"Removing" a monogram, the old-fashioned way

Despite what some self-serving sellers claim, an engraved name on a pen normally cannot be buffed out. If the material is solid, an unsightly flat or hollowed area will be left; if the material is laminated -- gold filled or rolled gold -- the results will be even worse. Jewelers have known this for a long time, which is why one occasionally comes across a pen like this, where an engraved indicia has been covered by a new indicia plate, soldered in place. In this case, the "new" plate was installed a good long time ago, during the original working lifetime of the pen -- a Waterman 0502 from the very beginning of the 20th century.