Switzerland: $20K Astrograph pen inspired by space exploration goes on sale in Geneva

With its mechanical art and futuristic design inspired by the dreams of space exploration, an Astrograph pen created after four years of cooperation between premium Swiss writing tool company Maison Caran d'Ache and luxury watchmaker MB&F went on sale in Geneva, Tuesday.
The limited edition Astrograph pen is designed to be shaped like a rocket ship, with only 99 fountain and roller ball pens to be released, at a cost of around 20,000 Swiss Francs (€18,500 / $20,400) each.
The Astrograph pen claims to be the most complex writing tool ever designed in Caran d'Ache's workshops, according to its creators, with each pen containing 99 individual components and requiring more than 500 manual operations for manufacture.
The Astrograph pen also comes with a magnetised, rhodium-plated silver spaceman that can be attached to the pen's ladder, and a luxury launch pad box. The pen will be available in three different finishes, high-gloss rhodium, sandblasted matte rhodium and anthracite ruthenium.
According to MB&F Chief Communications, Charris Yadigaroglou, the Astrograph pen "makes us dream we were growing up in the 1970s as kids and of course that was the beginning of space travel, first man on the moon, 1969," adding that "many people remember those dreams of space travel, of landing on the moon. So if you want to transform your desk into Cape Canaveral or Baikonur, this is probably the way to do it."