Duke is a Chinese maker (website: dukepen.com); the model described is the 929 Fountain Pen with 22-carat gold tip. Maintenance is limited to occasional flushing with lukewarm water, which is fully sufficient on normal pens. The converter is simply slid into the pen and filled by dipping the nib into the ink bottle. Nibs practically never need to be changed, since steel and gold nibs outlast generations; the iridium tip on gold-nib tips is virtually wear-free. Duke counts qualitatively as a low-budget brand, clearly below Pelikan or LAMY.