Mars celebrates its anniversary: 125 years of premium quality at STAEDTLER
The Mars brand has been one of STAEDTLER's iconic brands for 125 years now. The high-quality product range supports and inspires creative people as a reliable partner in their projects and everyday work. In 2025, STAEDTLER is celebrating this traditional success story with eye-catching anniversary editions of the Mars eraser and Mars compass.
Image rights: STAEDTLER SE
More than a brand
In 2025, STAEDTLER looks back on the multi-faceted and successful history of one of its most important brands. Applied for as a word mark at the Imperial Patent Office in Berlin in December 1900 and registered in 1901, Mars is still present in every respect at STAEDTLER today: as a brand, product range, colour, in the logo and, until recently, in the company name. Recognisable by its Mars blue colour, the Mars Lumograph is a premium quality drawing pencil and one of the best-known and most popular pencils from the manufacturer and supplier of writing, colouring, drawing and modelling products, representing the premium range that stands for the highest quality and is particularly suitable for professional graphic and artistic work.
Special anniversary editions
The Mars brand continues to stand for premium quality. That’s why STAEDTLER is launching editions of two top products specially designed for the anniversary in the 2025/2026 campaign period: the popular Mars plastic eraser and the Mars comfort precision geometry compass in the vibrant colour combinations royal blue/mint green and royal blue/wild berry. These are complemented by an anniversary logo in the same colour as the anniversary editions and the corresponding campaign at the point of sale.
Image rights: STAEDTLER SE
Image rights: STAEDTLER SE
The Mars pencil - always of the highest quality
In advertising and catalogues, Mars brand products are identified early on as premium STAEDTLER products. The target group for the Mars Lumograph pencils - artists, draughtswomen and architects - was already demanding at that time and required high-quality products to accompany them in their everyday work. Mars is successful. As early as 1908, the pencil is available in 17 degrees of hardness. In 1912, a separate price list for the Mars range is published in five languages. Both of these factors indicate a large and international demand. From 1925, the blue polish used on the Mars pencils from the very beginning was given the colour name "marsblau" (Mars blue), a term coined by the company itself, and still characterises STAEDTLER's premium products today.