Diplomat Barley Ball Pen

Yard-O-Led

£395

Handcrafted entirely out of solid 925 sterling silver, the original YARD-O-LED Diplomat propelling ballpen is a classic writing instrument. This ever popular design remains unchanged since 1934 thoughtfully designed, its angular hexagonal shape helps to stabilise the ballpen on a gently sloping surface such as a draughtsmans's table. Probably the most famous propelling pencil ever made Read about the history of the propelling pencil Technical Specification Length 123mm Width 8.0mm Weight 23g Type Ball Pen Finish Barley Product Code 940702 Engraving Please note that these images are digital sim

Yard-O-Led's own words, read from their page.

Buy from Yard-O-LedPrice seen 2026-09-04. Affiliate link.

Where this comes from

The part other shops don't tell you. Three separate questions, kept separate on purpose, each with its source.

UK company
Registered at Companies House as IMPERIAL YARD LIMITED, number 09433000. Checked 2026-08-29.
Means the business is a British legal entity, not a British-sounding name owned elsewhere. It says nothing about where anything is made.
UK operations
Stated by the company: "Today in our Birmingham workshop, a small number of dedicated craftsmen assemble and decorate every one of Yard O Led's exquisite writing instruments by hand." Source.
Means people employed here, or premises they actually work from. We keep this separate from the company badge because a registered office can be an accountant's spare room, and a company can be registered in Britain while everything it does happens somewhere else. Where we have not looked, we say so rather than assuming.
British-owned
No majority shareholding traced outside the UK. Companies House.
Read from the register of people with significant control, following the chain of holding companies. It does not gate anything: a firm can be made here and owned elsewhere, and that is worth telling you rather than hiding.
Where it is made
The maker doesn't say, so neither do we.
This is about the individual product, not the company. A British firm can sell things made abroad, which is normal and not a criticism. We would rather tell you which is which than average them into a score.