How to Spot Fake Polychromos Color Pencils

Polychromos artists' colored pencils are valued internationally by professionals and semi-professionals for their unsurpassed quality. The high-quality standards of the Polychromos colored pencils shine through every feature from their creation to when they're used to create.  

Fake Polychromos Color Pencils

We at Faber-Castell find it important to protect artists from purchasing counterfeit art materials. With this concerning issue on the rise, we have provided a list of ways you can spot fake Polychromos. 

Please note that Faber-Castell USA does not sell Art & Graphic brand Polychromos Color Pencil or Albrecht-Durer Watercolor Pencil tins/cases/sets directly on Amazon.com or Walmart.com, but some of our authorized sellers may. To ensure that you purchase authentic Faber-Castell products, we first recommend purchasing only from a Faber-Castell authorized seller – these are listed at the bottom of our website.

If you have already made a purchase, we recommend that you look for the following features to aid in identifying counterfeit product:

Packaging:

• Check the packaging for the correct sized Faber-Castell logo and brand name.
• On the backside of the tin, right above the barcode, authentic tins are printed with a capital “K.” In counterfeit tins, there is a small "k."

• On the side of the metal box, the writing "110011 Polychromos Color Pencils" should be present. In counterfeit products, there is a space missing making it "110011Polychromos Color Pencils".

Pencils:

• The most obvious sign of counterfeit Polychromos is the white line between the lacquer and the wood tip – indicating that a white base coat was used.

• Authentic pencils have a smooth sharpened wood; counterfeit pencils are rough.

• Authentic Polychromos Coloring Pencils are not water-soluble. Some of the counterfeits have water-soluble pigments resulting in bleeding of the tips - especially with pinkish colors.

Booklet:

• Poor coloring that looks faded. 

Faber-Castell has already begun taking measures to act against counterfeit products and is working closely with the relevant authorities to identify and close down shops which sold or sell these counterfeit products. Faber-Castell has no connection with these fake online shops or Amazon.com or Walmart.com unauthorized sellers, and we cannot accept responsibility for the products, services, or payments made to them.

We want to stress how important this issue is to us and assure you that we are taking all necessary steps with our legal department to address counterfeit merchandise. We recommend that you report the issue to Amazon.com or Walmart.com directly so that they may take action, and purchase only from an authorized Faber-Castell USA seller.

We hope that this information has been helpful to you. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].