Caran d'Ache

Caran d'Ache was founded in Geneva in 1915 as the Fabrique Genevoise de Crayons Ecridor. Arnold Schweitzer renamed it in 1924 after the pen name of the cartoonist Emmanuel Poiré, itself taken from karandash, the Russian word for pencil. Still Swiss-made and led by the Hübscher family, the company produces colour pencils, pastels and fine writing instruments, and is best known for the hexagonal 849 ballpoint pen and for making the first watercolour pencils.