Strictly speaking "Classic" refers to something that, through its ubiquity, quality or revolutionary design, defines its class. Of course that meaning has been eroded by misuse and abuse on many fronts so it's commonly come to mean something like "a really cool version" of the thing.
If you fly a light plane, people will ask if it's a Piper Cub. If you ride a motorcycle (in America) folks will assume it's a Harley. When you write with a fountain pen things get a bit hazier. Perhaps a Parker 51 (with 7 million sold in 1946 alone) would come to mind or the "75" marketed as the "I have arrived" pen in the 1960s. I think earlier pens get even hazier; The Patrician comes to mind, Vacumatics and all of Sheaffer's bullet designs. The faceted OMASs...
"Classic" status, remains the holy grail for every designer. Finding the magic mix of distinctiveness, quality and popularity to define the class. My personal vote for modern classics would be the MB149 although I'd personally choose a Pelikan "Gaudi" or any modern OMAS or Pelikan any day.
Lots of great pens get called Classic but do you know any non-pen people who have even heard of a Soennecken, Visconte, Swan or Conway-Stuart?
My $0.02
Best,
-Danny
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