Why professional colored pencils are so expensive

Student-grade colored pencils and professional-grade ones vary drastically not only in their price but how they’re made. A set of 120 Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils costs $350, 14 times as much as a similar box of Crayola colored pencils. And some brands price their sets at over $550. That’s because of the time and attention put into creating pencils whose colors are rich, blendable, and last decades. At Faber-Castell, this is a result of a combination of pigments and other ingredients, expertly designed cores, and carefully selected wood.