Caran d'Ache

Swiss writing instruments and colors since 1915. Geneva manufacture. Ecridor, 849 series. Lifetime warranty.

Geneva, 1915. The Fabrique Genevoise de Crayons opens in Eaux-Vives. In 1924, Arnold Schweitzer, a St. Gallen stockbroker, acquires it with Charles von der Weid and Edmond Naville. His wife, who grew up in Russia, suggests the name: Caran d'Ache, from the Russian "karandash" (pencil), itself from the Turkish "kara tash", black stone, graphite. It's also the pen name of Emmanuel Poiré, a 19th-century Franco-Russian caricaturist. The name is perfect.

Inventions follow in quick succession. In 1929, Geneva engineer Carl Schmid creates the Fixpencil, the world's first clutch pencil, initially in Bakelite then all-metal. In 1931, the Prismalo becomes the first watersoluble colored pencil ever made, 80 colors. In 1969, the hexagonal 849 ballpoint becomes a Swiss design icon. A Swiss postage stamp would be dedicated to the Fixpencil in 2005.

The manufacture has never left Geneva. Based in Thônex since the 1970s, it employs 280 people and remains Switzerland's last pencil factory. Everything comes from there: graphite pencils, Neocolor pastels, Chromatics inks, fountain pens, ballpoints, rollers. 120 boutiques in 90 countries. The Luminance 6901, permanent pencils with the highest pigment concentration, are considered the absolute reference by professional artists.

The company remains family-owned, fourth generation. Carole Hubscher, great-granddaughter of the founders, serves as president. Caroline Charpier has led operations since 2022. A new site is planned in Bernex for 2027. Among enthusiasts, the 849 fountain pen divides opinion (some find it overpriced), but the pencils and ballpoints are unanimously praised. That's the essence of Caran d'Ache: no showmanship, watchmaker precision applied to the pencil.