First, sorry there are no pictures in this review. All the pictures can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8xoa8d3j3tnsb4g/BCZ-9m3VLy
I tried to include them in the review but they kept coming up as "invalid"...not sure why.
This is my most expensive pen by a WIDE margin. I wasn't going to buy it at all...then I got to play with it when I brought my Van Gogh in to be repaired (I dropped it one too many times and the barrel cracked...). It was definitely an impulse buy as I wanted a demonstrator and was actually planning on buying a TWSBI VAC700 or 580 BUUUUUUUUT...ya...pretty things amuse me and this thing is PUUUUUURDY.
Appearance and Design
Alrighty then. If you can't tell from the pictures and/or didn't look (or read my above paragraph ) this is a demonstrator pen and is completely translucent. There's no shading colours at all, everything is visible from the top of the cap to the bottom of the barrel, with a couple of exceptions. There is a chrome band at the bottom of the cap which states the name of the pen on the front (same side as the clip) and the number of the pen on the back. This model was limited to 1000 pieces worldwide, I bought number 78. The distributor I was at also had number 200 and something but I liked the lower number better. There is also a chrome grip section. The grip section actually tapers down from the body then flairs out before the nib section, giving you a perfect place to grip and rest your fingers.
The design on this pen is unique. Aside from being a demonstrator which we've all seen, this pen is part of the design line by Visconti called "Squaring the Circle". Basically that means it has nice smooth rounded edges but four flat sides which allow the pen to be placed on virtually any surface and it won't roll away on you.
The designs on the nib are quite unique, lots of swirls that are not just for show. I've seen some ink in them which means they're being used as air flow chambers to help the capillary action of the nib. I'll talk more about the nib design and functionality in a later section.
The cap is Visconti's patented twist clip they call the "hook safe lock" system. Basically, there is a spring in the cap of the pen. You put the cap on the pen and little grooves line up with the pen itself. Pushing down on the cap you twist it slightly (the grooves are actually angled so you don't have to twist at all, the cap does it all by itself) and then there is a hook section at the end of the groove that the cap snaps in to. To get the cap off, you have to push down on the cap to get out of the hook section then twist the opposite way (or just start pulling and the grooves guide you out!). I've been wearing the pen on my work lanyard for two days now. Normally I have to tighten my pens every so often as the caps start to come off. This one hasn't moved at all. By using the clip, you are actually forcing the cap to stay snug in that hook section. Freaking genius!
Construction and Quality
This is a heavy pen. It's definitely one of the very first things you notice about the pen when you pick it up. If you don't like heavy pens (I do!) then you are NOT going to like this even a little bit. If you're a fan of the lightness of the Lamy Safari or similar pens you should probably just move along.
The quality of this pen is evident in both it's weight and look. You can clearly see each and every part of the pen and it feels like a great, well made instrument. I've played with a lot of pens and this one is hands down tied for first in construction build feel for me. The other pen that is tied for first? Visconti's Homo Sapien Bronze Age. Both pens are in a class all their own.
Nib Performance
The nib is made of Chromium 18 and is tubular in design. The nib actually wraps almost all the way around the feed instead of just resting on top. Visconti did this (they say) so that you do not have to put the entire section into an ink bottle to get the ink up. Does this work? I'm not sure, I've used only the mosquito filler it comes with (I'll talk about that in a bit!). Does it look great? Yup. Fantastic nib.
I got the "M" nib initially. Buttery, inky goodness. Nice wet line from the nib. Wet enough you get line variation but not so wet as to bleed through our lovely B&B Journal pages. I've also used this at work on our crappy office paper. The fountain pen friendly paper is still fountain pen friendly...just not AS friendly as it is with my other pens. Definitely a wetter writer than anything else I have. Feathering is evident but not abundant, which is a testament to the paper for sure!
Weight and Dimensions
As I said before this is not a light pen. Compared to my other pens this one trumps them all EASILY. My Parker 51 Demi feels like air in comparison. Hell, the Van Gogh almost feels like air! I personally love my pens posted as I find the extra weight and length helps balance things out. This pen I will not be posting. It's definitely top heavy and actually too long when posted. Thankfully, the unposted length is actually perfect for me as is the weight so bonus!
Overall Size - 6 in. capped, 7.5 in posted
Weight - 50 g
Filling System and Maintenance
The filling system on this pen is what Visconti likes to call "Double Reservoir Power Filler" which is a vacuum system with a second reservoir. One reservoir is small and made to hold the ink you're currently using and/or made to be empty for flights. The main reservoir is MASSIVE, thanks in part to the pen being large as well. I'm honestly not sure how much ink it holds but I have written 4 pages single spaced in the journal and taken two days of notes at work and it doesn't look like I've used any ink at all. Normally by this point I'd be almost ready to refill.
There is also the mosquito attachment for this pen. It's basically a snorkel system that you attach to the tubular nib (it only fits tubular nibs) and then not even the nib gets ink on it. This will definitely get you those last drops in any ink bottle.
Filling this pen is just like filling any vacuum filler (I'm assuming as this is the first I've owned). You unscrew the cap, extend the plunger, push the plunger down in one smooth motion and it "pops" at the end drawing ink up into the reservoirs. Visconti recommends leaving the nib or mosquito end submerged in the ink for 4-5 seconds to get the best fill.
My first fill of the pen on my Sailor Jentle Blue-Black got me enough ink to JUST BARELY fill the small reservoir. I got some ink air bubbles in the top and that was all. I tried to think of what I did wrong and then it dawned on me. Sailor Jentle bottles you hold upside down and shake a bit to fill in their filler reservoir. When I was depressing the vacuum filler and air was voiding out the pen it was pushing the ink back into the main bottle section from the filling section! I found a hole in the reservoir section and stuck my mosquito filler right into the bottle. Filled perfectly this time. Something I'm definitely going to have to watch out for in the future.
Cost and Value
The MSRP on this pen is $900 (in Canada). I was able to get it direct from the only Canadian distributor (who then sells to all the Canadian stores) at a bit of a discount. Does that discount make the pen worth it? As of right now, yes. This is going to be my new daily driver pen. I've already got an additional stub nib coming so I can change up my writing; stub for my journal and letters, medium for my everyday at work or otherwise. Also, as I said earlier this pen just FEELS solid. It feels like it's going to last forever (and it better!! ) While it was an impulse purchase I'm definitely happy I did it.
Conclusion
This is an excellent pen and for me, definitely worth the cost. Having a limited edition pen that is also as functional as this one is great. Could it cost less? Probably, as I'm sure I'm paying extra because it's limited edition AND the fact that it's Visconti's first completely translucent pen. That being said I'd buy it again, next time it won't be an impulse!
Cheers,
M.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8xoa8d3j3tnsb4g/BCZ-9m3VLy
I tried to include them in the review but they kept coming up as "invalid"...not sure why.
Pen Review: Visconti Opera LE Crystal
This is my most expensive pen by a WIDE margin. I wasn't going to buy it at all...then I got to play with it when I brought my Van Gogh in to be repaired (I dropped it one too many times and the barrel cracked...). It was definitely an impulse buy as I wanted a demonstrator and was actually planning on buying a TWSBI VAC700 or 580 BUUUUUUUUT...ya...pretty things amuse me and this thing is PUUUUUURDY.
Appearance and Design
Alrighty then. If you can't tell from the pictures and/or didn't look (or read my above paragraph
) this is a demonstrator pen and is completely translucent. There's no shading colours at all, everything is visible from the top of the cap to the bottom of the barrel, with a couple of exceptions. There is a chrome band at the bottom of the cap which states the name of the pen on the front (same side as the clip) and the number of the pen on the back. This model was limited to 1000 pieces worldwide, I bought number 78. The distributor I was at also had number 200 and something but I liked the lower number better. There is also a chrome grip section. The grip section actually tapers down from the body then flairs out before the nib section, giving you a perfect place to grip and rest your fingers. The design on this pen is unique. Aside from being a demonstrator which we've all seen, this pen is part of the design line by Visconti called "Squaring the Circle". Basically that means it has nice smooth rounded edges but four flat sides which allow the pen to be placed on virtually any surface and it won't roll away on you.
The designs on the nib are quite unique, lots of swirls that are not just for show. I've seen some ink in them which means they're being used as air flow chambers to help the capillary action of the nib. I'll talk more about the nib design and functionality in a later section.
The cap is Visconti's patented twist clip they call the "hook safe lock" system. Basically, there is a spring in the cap of the pen. You put the cap on the pen and little grooves line up with the pen itself. Pushing down on the cap you twist it slightly (the grooves are actually angled so you don't have to twist at all, the cap does it all by itself) and then there is a hook section at the end of the groove that the cap snaps in to. To get the cap off, you have to push down on the cap to get out of the hook section then twist the opposite way (or just start pulling and the grooves guide you out!). I've been wearing the pen on my work lanyard for two days now. Normally I have to tighten my pens every so often as the caps start to come off. This one hasn't moved at all. By using the clip, you are actually forcing the cap to stay snug in that hook section. Freaking genius!
Construction and Quality
This is a heavy pen. It's definitely one of the very first things you notice about the pen when you pick it up. If you don't like heavy pens (I do!) then you are NOT going to like this even a little bit. If you're a fan of the lightness of the Lamy Safari or similar pens you should probably just move along.
The quality of this pen is evident in both it's weight and look. You can clearly see each and every part of the pen and it feels like a great, well made instrument. I've played with a lot of pens and this one is hands down tied for first in construction build feel for me. The other pen that is tied for first? Visconti's Homo Sapien Bronze Age. Both pens are in a class all their own.
Nib Performance
The nib is made of Chromium 18 and is tubular in design. The nib actually wraps almost all the way around the feed instead of just resting on top. Visconti did this (they say) so that you do not have to put the entire section into an ink bottle to get the ink up. Does this work? I'm not sure, I've used only the mosquito filler it comes with (I'll talk about that in a bit!). Does it look great? Yup. Fantastic nib.
I got the "M" nib initially. Buttery, inky goodness. Nice wet line from the nib. Wet enough you get line variation but not so wet as to bleed through our lovely B&B Journal pages. I've also used this at work on our crappy office paper. The fountain pen friendly paper is still fountain pen friendly...just not AS friendly as it is with my other pens. Definitely a wetter writer than anything else I have. Feathering is evident but not abundant, which is a testament to the paper for sure!
Weight and Dimensions
As I said before this is not a light pen. Compared to my other pens this one trumps them all EASILY. My Parker 51 Demi feels like air in comparison. Hell, the Van Gogh almost feels like air! I personally love my pens posted as I find the extra weight and length helps balance things out. This pen I will not be posting. It's definitely top heavy and actually too long when posted. Thankfully, the unposted length is actually perfect for me as is the weight so bonus!
Overall Size - 6 in. capped, 7.5 in posted
Weight - 50 g
Filling System and Maintenance
The filling system on this pen is what Visconti likes to call "Double Reservoir Power Filler" which is a vacuum system with a second reservoir. One reservoir is small and made to hold the ink you're currently using and/or made to be empty for flights. The main reservoir is MASSIVE, thanks in part to the pen being large as well. I'm honestly not sure how much ink it holds but I have written 4 pages single spaced in the journal and taken two days of notes at work and it doesn't look like I've used any ink at all. Normally by this point I'd be almost ready to refill.
There is also the mosquito attachment for this pen. It's basically a snorkel system that you attach to the tubular nib (it only fits tubular nibs) and then not even the nib gets ink on it. This will definitely get you those last drops in any ink bottle.
Filling this pen is just like filling any vacuum filler (I'm assuming as this is the first I've owned). You unscrew the cap, extend the plunger, push the plunger down in one smooth motion and it "pops" at the end drawing ink up into the reservoirs. Visconti recommends leaving the nib or mosquito end submerged in the ink for 4-5 seconds to get the best fill.
My first fill of the pen on my Sailor Jentle Blue-Black got me enough ink to JUST BARELY fill the small reservoir. I got some ink air bubbles in the top and that was all. I tried to think of what I did wrong and then it dawned on me. Sailor Jentle bottles you hold upside down and shake a bit to fill in their filler reservoir. When I was depressing the vacuum filler and air was voiding out the pen it was pushing the ink back into the main bottle section from the filling section! I found a hole in the reservoir section and stuck my mosquito filler right into the bottle. Filled perfectly this time. Something I'm definitely going to have to watch out for in the future.
Cost and Value
The MSRP on this pen is $900 (in Canada). I was able to get it direct from the only Canadian distributor (who then sells to all the Canadian stores) at a bit of a discount. Does that discount make the pen worth it? As of right now, yes. This is going to be my new daily driver pen. I've already got an additional stub nib coming so I can change up my writing; stub for my journal and letters, medium for my everyday at work or otherwise. Also, as I said earlier this pen just FEELS solid. It feels like it's going to last forever (and it better!!
) While it was an impulse purchase I'm definitely happy I did it. Conclusion
This is an excellent pen and for me, definitely worth the cost. Having a limited edition pen that is also as functional as this one is great. Could it cost less? Probably, as I'm sure I'm paying extra because it's limited edition AND the fact that it's Visconti's first completely translucent pen. That being said I'd buy it again, next time it won't be an impulse!
Cheers,
M.
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