Pens from Rhode Island’s A.T. Cross, which does business in the promotional products industry as supplier Cross (PPAI 114156), have been the choice of U.S. presidents since Gerald Ford. Donald Trump is no exception, and the Associated Press has reported that the White House recently placed a second order with its distributor, as the president has taken to giving out the customized, gold-plated pens as gifts.

The White House originally ordered 150 of the pens and recently received an additional shipment of 350 pens, a total roughly in line with the orders placed by the two previous administrations. The choice and design of the pens drew from A.T. Cross’s background working with business and government leaders.

In an exclusive interview with PPB Newslink, Andy Boss, Cross’s North American sales manager, corporate writing solutions, says, “We used our history of presidential pens to make several writing instrument suggestions without a huge amount of direction on what they were looking for. In the end, the President chose our Century II body style, which is a medium-bodied piece, moderately priced and very professional and classic in appearance.”

Following the election, Cross and its distributor sent samples of its pens to Trump’s transition team. Boss attributes Cross’s popularity with those in leadership positions to its understated, enduring style. “Cross has a large variety of pens to choose from, while maintaining a consistent, classic Cross look to the majority of its pieces without being overly showy,” he says. “The writing instruments Cross creates are not overly heavy, they have a substance to them where weight is concerned while having an extremely well-balanced feel to them. Cross also offers a lifetime mechanical guarantee, beautiful packaging and a sentimental factor rarely found in most modern brands, which is appealing to many different types of customers.”