DERWENT PASTEL PENCIL (P)CODE : P630COLOUR : Venetian RedThis really is a very elegant pencil with completely rounded barrel in a rich shade of dark red and coordinating stripe.The point/core of the pencil is the same colour as the opposite end to aid selection depending on how you store your collection.The pencil arrives ready to use and measures around 17.5 cm when new.Embossed in a silver-colour on the barrel is ENGLAND/DERWENT/PASTEL, the COLOUR NAME & CODE.I am a total beginner with pastels and as I am not so keen on getting 'dirty', these truly are a great invention, combining the versatility of a pastel with the control of a pencil, and the finer point helps boost the confidence to more experimenting.Derwent Pastel Pencils don't crumble too much and it is easy to mix and blend, if required.You don't lose half the pastel when using the recommended Derwent Pastel Pencil Sharpener which is a fairly inexpensive addition (at the time of writing) and has lasted well (so far) and I am not the least bit confident with a craft knife!I have noticed that there can be a slight colour difference in the main barrel colour when buying individually, but this doesn't particularly worry me.What does trouble me, however, is the sticky residue left on the barrel from some of the more stubborn bar code stickers and I do wish there was an alternative way of pricing a pencil!