
“The main body of the pen is made from prats of Gibeon Meteorite that collided with Earth in prehistoric times, somewhere near Namibia. These fragments contain iron and zinc. They do not rust, and high-end jewellers use them in their jewellery. That’s the reason I decided to work with this material,” says the maker of the extraordinary pen. “I was dreaming about making this pen for about two years. When the idea was finalised, it took me six to eight months to design, and four months in the making,” he said.
A major source of inspiration for this product was the seas and landscape of Bermuda, where Mascarenhas lived for close to a decade. “After studies, I began to work on a cruise ship, and one of its ports was Bermuda. I loved the island, and decided to stay there,” he elaborates and says, “When I came here, I lost my Mont Blanc pen, and found that the pens I wanted were quite expensive in stores. Then, to make myself feel good, I began making pens from Bermuda Cedar. I wasn’t thinking about business at the time, and just wanted to show my friends the pen I made with my own hands.”
After this, requests started to come in for making customised pens, and the activity just transformed into a business, says Mascarenhas. All of his designs come from his own creativity and he has had no formal training in design.
Apart from the space-pen, Mascarenhas also has less costly pens made from other materials including carbon fiber, swiss-watch parts, mother of pearl, and Paua shells. The starting price for this line of products is $125. As of the space pen, it uses a Smidt refill made in Germany. All the metal parts of his hand-made pen are 18 carat gold.
Mascarenhas is optimistic about his move to tap the high-end niche market, and hopes to deliver many more customised pens to buyers who are willing to splash the cash for this great piece of art.
