Before you buy, be sure to check where the pen was made. I have a number of older Cross pens that say "USA" near the top, and they are great pens. However, I have bought three different ones in the past few years that do not indicate where they were made, and they are of inferior quality. The top and bottom halves are loose, and have to be carefully manipulated to come together without a gap. The first one I got, I sent it back to Cross for warranty repair under their "lifetime guarantee," only to receive it back unchanged telling me that it was just fine - and a "handling fee" attached.