Ballpoints · Plate 8 / 23
Société BIC·FR·multi-pen
Société BIC
4 Couleurs (4-Color)
Kvardek du, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA · commons.wikimedia.org
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The 4 Couleurs is one of the few pens in this catalogue whose mechanism is more interesting than its barrel: four refills in one housing, deployed by side sliders that lock in place. A 1970 construction, produced continuously ever since, by an anonymous author.
The designer remains unknown. The design was done in-house at BIC and the company has never released names — the Museum of Design in Plastics record gives "Unknown" in the designer field, and the trade press states outright that the industrial designers were never credited. It is a rare case of an object in a national collection without an authorship attribution.
The birth date differs by a year across sources: the invention is dated 1969, the French market launch April 1970 — with advertising promising "three francs for four colours". BIC itself counts anniversaries from 1970 and marked fifty years in 2020.
The ball that dialled telephone numbers
The ball crowning the barrel was originally solid and — in BIC's own advertising — served to dial numbers on rotary telephones. It was later drilled through. The reason is given two ways: so a cord could be threaded through it and the pen worn round the neck, or on safety grounds, against a choking risk. We record both, because the sources disagree.
Otherwise the changes across fifty-five years are cosmetic. In 1999 the blue slider was changed from the barrel shade to navy, to match the ink colour. Around 2025 the cap was redesigned, cutting plastic use by sixteen percent. The side-slider mechanism is unchanged.
One factory for the whole world
All worldwide production of the standard 4 Couleurs comes out of a single plant — BIC's historic factory at Montévrain in Seine-et-Marne. About two hundred thousand units a day, a million a week. The exceptions were special editions: Claude Closky's series was also made in Tarragona.
The design-versus-manufacture distinction is exceptionally clean here, and worth remembering when it gets blurred elsewhere.
There is no scale figure, and that is not an oversight
BIC publishes no cumulative sales figure for the 4 Couleurs — unlike the Cristal, whose 120-billion-plus is reported in the press. Media routinely pair the two models in a single article, so the Cristal's billions get mistakenly attached to the four-colour pen.
We know the weekly output at Montévrain. We may not multiply it by fifty-five years and present the product as sales — that would be our arithmetic, not a source. The scale criterion therefore stays unmet despite the product's obvious ubiquity, and that is how we record it.
What the model actually has
A national collection. The pen entered France's holdings only in 2021, as a gift from the manufacturer: the Centre Pompidou accepted the standard model (acc. AM 2021-1-106, a 2020 example, design dated 1970) alongside Closky's 2018 art edition "Ni noir, ni rouge, ni bleu, ni vert" — a conceptual joke with four black refills. The second museum record is the Museum of Design in Plastics, object AIBDC : 008558.1.
A cultural footprint in France, documented by public broadcasting: France Télévisions devotes a report to the model expressly as a "cult object of French daily life", and INA describes it in the same register.
Longevity — fifty-five years of production in one factory, in substantially unchanged form.
The enthusiast canon — three independent outlets across eleven years.
Four criteria of six. The refills, incidentally, are specified for eight kilometres of writing in total — two per colour.
Specification
- Introduced
- 1970
- Status
- in production
- Category
- multi-pen
- Designed in
- FR
- Made in
- FR
- Mechanism
- click
- Cross-section
- round
- Materials
- plastic (barrel and cap with clip), tungsten carbide (writing ball)
- Finishes
- smooth opaque plastic; classically a white lower barrel with a blue upper section (1.0 mm version), 0.8 mm fine version with an orange lower barrel, numerous decorative editions, incl. the metallic Shine and the Fun, Fluo and Sun series
- Length
- 144 mm
- Diameter
- 11 mm
- Weight
- 12.8 g
- Market tier
- entry
Refill
- Standard
- BIC 4 Couleurs
Proprietary BIC format, replaced individually per colour: unscrew the barrel, pull out the spent cartridge while holding down that colour’s plunger, slide the new one in. BIC sells refills in blisters of 2, in four colours, with a 1.0 mm medium tip (e.g. SKU 931778, blue) or a 0.8 mm fine tip (for the Original Fine; SKU 528919, blue), plus a Smooth ink variant. The format has no separate factory code — the trade name is simply ‘BIC 4 Couleurs Recharges’. The official site still describes the pen as refillable, though some product pages archived in November 2024 showed OutOfStock status.
Legend rubric
Criteria met 4 of 7
A model qualifies on at least two criteria. Every criterion marked as met must cite a source.
Longevity
metprimary sourceLaunched in France in April 1970 (Marcel Bich's idea, invention dated 1969); production has run continuously at BIC's historic Montévrain plant (Seine-et-Marne) — about 200,000 units per day, 1 million per week (2020–2023). The construction is essentially unchanged for over 55 years: documented changes are minor and do not touch the mechanism (1999 navy plunger replacing barrel-blue, top ball pierced for a cord, 2025 cap redesign using 16% less plastic).
Museum of Design in Plastics — BIC original 4-colour pen (AIBDC : 008558.1) · ICI (France Bleu) — Le Bic 4 couleurs, la petite histoire de son succès (19.09.2023) · Wikipédia (fr) — Bic 4 couleurs · franceinfo / France 2 — Stylo 4 couleurs : d'où vient l'objet culte du quotidien des Français ? (08.11.2025)
Design recognition
metprimary sourcePermanent national collection record: Centre Pompidou / Musée national d'art moderne, object "Stylo 4 couleurs" (Bic, design dated 1970), inventory number AM 2021-1-106, gift of Bic in 2021, Design department. A second museum record: Museum of Design in Plastics (Arts University Bournemouth), object "BIC original 4-colour pen", number AIBDC : 008558.1. Both records concern exactly this ballpoint model, not another variant or a fountain pen.
Centre Pompidou — rekord kolekcji: Stylo 4 couleurs, Bic, 1970 (AM 2021-1-106) · Museum of Design in Plastics — BIC original 4-colour pen (AIBDC : 008558.1)
Technical first
not metI looked for a solution that became an industry standard: neither BIC materials, nor museum records (MoDiP describes the side-plunger cartridge-locking mechanism in detail with no primacy claim), nor French or English-language press make such a claim. Multi-colour selector ballpoints predate 1970 (patents from 1963–1965, commercial four-colour models in the 1960s), and the 4C's refill format remained proprietary — the rest of the industry never adopted it.
Museum of Design in Plastics — BIC original 4-colour pen (AIBDC : 008558.1) · Wikipédia (fr) — Bic 4 couleurs
Cultural footprint
metsecondary sourcePress-documented status as an everyday cultural icon in France: France Télévisions/franceinfo devotes a feature (8 Nov 2025) to the model explicitly as an "objet culte du quotidien des Français" and an "icône", and INA (29 Aug 2025) describes it as "indispensable" in school bags since 1970. Role beyond stationery: artist editions (Claude Closky, "Ni noir, ni rouge, ni bleu, ni vert", 2018 — four black cartridges) entered the national modern art collection (AM 2021-1-107), documenting the model's life as a contemporary-art object.
franceinfo / France 2 — Stylo 4 couleurs : d'où vient l'objet culte du quotidien des Français ? (08.11.2025) · INA — Du stylo à bille aux 4 couleurs en passant par le briquet et le parfum, la saga Bic (29.08.2025) · Centre Pompidou — rekord kolekcji: Stylo 4 couleurs, "Ni noir, ni rouge, ni bleu, ni vert", Claude Closky x Bic, 2018 (AM 2021-1-107)
Scale
not metI searched for a cumulative model-level figure from the manufacturer (BIC pages, the 2020 50th-anniversary materials, corporate releases) and in French press (franceinfo, ICI/France Bleu, INA, JDD) and English-language press — no source states a total number of 4 Couleurs sold since 1970. Only rates and annual figures are published (200,000/day, 1 million/week from Montévrain, sales in 160 countries, "millions per year"). The cumulative "100–120 billion" belongs solely to the Cristal — a different model. Per the rubric I do not extrapolate from production rates, so the criterion stays unmet despite an almost certain hundreds-of-millions scale.
ICI (France Bleu) — Le Bic 4 couleurs, la petite histoire de son succès (19.09.2023) · Wikipédia (fr) — Bic 4 couleurs · Le JDD — Bic : l'épopée française d'un stylo devenu légende (25.09.2025) · Blog Bureau Vallée — Le stylo 4 couleurs fête ses 50 ans en 2020 !
Enthusiast canon
metsecondary sourceThree independent pen-community editorial outlets across 11 years: The Pen Addict (Brad Dowdy, 5 Aug 2010, review of the Fashion Colors variant calling the base model "an old classic"), The Gentleman Stationer (7 Jan 2017, multi-pen guide recommendation: "This childhood classic still rocks"), and The Well-Appointed Desk (Tina Koyama, 9 Sep 2021: "the Bic will always be the ballpoint multi pen to beat"). Additionally design press: Core77 (20 Apr 2026) as "An Industrial Design Classic". This is sustained editorial presence, not a shop catalogue.
The Pen Addict — Review: Bic 4-Color Fashion Colors Multi Pen (05.08.2010) · The Gentleman Stationer — Guide to Multifunction Pens (07.01.2017) · The Well-Appointed Desk — Multi Pen Review: Multi Madness, Part 2 (09.09.2021) · Core77 — An Industrial Design Classic: The Bic 4 Color Pen from 1970 (20.04.2026)
Practice influence
not metNot met. I checked all three routes. Parts market: The Pen Refill Guide states the 4 Colours uses BIC's own refill ('a Japan type ballpoint stick refill that will fit in some BIC multifunction pens'); I found no third-party maker of refills, adapters, bodies or accessories built for this model, and searches for compatibility with other brands' 4C refills (Jetstream, Zebra) produced no confirmable source. Modification culture: the community material consists of videos on taking the barrel apart, reassembling it, and replacing one colour with a genuine BIC refill — ordinary maintenance, not modification; there is no named mod and no how-to thread. I separately checked the four-refills-of-one-colour idea as instructed and could not find it documented as a repeatable user practice; the maker's own 4 Colours page lists as its only special edition a collaboration with the jeweller Tournaire, so single-colour editions originate with BIC and by definition are not user practice. Institutional adoption: the 'Gendarmerie nationale' and nurse-branded versions turned out to be promotional imprinted items sold through uniform and medical gift shops, with no document showing standard issue. What remains is shop pages, auctions and reviews — precisely the evidence the separating condition excludes.
BIC 4 Color Ballpoint (F, M) Refill — The Pen Refill Guide · Stylo BIC 4 Couleurs Gendarmerie nationale — FIT-Police · THE BIC 4 COLOURS IN A NUTSHELL — BIC
Where to buy
We do not list prices. We list a market tier and the date each link was last checked.
- BIC France — oficjalny sklepEUmanufacturerverified 08/11/2026
Online sales run through BIC's French site; the US shop us.bic.com no longer takes orders (product page returns 410). Limited-edition collections are exclusive to this shop.
- SKALA Art. Kreślarskie, Biurowe i PlastycznePLspecialistverified 08/11/2026
Specialist drafting and stationery shop; brick-and-mortar store at Tadeusza Kościuszki 49, Wrocław, with free in-store pickup.
- Przystanek PapierniczyPLspecialistverified 08/11/2026
Specialist stationery shop with a dedicated multi-colour pen category listing several 4 Colours variants.
- EmpikPLmarketplaceverified 08/11/2026
Large Polish retail chain with in-store pickup nationwide; sold both by Empik itself and marketplace sellers.
- Cult PensUKspecialistverified 08/11/2026
UK pen specialist shipping internationally, including to Poland; also stocks Fine, Grip, Pro, Mini and Shine variants plus refills.
- Bureau ValléeEUspecialistverified 08/11/2026
French stationery and office-supplies chain with physical stores across France.
- StaplesUSspecialistverified 08/11/2026
US office-supplies chain; also carries Smooth and Shine variants and multi-packs.
Related models
Sources
- 01BIC 4 Couleurs — oficjalna strona BIC (eu.bic.com)
manufacturer · accessed 08/11/2026
Inventé en 1970 par BIC®, le stylo 4 Couleurs a été conçu pour simplifier la vie des consommateurs.
- 02Les 4 Couleurs BIC® en bref (eu.bic.com)
manufacturer · accessed 08/11/2026
la bille supérieure du stylo BIC 4 Couleurs® était utilisée pour actionner les téléphones à cadran
- 03BIC® 4 Colours® ballpen — BIC Graphic (karta produktu)
manufacturer · accessed 08/11/2026
Height: 14.4 cm | Diameter: 1.1 cm | 12.8 g | Plunger Action | Country of Origin: France
- 04Bic 4 couleurs — Wikipédia (fr)
community · accessed 08/11/2026
Le Bic 4 couleurs est fabriqué dans l'usine Bic de Montévrain en Seine-et-Marne, qui en produit 200 000 exemplaires par jour en 2020, soit un million par semaine
- 05Close to Home; Just a Pen, You Say? Not to Bic Boy — The New York Times, 16.03.2000 (via Wayback)
press · accessed 08/11/2026
Baron Bich (pronounced beek) introduced the pen in France in April 1970, and a year later in the United States. * The covert color change occurred in early 1999.
- 06« 16% de matière plastique en moins » : ce petit détail qui a récemment changé sur le capuchon du stylo 4 couleurs — TF1 Info, 13.10.2025
press · accessed 08/11/2026
notre équipe se rend dans l'usine de la marque à Montévrain, en Seine-et-Marne, la seule à fabriquer le 4 couleurs. Ici, 60 millions d'unités sont produites chaque année […] il y a 16% de matière plastique en moins sur un capuchon comme celui-là
- 07Dans les coulisses de la fabrication du stylo Bic 4 couleurs, qui fête ses 50 ans — franceinfo (2020)
press · accessed 08/11/2026
800 000 stylos Bic 4 couleurs sont vendus chaque jour dans le monde. La production se fait essentiellement en France à l'usine de Bic de Montévrain en Seine-et-Marne.
- 08Les recharges d'encre pour stylos BIC 4 Couleurs — fr.bic.com
manufacturer · accessed 08/11/2026
L'incontournable stylo-bille BIC 4 couleurs se recharge grâce aux cartouches BIC 4 Couleurs, pour une durée de vie presque illimitée.
- 09BIC 4 Couleurs Recharges — Bleu, blister de 2, pointe moyenne 1,0 mm (fr.bic.com, archiwum 12.2023)
manufacturer · accessed 08/11/2026
dévissez simplement le corps de votre stylo BIC 4 Couleurs, tirez sur la cartouche à remplacer et insérez la recharge. Simple comme BIC.
- 10Recharges BIC 4 Couleurs Original Fine — Bleu (fr.bic.com, archiwum 11.2024)
manufacturer · accessed 08/11/2026
ces cartouches de rechange possèdent une pointe fine de 0,8 mm qui convient à tout type d'usage : prise de notes, sudokus, dessin etc... . De qualité irréprochable, elles sont fabriquées en France dans les usines BIC.
- 11BIC 4 Color Ballpoint (F, M) Refill — The Pen Refill Guide
community · accessed 08/11/2026
105mm (4.125″) […] Japan type ballpoint stick refill that will fit in some BIC multifunction pens
- 12Bic — Wikipedia (en)
community · accessed 08/11/2026
Founded in 1945 by Italian aristocrat Marcel Bich and Édouard Buffard, the company produces disposable items, specifically pens, stationery, lighters, and shaving razors.
- 13Centre Pompidou — rekord kolekcji: Stylo 4 couleurs, Bic, 1970 (AM 2021-1-106)
museum · accessed 08/11/2026
Don de Bic en 2021
- 14Centre Pompidou — rekord kolekcji: Stylo 4 couleurs, "Ni noir, ni rouge, ni bleu, ni vert", Claude Closky x Bic, 2018 (AM 2021-1-107)
museum · accessed 08/11/2026
Don de Bic en 2021
- 15Museum of Design in Plastics — BIC original 4-colour pen (AIBDC : 008558.1)
museum · accessed 08/11/2026
The BIC 4-colour biro (4C) was invented in 1969, based on an idea by BIC company founder Marcel Bich. Originally released in France in April 1970, it was originally advertised as '3 francs for four colours'
- 16ICI (France Bleu) — Le Bic 4 couleurs, la petite histoire de son succès (19.09.2023)
press · accessed 08/11/2026
sa production ne se fait que dans l'usine historique de Bic ? Elle se trouve à Montévrain, en Seine-et-Marne
- 17franceinfo / France 2 — Stylo 4 couleurs : d'où vient l'objet culte du quotidien des Français ? (08.11.2025)
press · accessed 08/11/2026
Retour sur le stylo quatre couleurs, un objet culte.
- 18INA — Du stylo à bille aux 4 couleurs en passant par le briquet et le parfum, la saga Bic (29.08.2025)
press · accessed 08/11/2026
Depuis 1970, dans les cartables, c'est un indispensable.
- 19Le JDD — Bic : l'épopée française d'un stylo devenu légende (25.09.2025)
press · accessed 08/11/2026
le Cristal, stylo le plus vendu au monde avec plus de 120 milliards d'unités
- 20Wikipédia (fr) — Bic 4 couleurs
community · accessed 08/11/2026
200 000 exemplaires par jour en 2020, soit un million par semaine
- 21Blog Bureau Vallée — Le stylo 4 couleurs fête ses 50 ans en 2020 !
retailer · accessed 08/11/2026
En 1970, l'entrepreneur français Marcel Bich lance le stylo BIC® 4 Couleurs Original
- 22The Pen Addict — Review: Bic 4-Color Fashion Colors Multi Pen (05.08.2010)
community · accessed 08/11/2026
this is a good update to an old classic
- 23The Gentleman Stationer — Guide to Multifunction Pens (07.01.2017)
community · accessed 08/11/2026
This childhood classic still rocks, and is sold in both a 1.0mm 'medium' tip and a .7mm 'fine' tip sizes.
- 24The Well-Appointed Desk — Multi Pen Review: Multi Madness, Part 2 (09.09.2021)
community · accessed 08/11/2026
To my mind, nostalgically and practically, the Bic will always be the ballpoint multi pen to beat.
- 25Core77 — An Industrial Design Classic: The Bic 4 Color Pen from 1970 (20.04.2026)
press · accessed 08/11/2026
The pen was designed internally, and sadly, the industrial designer(s) behind it never received any credit.
- 26BIC 4 Color Ballpoint (F, M) Refill — The Pen Refill Guide
other · accessed 08/12/2026
The BIC 4 Color is a Japan type ballpoint stick refill that will fit in some BIC multifunction pens.
- 27Stylo BIC 4 Couleurs Gendarmerie nationale — FIT-Police
retailer · accessed 08/12/2026
Stylo bille BIC 4 Couleurs officiel (bleu, noir, rouge, vert) personnalisé « Gendarmerie nationale ».
- 28THE BIC 4 COLOURS IN A NUTSHELL — BIC
manufacturer · accessed 08/12/2026
a 4 Colours pen in bronze gilded with 24 carat gold: the BIC® 4 Colours 'alchemy trilogy', a collaboration with Tournaire, a famous fine jewerly house