Originally Posted by
AzJon
An important thing to consider is that even in English "precious" doesn't mean "rare" or "hard to find" or something somehow finite. The root of "precious" simply means "valuable" (from Latin pretiosus) Given the range of plastics used to make pens (especially with the rise of the Bic polystyrene ballpoints), using higher-tier plastic to make a pen certainly would imply greater value.
Edit: also, if its "just" ABS plastic, a reminder that there are different grades of ABS plastic depending on how the three primary components (Acrylonitrile, Butadiene and Styrene) are blended for the final product.