Cross Pens

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A. T. Cross is a traded (NASDAQ: ATX) American company that competes in the writing instrument, stationery and premium sunglass businesses. {| class="toc" id="toc"

Contents
[hide] *1 Overview
 * 2 History
 * 3 Products
 * 4 References
 * 5 External links
 * }

[edit] Overview
Cross manufactures and distributes writing instruments, journals and sunglasses worldwide. Its writing instruments and journals are branded Cross while its premium sunglass brands are Costa and Native.

[edit] History
The company was founded in 1846 in Providence, Rhode Island, and initially manufactured gold and silver casings for pencils, reflecting the Cross family's history as jewelers. The company was founded by Richard Cross who passed it on to his son Alonzo T. Cross. The company developed many innovative new writing instruments, including forerunners of the modern mechanical pencils, and the earliest stylographic pens. The company was sold to Walter R. Boss in 1916 and members of the Boss family remain on the board of directors. The company has been publicly owned since 1971. [1]

Building on the rich tradition of its award-winning writing instruments and reputation for innovation and craftsmanship, A.T. Cross Company is a designer and marketer of branded personal and business accessories. A.T. Cross provides a range of distinctive products that appeal to a growing marketing of consumers seeking to enhance their image and facilitate their lifestyle. Cross writing instruments are now distributed in more than 140 foreign markets. The company has writing instrument marketing subsidiaries in the U.K., Spain, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Canada. A.T. Cross products, including award-winning quality writing instruments, timepieces, business accessories and Costa and Native Eyewear sunglasses, are distributed in retail and corporate gift channels worldwide. For more information, visit the A.T.Cross website at http://www.cross.com/ the Costa website at http://www.costadelmar.com/ and the Native Eyewear website at http://www.nativeyewear.com/.

Today, the A.T. Cross Company is a designer and marketer of branded personal accessories including writing instruments, reading glasses, personal and business accessories and sunglasses.

The Cross Accessory Division ("CAD") has been a manufacturer and marketer of fine quality writing instruments since 1846. Sold primarily under the Cross brand, ball-point, fountain and selectip rolling ball pens and mechancial pencils are offered in a variety of styles and finishes. Also, under the Cross brand, CAD offers a variety of personal and business accessories including journals, reading glasses, watches and desk sets. Cross branded products are sold to the consumer gift market through fine stores worldwide. Additionally, the products are sold to the business gift market via a network of companies specializing in recognition programs.

The Cross Optical Group ("COG") segment of the company consists of its wholly owned subsidiary Cross Optical Group, Inc. This business designs, manufactures and markets high-quality, high-performance polarized sunglasses under the brand names Costa and Native.

Founded in Florida in 1983, the Costa brand has developed a superior reputation for its advanced polarized lens technology and functional frame design. Costa's lenses are renowned for their clarity; their patented 580 lens technology is considered by many to be the best performing sunglass lens in the marketplace.

The other brand of sunglasses offered by the Cross Optical Group is Native. The Native product is specially built for active consumers who enjoy running, hiking, climbing, biking and activities performed on the mountain.

Like Costa, Native is sold in fine sporting goods, sunglass specialty and optical shops throughout the United States.

A.T. Cross is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC(R) under the symbol ATX.

[edit] Products
An A.T. Cross fountain pen, with the distinctive "Cross" lettering on its nib.Cross is well known for its writing instrument lines, beginning with mechanical pencils and produced the first stylographic (a technological forerunner of the modern ball point pen) pens in 1879. The current product line includes fountain pens, ballpoint pens, gel pens and mechanical pencils [2]. The first Cross fountain pens were likely produced in 1930, but not again until the 1980s.

Cross writing instruments are generally sold in the mid-range of the market, rather than the extreme luxury end. However, they became a "must-have" accessory for the rising professional during the 1970s and 1980s.[citation needed]

The company also manufactures a range of wristwatches, cufflinks, desk accessories and leather goods such as pen cases, key fobs, and portfolios, and other items often targeted at the gift market.

In late 1997 Cross and IBM teamed-up to introduce a digital writing pad, called the CrossPad, which was discontinued in 2004. [3]