Koh-I-Noor
Pencils and graphite leads, the founding innovation of the modern pencil since 1802
Philosophy
Inventor of the modern pencil. 1802 kaolin-graphite patent, origin of the HB classification. Czech manufacturing in Ceske Budejovice since 1848. Every pencil in the world uses Hardtmuth's principle.
History
Joseph Hardtmuth, architect to the House of Liechtenstein, founds a ceramics factory in Vienna (1790). In 1802, patents the kaolin-graphite mix for pencil leads - freeing pencils from dependence on English Borrowdale graphite. Origin of the HB classification still used worldwide.
Sons transfer to Bohemia (1848). Renamed Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth at the 1889 Paris World Fair. Grand Prix de Paris 1900 for the yellow 1500 pencil. Nationalized, privatized, acquired by Gama Group (1994). Still made in Ceske Budejovice. Every pencil in the world uses Hardtmuth's principle.
Iconic Products
1500 (crayon graphite)
The yellow hexagonal pencil, Grand Prix de Paris 1900. Available in 20 hardness grades, 8B to 10H. The pencil that established the worldwide lead classification standard. Still made in Ceske Budejovice, still the 1802 formula.
Polycolor (crayons de couleur)
Artist color pencil range, 72 colors. Rich, pigmented leads, excellent layering. Czech competitor to Prismacolor and Faber-Castell Polychromos at a fraction of the price.
Rapidograph (stylo technique)
Technical ink pen for precision drawing, heir to the Rotring tradition. Calibrated nibs, permanent ink, metal construction. Before computers, the architect's tool. Now the tool of illustrators who prefer ink to digital.