Cult Pens 2025 Stationery Advent Calendars Compared: Turquoise Edition vs Black Edition

Introduction

Cult Pens ships its stationery advent calendars every year from Totnes in Devon, UK, and they have quietly become a fixture for pen enthusiasts. The 2025 lineup splits into two tiers: an accessible 24-day turquoise edition and a much pricier 12-day black edition aimed squarely at collectors. Both sell out quickly, and having opened both, it is easy to see why. The value packed inside, especially in the black edition, routinely exceeds the price of the box itself.

Cult Pens 2025 Stationery Advent Calendar Turquoise Edition

The turquoise edition is the cheaper of the two, and it is the more practical of the pair. Unlike some advent calendar designs where compartments fall out as you open them, this one uses a layered drawer layout that keeps everything in place. The box construction is a step down from more elaborate calendars, with edges that can tear with rough handling, but the real value here is in the contents rather than the packaging.

Across 24 days you get a genuinely useful mix of writing tools and accessories: mechanical pencils, a ballpoint, clips, erasers, washi tape, glue tape, correction tape, paper and envelopes, and small notebooks. A few items are surprisingly collectible, like a snowman eraser and a Santa topper with a pop-off hat, and everything is clearly chosen to be used rather than displayed.

Daily Highlights: What Stands Out in the Turquoise Edition

Several days punch well above their weight. Day one brings a Pentel Orens mechanical pencil priced around $6.99 on Amazon, and day three delivers a flexible-nib Zebra brush-style pen that has built a devoted following for line work and reverse coloring. Day six is a Platinum Preppy fountain pen, roughly $5 on the Cult Pens website, with ink cartridges included so you can start writing immediately.

The erasable Pilot Frixion highlighter on day ten is a genuinely clever addition and would make this calendar a great gift for a college student on its own. Days eight and eleven add a Tombow dual-nib calligraphy pen (about $4.75) and quality floral-print washi tape, while day twelve includes charming letter paper and envelopes with stickers for sealing.

The finale justifies the whole calendar. Day 24 contains a deep blue fountain pen listed at $64, which pairs with the included light blue Platinum ink cartridges from day 23. Between that pen and the rest of the contents, the combined value clearly passes the price paid for the calendar. That kind of surplus is rare in advent calendars and explains why this one sells out every year.

Cult Pens 2025 Stationery Advent Calendar Black Edition

The black edition plays a completely different game. It contains only 12 days, each one holding a premium item, and it sits in the same price territory as a serious single pen purchase. Where the turquoise edition spreads modest, practical gifts, this one concentrates high-end pens, inks, and accessories.

Day one opens with a Monteverde USA Ritma Special Annual Collectible Edition fountain pen with an airtight magnetic cap, around $27 on Amazon. Day two brings four Caran d’Ache scented graphite pencils developed with a master perfumer, a $43.50 collectible set. Day three is a Cult Pens exclusive Retro 51 Tornado set, a ballpoint and mechanical pencil pair with eraser and lead refills, listed at $110.75.

Day seven hides a genuine surprise: a Japanese-made multi-function pen that converts between a mechanical pencil, a pink mode, and a ballpoint, retailing around $30. Day eight is a 50ml Sailor dye ink in a coral tone, a Cult Pens exclusive worth $25, and day nine adds a wooden Faber-Castell emotion twist-nib pen running about $65.

Daily Highlights: What Stands Out in the Black Edition

Day four delivers a Ferris Wheel Press fountain pen ink called Tides of Midas, made in Canada, with some of the most striking packaging in the entire calendar, priced around $27.98. Day five includes a handcrafted German desktop pencil tray, day ten a Midori MD A6 notebook at $14, and day eleven a Tombow Object rollerball that writes beautifully, around $38.

Day six contains a Montblanc ballpoint in the style of the Pix line, which the writer valued at roughly $320. But the calendar saves its biggest moment for last: day 12 holds a Graf von Faber-Castell for Bentley fountain pen, handmade in Germany, valued at $460. That single pen accounts for well over half the calendar’s total contents value.

Tallying every item, the black edition’s contents come to roughly $1,179. Even after import duties, taxes, and shipping added to the purchase price, the combined value of both calendars is exceeded by the black edition alone. For pen enthusiasts, that math is the whole appeal.

Which One Should You Buy?

If you want everyday usable stationery and a fun December ritual, the turquoise edition is the easy choice. It is packed with practical items you will actually finish, and the $64 fountain pen at the end makes the math work in your favor. If you collect pens, appreciate high-end ink and German craftsmanship, or want a memorable luxury gift, the black edition is where the serious value lives, even at its much higher price. Buying both is indulgent, but the combined contents still outweigh what you spend, duties and all.

Conclusion

Cult Pens has built two advent calendars that serve different buyers without either feeling like filler. The turquoise edition delivers 24 days of genuinely useful stationery with a strong finale, while the black edition compresses remarkable value into 12 days of premium pens and inks. Both sell out fast each year, and after opening both, that scarcity is easy to understand.