Platinum

In 1919, Shunichi Nakata founded Nakaya Seisakusho in Tokyo to make and sell fountain pens — a small workshop built on the conviction that the fountain pen was a vanguard of culture. Nakata saw early Waterman pens entering Japan and understood how fountain pens would become affordable and culturally important tools, and he set about making them better. The company grew steadily, earning the Platinum name in 1928 and building a reputation for precision nibs and careful engineering. In 1956, Platinum introduced the world's first cartridge-type fountain pen, freeing writers from the ink bottle entirely — a shift so practical it changed how the broader market thought about fountain pens. The following year, the pen was tested on Mount Everest and proved the ink would not leak even under the low atmospheric pressure of high altitude. That same spirit of quiet, considered problem-solving has defined Platinum ever since. The company's most recognized innovation — the Slip & Seal mechanism — addresses one of the most common frustrations in fountain pen ownership: a spring-loaded inner cap that creates an airtight seal, preventing ink from drying out in the pen for up to 24 months. It is the kind of detail that only a company genuinely obsessed with the writing experience would bother to develop.