Our story
Born in copper, kept by hand.
STEX makes pure copper pens in India. We started with metal we had worked for more than twenty years, and a simple belief: a pen should be kept, not replaced.
01
A machine, a test, an idea.
STEX grew from a love of pens and more than 22 years in the copper industry. The name is short for Star Exim, our parent company. The idea of a copper pen arrived while Nandish was testing the limits of a new machine. It gave an old trade a new direction.
02
Machined, then finished by hand.
Today every pen is machined from copper, brass or titanium and finished by hand at our workshop in India, then fitted with a Schmidt nib or refill from Germany.
03
Kept, not replaced.
We started with metal we had worked for more than twenty years, and a simple belief: a pen should be kept, not replaced. Copper darkens with use, so the longer you write with it, the more it becomes yours.
Nandish & Jigna, two pieces of one puzzle.
Husband and wife, Nandish and Jigna Shah brought India its first pure copper pens. Nandish directs a copper company; Jigna is its director of finance.
Nandish looks after how each pen works: the threads, the magnets, the balance. Jigna’s focus and drive push the team to make STEX a pen the world would choose.
You may have met them at a pen show. One collector at the 2024 DC Pen Show remembered them as “just about the friendliest people in the room”.
Find your penFrom our letters
Words from the people who write with them.
Notes from collectors and everyday writers, lightly edited.
“I like the patina it already has, and Schmidt nibs always make a smooth, wet writing experience. The pen is well balanced and the grip has a very comfortable, non-slippery diameter. The pen is great for longer writing sessions. Copper is just a lovely material.”
“I love this Stex pen, with its titanium cap and barrel and copper accents. I bought it at the 2024 DC Pen Show, where Nandish and his family are just about the friendliest people in the room. Bonus points for the tiny machine screws that fix the clip — it’s all in the details.”
“Their material and finish are par excellence, and the writing experience is up there with the best in the world. More than using the pen, I hold it and admire it.”
“As a collector, I can say STEX pens are unparalleled in quality and design. Writing with one is an experience.”
Letters, now and then.
New pens and special editions, the day they leave the workshop. No more than once a month.
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