KOH-I-NOOR

KOH-I-NOOR HARDTMUTH

The company’s history begins with Joseph Hardtmuth and his most important discovery – a method of producing graphite which led to the creation of the classic pencil. In 1848, the pencil factory, as well as the Viennese stoneware and tiled stove factory, already led by Hardtmuth’s grandson Franz, moved to České Budějovice. At the World Exhibition in London, he was awarded a yellow diamond, dedicated by the Indian governor-in-chief of Queen Victoria, and which is now stored now in the Tower of London as part of the British crown jewels.
About 40 years later, he named his innovative yellow pencil with serial number 1500 based on this yellow diamond KOH-I-NOOR. The pencil’s commercial success caused the word KOH-I-NOOR to be associated with the company; it became part of its name and has been there since 1894.
Franz made significant strides in marking and differentiating pencil hardness – he designed and introduced a gradation scale of 19 degrees, later expanded to 21 degrees. This became the worldwide standard still used today.
The HB designation began to be used for medium pencil hardness while at the same time referred to the manufacturer – H for Hardtmuth and B for Budweis (Budějovice), and F for Franz’s first name. KOH-I-NOOR pencils have enjoyed successes at prestigious world exhibitions (New York, Paris, London, etc.).
Nowadays, the company manufactures and sells over 5,000 different products and is under the parent organization KOH-I-NOOR HOLDING – a purely Czech holding group with production capacities in the Czech Republic, Russia, and Bulgaria and with business capacities in more than 80 countries with more than 2,500 employees.