Sheaffer's Latest Limited edition enters the market with a flash of starlight!

Even before the Valor was released, there were sounds of something bigger approaching, just over the horizon. As much as two years ago there were hints that Sheaffer was working on a new pen. Dubbed by some as the "Targa II," this new pen eventually arrived in June, 2006 as the Valor, a pen poised to carry the Sheaffer brand into the future.

The Stars of Egypt Limited Edition is a masterpiece tribute to the early astronomers of ancient Egypt, rendered in very deeply engraved .925 sterling silver or solid gold. The pen has the look and feel of a found object, covered in the imagery of astronomy and Egyptian culture. These were the pyramid builders who used the stars and the Sun to align their temples and pyramids to the four cardinal points of the compass. These early astronomers also developed the 24-hour day, and the 365 day calendar, with 12 months of 30 days each followed by 5 additional days to balance with the solar year.

The pen's cap and barrel combine to show three major images arranged on a canvas representing the constellations near Orion and featuring the star Sirius. In ancient Egyptian astronomy, the star Sirius was the brightest in the night sky and is the stellar representation of Isis. Sirius appears in July, when the Nile River begins its annual flood, announcing the heat of the summer and the coming of the harvest in the fall. The Nile flooding gave fertility to the soil. Because of the importance of Sirius, the ancient Egyptians based their calendar on its coming. On the solid gold Stars of Egypt pen, the Sheaffer White Dot is replaced by a .25 karat diamond representing that star.
The back face of the cap is dominated by the figure of the constellation we know as Orion, but the Ancient Egyptians saw as Osiris, the God of the Underworld. The figure is set at the centre of a burst of rays which are further framed in a circle motif that extends around to the front face of the cap, creating an interesting winged appearance at the sides of the clip.

The barrel has two large images that work together on the top side, the same face as the nib face. The pyramid represents the Great Pyramid at Giza, one of three principal pyramids. Some believe that the three represent a sky map of the three stars of the Belt of Orion. The cap of the pyramid derived from the Eye of Ra or Eye of Horus. This symbol, also rendered as the Eye of Providence, appears on the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States of America and on the reverse of the US one dollar bill. This eye allowed Osiris to oversee his underworld domain. The design is done so that the pen is a unified visual with the cap on or viewed separately as cap and barrel.

The Stars of Egypt gets its Sheaffer heritage through the oversized White Dot centered in the front face of the blue resin cap top and the solid 18 karat gold Inlaid nib, set into a blue resin section. The Stars of Egypt is very large and heavy. Capped, its 5 7/8 inches long and weighs 3 ounces.

The Stars of Egypt Limited Edition is released recently, as two versions and two writing modes:

The Sterling Silver Stars of Egypt Limited Edition has a deeply engraved cap and barrel with blue resin cap top, barrel end cap, and nib section. It is available as a fountain pen or roller ball pen. The fountain pen has a palladium plated 18 karat gold nib and palladium plated clip. Each fountain pen will be packaged with a glass inkwell and each rollerball pen will be packaged with a glass paperweight, each adorned with a sterling silver medallion. This sterling silver medallion will be hallmarked at the Assay Office of London. The glass inkwells are made entirely by hand in the USA.

Identification guide and features:

Identification guide and features: