Mostly the material choice and time consuming manufacturing process refinements. Virtually all high-end pen mechanisms are made from brass and plated (easier and cheaper to manufacture but not as durable as ours), we decided to go nuts and machine it out of 416 stainless steel (a much harder and more durable material). This meant we had to have it Swiss-CNC'ed which, while more costly, means we can hold much tighter tolerances (less than .0005" all day long on the Citizen L-20). The G-Code programming done by our friend's shop re-traces the race toolpaths to debur all edges, taking more time but it also means that the chrome steel bearing glides smoothly and the mechanism cycles like butter. It's much more expensive and time consuming to make it this way but it really is pretty awesome. Plus, the 416SS and chrome steel will wear better and last much longer than plated brass. It's complete overkill for a pen mechanism but hey... if you're going to make one, might as well go all out, right?

Yeah, it really is, but we make the best pens we can possibly make, something special that you'll be proud to own and carry with you for years to come. That's why we back them with a lifetime guarantee, because we make them to last a lifetime.