The Biro ballpoint was the invention of the two Hungarian brothers, Ladislo and George Biro, who applied for the patents in 1938. They fled to Argentina during World War II and there introduced the Biro ballpoint pen through the newly formed Eterpen Company. The pen was well received and the Biros claimed it could write for a year without refilling. In May, 1945, Eversharp partnered with Eberhard-Faber to acquire exclusive manufacturing and marketing rights from Eterpen and poured millions into acquisition, development, advertising and production, in order to rush the pen to market. Eversharp made press releases months before the pen was actually available, in order to stir up demand and quickly recoup its investment, likely banking on the base of its market leading Skyline pens. The Eversharp CA (1945-1947), was a product that suffered because it was rushed to market too soon and without sufficient product testing.

In June, 1945, Milton Reynolds was in Buenos Aires and saw the very same Biro ballpoint and came to the same conclusion as to its potential. He bought several sample pens and returned to Chicago, Illinois and started the Reynolds International Pen Company to manufacture it. Reynolds did not have patent rights, and the Reynolds pen was a reverse engineered product that beat Eversharp to the market with essentially the same pen. It was introduced it in October, 1945 at Gimbel's department store in New York. The Reynolds Rocket ballpoint pen was priced at US $12.50 and 8,000 units were sold on the first day, valued at US $100,000. This action prompted a legal fight between Eversharp and Reynolds that drained the resources of both companies, and it didn't help that both the Eversharp and Reynolds pens suffered from leaking and skipping problems that led to heavy returns that eventually crippled both. Reynolds folded in 1951 and Eversharp never really recovered, being purchased by Parker in 1957.

Into this turbulent market entered Marcel Bich with his new ballpoint, based on the same design that killed Eversharp and Reynolds. No doubt Bich had seen the issues with the previous ballpoint products and spent some time perfecting the design. The Bich ballpoint was introduced in December 1950. With its clear hexagon shaped plastic barrel and ink-color plastic cap, the new pen was like nothing else on the market. It was a strong departure from the pricey pens that had preceded it. Bich used a shortened version of his own name, "BIC" as the brand and "Cristal" as the name of the pen, to play on the clear, ink view design. Priced aggressively low, Bich marketed the new pen as, "a reliable pen at an affordable price." The BIC Cristal pen has been made continuously ever since.