The Lamy Unic is both iconic and under-the-radar. Released in 1984, the Unic is often mis-identified as it bears resemblance to many other Lamy pens, but it’s important to note that the Unic came before most of these other designs! The Uniq is a creation of Gerd A. Müller, the same person who designed the Lamy 2000, cp1, and st families of pens.
The Lamy Unic ballpoint pen is no longer sold, but it’s not known when production ultimately ended. We do know, from Lamy catalog data, that the Unic was sold until at least 1997. This year the Unic ballpoint was sold in all four models.
The Unic was sold in matte black, brushed stainless steel, titanium, and gunmetal finishes. Of these, at least among those that survived, the stainless steels to have been the most popular, followed closely by the black. The titanium finish — known as “titanium coated” — and gunmetal seem to be exceedingly rare today.
Vintage catalogs reveal some facts about these pens. This 1988 Lamy catalog tells us from interesting facts about the Unic ballpoint:
- Stainless Steel Unic Ballpoint: Known officially as the Lamy unic, Model 290. Retail price was 48 DM ($62 today)
- Black Lamy Unic Ballpoint: Known officially as the Lamy unic black, Model 291. Retail price was 48 DM ($62 today)
- Titanium-coated Unic Ballpoint: Known officially as the Lamy unic Ti, Model 292. Retail price as 95 DM ($123 today)
The last model to be introduced was the Gunmetal Unic (Model 293). Lamy called it the “gm” in their catalog.
In 1997 Lamy described the Unic ballpoint as being notable for the following design features:
- Spring-operated gasket clip made of solid stainless steel mounted on an axle
- A front-section with engraved grooves.
A Note on Unic Pricing
Later model titanium Unics have been seen online complete with their original box and tags, with retail price of $125 printed directly on a Lamy label. The would put the price at a good deal higher than those arrived at above, but we have no idea if the pens were sold at those prices or if they were simply an MSRP.
1997 Pricing
- Black, Gunmetal, Stainless Steel: 66M
- Ti: 98 DM
Lamy Unic Ballpoint Information
| Street Price | Check Price |
| Manufacturer | Lamy |
| Pen Type | Ballpoint |
| Rating | |
| Barrel Color | Silver, Black, Titanium, Gunmetal |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Grip Color | Silver, Black, Titanium, Gunmetal |
| Grip Material | Metal |
| Country of Origin | Germany |
| MSRP | $150 |
| Still Sold | No |
| Release Year | 2019 |
| Similar To | |
| Refills | |
| Capped? Retractable? | Retractable |
| Clip? | Metal |
| Weight (g) | |
| Ink Color Shipped | Black |