New Pen And Pen Design: I Pigmenti Seppia

August 1, 2013

As mentioned in my previous topic, introducing myself and my company, I will co-produce a fountain pen series in co-operation with Etruria S.r.l., the Stipula company, called the “I Pigmenti” series, and the pens will be numbered from 1 to 88 for each model in the series.

The first pen in the series, the “Seppia” (Sepia), will be dedicated to a magnificent sea creature, the Sepia (sepia officinalis) or, as known by its common name, the cuttle fish. Ink made from the contents of the ink sac of the cuttle fish ink has been used for thousands of years in human civilisations to create a beautiful dye, which has not only been used in inks, but also in food - most people probably do know the black-coloured tagliatelli available in some supermarkets and restaurants.

image: Adult Sepia

What makes this creature so special, is that it is capable of changing colour to match its surroundings, it is the chameleon of the sea so to speak. Furthermore, in its earlier part of life, it is translucent. This combination just asks for a pen which is translucent too, a demonstrator IOW. Just like the cuttle fish, this way the pen will adapt to its environment in a colorofic sense too: it will take the colour of the ink it holds!

image: juvenile Sepia

As this animal essentially forms a cigar type shape when propelling itself for best aerodynamics under water, it is also obvious that a pen celebrating this animal should have such a shape. Hence the idea was born for a large demonstrator, based on a transparent, clear resin, the size and shape of an Etruria Magnifica, which is the new OS version of the well-known Etruria model, and is a few millimeters longer and slightly wider than the standard model.

image: Etruria Nuda

As Etruria S.r.l. developed a technique and design for some very nifty two part clips, with the parts cast according to the cire perdue, or lost wax, principle, we grabbed this opportunity to do something similar for a clip created in the shape of a cuttle fish, or Sepia. Head and arms are positioned at the top part of the cap, the arms embracing the cap, and the body is designed as the moving part of the clip. Simple, effective, and very elegant. Because many cuttle fish sport some sepia spots, and have bright eyes, enamel will be applied to the clip to simulate those. This will be applied over a very heavy coating of silver, to model the brightness and translucency of the cuttle fish.

image: cap band and clip sketches

The cap band is designed to show the environment of the cuttle fish, with coral, rock, seaweed, fish, etc, and with the sea water seen between these elements, very tastefully cativated in shades of blue enamel.

Obviously, this pen will be a piston filler, and the ring separating the piston knob from the main part of the barrel, will show a pattern of cuttle fish eggs, to further expand this theme.

image: Sepia eggs

As the cuttle fish is a streamlined animal, with no LE markings on its outer body, neither will the pen. Instead, it will have an inner tube around the piston mechanism, covering this mechanism when in retracted state, in other words, when the pen is filled with ink. This tube will bear the inscriptions and LE numbers, so as not to distract from the beauty of this pen and the animal it represents.

image: sketch of pen

As may be clear, a pen of such intricate design and special features, will not be a cheap pen. However, in order to make this pen available to as large a group as possible, it will be equipped with nibs in a variety of materials, namely steel, titanium, 14K gold and 18K gold. As a result, these pens will be available in a price range from 411 to 707 euros. As mentioned, the first 20 buyers will be able to purchase this pen at a discount of 10%, and they will be able to select any nib modifications free of charge.

This is clearly not a cheap writing instrument, but what you will get is a very unique and very special, handcrafted pen, celebrating a very special animal and dye. Only very few parts of this pen are not crafted in the factory itself (the piston rod and the nib assembly). Having said that, every pen will be checked by undersigned personally, and every nib assembly will be properly tuned, set and smoothed, and will be guaranteed to work 100% as a result. If required additional nib work can be applied as well, at extra, but reduced cost, or no cost to the first 20 buyers, and these pens will get preferential, i.e, rush work treatment, without any additional costs.

image: artist's impression

If you would like to order one, please do contact me backchannel, either by PM or by email.

Here is to hoping to hear from you soon!

Warm regards, Wim

Blue Maple BV

Addendum:

Pricing, excluding VAT and excluding shipping costs; VAT at 21% will be added where applicable (EU)

i Pigmenti Seppia, stainless steel nib, F, M or 1.1 italic: € 411; first 20 discount price: € 369.90

i Pigmenti Seppia, titanium T-Flex nib, 0.45 - 1.1 flex: € 498; first 20 discount price: € 448.20

i Pigmenti Seppia, 14K rhodium plated gold nib, F, M or 1.1 italic: € 660; first 20 discount price: € 594.00

i Pigmenti Seppia, 18K duotone dold nib, F, M or 52 degree: € 707; first 20 discount price: € 636.30

Shipping costs will be charged at actual cost and currently range from € 8.65 to € 25.60 depending on destination.