Omas Ogiva Vintage Limited Edition Arco Brown

[load81]

OMAS Ogiva Vintage Limited Edition Arco Brown

First Impressions 5 out of 5

 

I have read a lot about this pen and it was on my list since i saw the first picture. When it came up in my Ebay search i was really excited. In the end i was able to get an almost new pen for about 40% of the list price. After a few weeks of shipping from Australia to Germany it even passed through customs without additional fees.

When i opened the outer cardboard i was greeted by a really nice box that has quite a substantial feel to it. I guess most readers know the Omas box so i don't want to go in too much detail here. An Omas branded pen sleeve and a bottle of Omas Sepia ink was included. I quite like the pen sleeve even though it is a little wide for the Ogiva but it fits my 360 nicely.

The Sepia ink is basically identical in color with J. Herbin Lie de thé but more on the dry side. Nothing to write home about.

My first thought about the pen itself was something like "holy (bleep) is this thing beautyful".

 

Appearance/ Finish 4 out of 5

The material of this pen is really stunning. It has a exquisit color combination in my view. The brown, beige and toffee combination really goes very well with the yellow gold trim. The depth of the material is impossible to see on photos i believe. To understand this material you have to see it in reality. Unfortunately the poor pictures i took with my phone can not do it justice but if you are interested there are plenty of better ones around the interwebs.

The pen is made of celluloid. Many people claim it to have a very different feel to it than resin. I have to admit that i am not able to confirm that for myself. To me the difference is almost unnoticeable. That doesn't mean the surface finish is not ok, it is actually perfect i would say.

You can screw on the cap so that the barrel and the cap pattern do not line up. It does not bother me much since i quickly figured out where to start screwing to end up in the aligned position.

One thing that does bother me quite a bit is that the blind cap does not line up with the barrel pattern (as you can see in the pictures).

I am pretty sure i can fix that by detaching the blind cap and grind off a tenth of a millimeter but i annoys me that i have to do it.

 

Design/Size/Weight 5 out of 5

 

It's the classic pen shape we are looking at here. I this case a quite slim cigar shape. The pen is long but somewhat small in diameter. This gives it a very elegant look in my opinion. There is almost no step from barrel to section and the threads are not really noticeable while writing.

The pen is quite light so it seems sure that the piston mechanism has no metal parts. The cap posts even though that would only be necessary in case you have giant hands.

In the last picture you can see the comparison to a M805, a Omas 360 and a 149.

 

Nib Design and Performance 4 out of 5

 

The pen has a 18k yellow gold nib in size M. It has the regular Omas design which in my opinion fits quite well. The nib is quite springy. I wouldn't call it a flex nib but compared to other modern pens it is remarkable.

When i got the pen the nib was a bit scratchy. Well maybe not really scratchy but more feedback than i like. I am not sure if it was like that from the beginning or if this was a result of the first owner's usage. Anyway i gave it a 20 seconds ride on micro mesh and now its good. It is still not super smooth but ok for my taste. Maybe ill have a more closer look on that issue in the future.

Very rarely i noticed a hard start. It is really not so often that i would call it a problem but i will keep an eye on it in the future. Possibly a combination of ink and paper as well.

The Filling System 5 out of 5

 

Well its a piston filler. Piston operates smoothly. Can't really say much more about that.

Cost 4 out of 5

 

This pen retails for 625 € in Europe or $875 in the US as far as i know. So this is definitely not a cheap pen. But you get a stunning full size limited edition celluloid pen in a beautiful color. In my eyes a little bit on the expensive side but still ok. But frankly speaking i still wouldn't buy it at retail price. At the price i paid for it in used but great condition basically a steal though.

Overall 27 out of 30

This is a great pen and i catch myself from time to time sitting at my desk and just admiring it. Unfortunately it has some flaws like the misalignment of barrel and blind cap or the issues with the nib. I consider it to be similar to a 70s or 80s Ferrari. You get a thing of beauty that has some quality issues and needs special care to run.

I am very happy with my purchase i have the feeling i develop some kind of fondness for Omas pens.

 

I hope this review (my first) was somewhat helpful for you and please excuse the poor photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[load81]

Just in case you want to see a writing sample:

 

[playtime]

ooh. beautiful! congrats on your new purchase and thanks for sharing your observations:)

[gmax]

Congratulations on a superb pen, and thanks also for a great review

[dms525]

Beautiful pen! Congratulations!

 

David

[whichwatch]

Great choice! Lovely pen and nice review, too!

[dannyboy]

THAT is one beautiful pen! I love writing with the Omas pens I have and I think you'll have many years of writing pleasure with this one. Congratulations and enjoy this pen every day!

[load81]

THAT is one beautiful pen! I love writing with the Omas pens I have and I think you'll have many years of writing pleasure with this one. Congratulations and enjoy this pen every day!

 

The Arco Brown celluloid is a truly remarkable material. I can totally understand why Omas appears to release special editions with that material for all their pen lines sooner or later. The 360 in Arco Brown seems to be also a fantastic pen.

[Keyless Works]

The Ogiva shape really accentuates the beautify of the Arco celluloid. Congrats!

[raging.dragon]

OMAS nibs really are something special (at least compared to other modern nibs), and their feeds have worked well for me. I've generally had more positive experiences with ebonite feeds than with polymer feeds, so I'm glad that OMAS and a few others continue to make ebonite feeds.

 

[...] I consider it to be similar to a 70s or 80s Ferrari. You get a thing of beauty that has some quality issues and needs special care to run. [...]

 

I think that's a good summary of Italian pens in general!

[jips123]

I have a 90's paragon blue royale with a medium nib (have a fake snakeskin blue box with it; there is an inscription Omas Extra). Writes extremely smooth but also very wet. Lovely on the expensive papers but not so with the cheaper stuff. Still wondering (some years already) whether to sell it or not...

[fabrimedeiros]

This is beautiful! Superb pen! Congratulations...

[Keyless Works]

I have a 90's paragon blue royale with a medium nib (have a fake snakeskin blue box with it; there is an inscription Omas Extra). Writes extremely smooth but also very wet. Lovely on the expensive papers but not so with the cheaper stuff. Still wondering (some years already) whether to sell it or not...

You could send it to a nibmeister to have it tuned to your liking. I have sold all of my modern OMAS pens except 1 which has sentimental value...if you don't enjoy writing with it why keep it?

[Montblanc owner and lover]

i've always loved the arco desing. One of my dream pen is the paragon in bronze celluloid but may be this Ogiva could remplace it as it's a lot cheaper

[Mainecoon]

And this is your first review? Ever?

Very informative with nice pictures on a beautifull pen. And it has a nice box as well. Thanks for sharing and enjoy writing with it!

[load81]

And this is your first review? Ever?

Very informative with nice pictures on a beautifull pen. And it has a nice box as well. Thanks for sharing and enjoy writing with it!

 

Thank you very much. I was a review virgin indeed. Read many many reviews on fpn so i was initiated in some way though. Maybe when i have some time in the future i'll do a review of the Colonial Edition 360 you can see in the comparison picture.

[georges zaslavsky]

 

The Arco Brown celluloid is a truly remarkable material. I can totally understand why Omas appears to release special editions with that material for all their pen lines sooner or later. The 360 in Arco Brown seems to be also a fantastic pen.

Mottishaw has these for sale

[georges zaslavsky]

thanks for the review and congrats on the Omas

[b1lynch]

The Brown celluloid is stunning and I think particularly so with the Ogiva shape v. say the Paragon. I have an Omas Ogiva MOMA edition and love the pen so when I "fell for" the brown Arco I thought perhaps I should consider the Paragon to mix things up a little, but while it's still beautiful, I don't think it's as stunning as the Ogiva Arco brown.

 

I can't believe the blind cap doesn't align - that's criminal...aesthetically and frankly for this kind of money it should happen. Have you seen or heard of this issue on others or do you think you are an unfortunate anomaly?

 

I have an M805 which is probably the most comfortable writing pen I own...and I'm struggling to decide between the Omas Ogiva Arco Brown and the Pelikan M800 Tortoise - owning both the M805 and the Ogiva what do you think?

 

Thanks! ...and congrats....a BEAUTIFUL pen.

[dannyboy]

Go for the Omas Arco Brown Ogiva--stunning in looks and great in performance. But Omas needs to make a smoother filling system.