I know there are a few out there waiting for me to review the Visconti Divine Proportion, I finally got around to it last week end but alas a faulty nib unit was discovered so a big fat zero score is all it gets until things are put right.

The nib is misaligned over the feed, it is off centre by just over 1mm, this results in no delivery of ink to the nib. The nib unit can be extracted easy enough but the feed and nib are very tight in the nib assembly collar, so much so that I am uncomfortable to use any more force.
Having reinstalled the nib unit the pen is still mint and pending the outcome with any Visconti dealer and the seller. So far all Visconti dealers I have approached have turned their backs and only quoted silly money for a replacement nib unit despite the pen having never seen ink and it being a Visconti QC issue.

I'm not sure of the warranty status as this was purchased from an eBay seller who appears to have a continuous and large flow of fine Italian pens, I'm hoping he can enable the Visconti (lifetime) warranty otherwise the ball is in his court.

The Visconti lifetime warranty is valid only to the original owner and via an authorised dealer.......

Ouch that is bad luck...is it worth just sending the pen to Visconti Italy and saying hey look at this no ink, see the problem?
Maybe they will come to their senses and fix it for free...

No way! You have got to be kidding! High dollar Visconti Pens should at least get ink to the paper, how can they stay in business?? My restoration buddy has a nib block (they sell them at Pendemonium $20) that he used the other night to tap my Pelikan 800 nib and feed out of the collar. He adjusted the nib to feed position and opened the feed channel up just a tad to make it a little wetter for me. If Visconti won't help, you could get a nib block or send it to my bud or one of the other fine restorers on the list and they could fix you up.

This is indeed a shame, and I really hope that Visconti will help you out for free. They should with such a pen!

Thanks pakmanpony, I don't think a nib block will work here, the collar has a closed back with a small tube which the feed channels through, the small exposed feed is too fragile to to be punched.

The attention to detail on the Divine Proportion is top notch, its just a shame they didn't focus on the bit that counts. I would expect some tight QC on a pen retailing at $1618 but.....oh well

I will try to not let this experience tarnish my view of Visconti, I hold them in high regard and will continue to do so.

I'll keep you posted via this thread.

Edited as I'm just pooped and keep making silly slleping mistooks.

Sorry to hear about the major problem with the nib. You're right, when you approach a retail in excess of $1k it should be both perfect and a pen that the manufacturer should stand behind.

Yeow! One of the few Visconti I've ever heard of a problem with and it has to be this one.

Just an update - I have not yet approached Visconti directly as yet, I'm still waiting on a response from the seller who has so far ignored my email, I will soon be repeating my email to him.

All Visconti dealers I have contacted have been unhelpful.

A replacement nib unit from one site is 180euro ($257US) I absolutely begrudge having to pay for a QC issue on a new item.

I don't blame you!

Well just to show that misery loves company

I had a Manhattan that ink got inside between the barrel and inner sleeve- they never did anything about it!!! but did do a nib exchange.


Now there is the 6 weeks...I wonder where my present Verona is somewhere maybe in the US, Maybe in Italy the flippin' US distributor has not replied to 4 emails and a voicemail. So I am not really sure where the pen is.

I really want to like the pens and company but this is a 50% failure rate for me.

When I get the pen back someone will get a deal in the marketplace as there is too much bad feelings tied up in the pen right now.

Kurt

Jay - is the seller solving your problems with this pen?

I recently bought one as well (probably from the same guy) and you are making me nervous - there should be no such thing as defective nib units on a pen at that price!

I hope mine arrives soon so I can set my mind at rest (and try out the pen!)

I bought a Visconti on eBay and the fella is not responding to emails. I purchased it on Sunday and I haven't heard anything as of today (Tuesday). No shipping info, nothing.

Which model? Which seller?

Second email - still no response after two days, filed a paypal dispute - a response within hours.

The pens do have warranty and the seller has agreed to exchange the pen so its looking good. I'll delay on any glowing feedback until I have the replacement in my hands.
The nib unit just had alignment issues - nothing serious but it does effect the writing performance. I just put it down to one of those things.

My dispute may have blocked the seller from his eBay activities, I have now lifted the dispute so just give it a wee bit more time.

Visconte Pericles (or Pericle), Midnight Blue, bold nib. I'd rather not besmirch the seller's name until it gets resolved.

Finally heard from the seller ... it's on its way and due Friday. Yahoo.

Just an update.

The seller tends to ignore emails and not answer questions resulting in repeated emailing until I got a response and then answers to my questions. A very difficult person to deal with, honest but difficult.

I at last received my replacement Visconti Divine Proportion but –

After many emails asking for a fine nib and not a medium it has a medium?!?!

I can live with it as it is, unlike the first pen I received a correctly aligned nib and feed.

Please browse the photos below, like the first Divine Proportion this one has also slipped straight through Visconti quality control – or lack thereof.

The finishing on the metal ink view windows is awful with moulding flashing and burs still present and as a result it appears to have scratched the clear ink view material on assembly.
Also the cap engages very stiff and sometimes the spring loaded inner cap sticks.

My question is would you guys accept this?

I am left feeling appalled at Visconti’s quality control with a pen retailing at $1618.

Of the two DPs I have owned both were QC failures.

The finishing quality of the celluloid and silver inlays are top notch, the rest is less than mediocre.

The first DP I received have no issues with the ink view window, all was excellent except the nib.

I am sad.

Have you received the DP yet?
Any issues?

Cheers.

I am beginning to think that the manufacturers are finding outlets for their second grade pens via merchants who cannot validate the warranty and so comeback is less of an issue. Save for those in the know or the fussy, I suspect many will believe they have bought a stunner and be happy. I know it is a strong accusation but Visconti are not the only manufacturere that has a zero tolerance policy if pens are not bought from authorised dealers. I understand their frustrations with so many knock-offs being produced, but I can't help feeling that anyone who doesn't honour their product guarantees must be uncomfortable with the quailty of every item that leaves their plants. Considering even the most average high street retailer or supermarket has a no quibble retuurns policy, why would luxury goods makers have to be so restrictive. I would accept refusal of help if the pen was not genuine, but if they made it,....

My two pennies worth again

Nic

Ick. That's not up to the bottom of the line Viscontis.

Dear Jay:

I'm so sorry that you are going through so many harships on such a pricey model. I have three [cheaper] Viscontis and only one needed a nib adjustment for flow (not the feed, thank God), otherwise, no problems at all!
It is sad if Gino at the moulding line was having a heavy discussion over "futbol" teams with Ludovico at the QC line.....and the result was your pen...
The problem is you would have to deal again with the very unhelpful seller (which actually I would blame him for accepting a defective pen and worst selling it..and if he didn't notice it, well he should learn to do so). Have you considered approaching Visconti themselves? Most probably you have...
I wish you luck.

Jay,

Those photos are very disconcerting. I personally would not accept the pen in that condition. I'd say give it another round though, and exchange it yet once again, and this time with the correct nib. You know what they say: third time's a charm. (Keeping fingers-crossed if you do decide to give it another go.)

I don't have the Divine Proportion, but I do have the Divina LE. It arrived in flawless condition -- but after reading your initial post, I inspected it again just to be sure. I received mine as a gift, so initially I did not have the foggiest idea where it was purchased. However, the person who gave it to me told me that he had the receipt in case I wanted to exchange it with another pen. I did not ask for the receipt, but I did ask that he hang on to it just in case. I explained the possible hangup with Visconti not providing warranty service if it was not purchased from an authorized dealer. He told me he bought it from Bittner, and he subsequently contacted Bittner, and they issued a gift receipt as proof of purchase.

I shudder to think about other people who receive an authentic Visconti (or some other brand) as a gift and cannot produce such a receipt because they did not have the foresight to think of it. So I agree with Nic that, regardless of where a pen was purchased or acquired, if the manufacturer can verify that it is authentic, they should stand behind their product.

Kate

Came today, as a matter of fact. Everything fits right, the ink windows are crisp and clear and it has the F nib I requested - writes very smoothly.

There is one of the silver strips that stand ever so slightly proud of the barrel and I will be careful not to snag it - I agree a pen at this price should be perfect. Mine almost is, and yours really isn't, but sending it back again may be more fuss than it is worth.

And yes, our friend in Florida is certainly a man of few words.

Jay, I feel the pain that you must have now. I wouldn't accept it either. Looks like substandard. Why the hell isn't Visconti helping out with this pen.

If the seller is "outletline" then I know exactly what you mean. He sent me nibs on two Tibaldi pens that I never wanted and never ordered. He must have some issues with reading/understanding what the customer wants. In the end, he was honest, but he is not the nicest or most courteous of all pen dealers.

It's frustrating to buy such an expensive pen and have to go through this.

I've learned my lesson and will not buy from such problematic sellers again, especially if it's such an expensive pen. I hope either the seller or Visconti will do something for you.

One thing that I have learned about big-ticket items, after getting a laptop lemon from Alienware, is that, if it does not meet your requirements, *immediately* file a claim with your credit card company. You may only have 30 or 60 days to file a claim, and document everything.

One would think that the answer is to buy the pen in a brick and mortar store in order to handle it before chosing. Well, my wife bought me a Visconti Augusta while we were visiting Novelli in Rome (it is incidentally the store's LE Visconti). Marco was very helpful. I chose a super smooth EF nib and a particularly nice marble pattern full of brown chips that also match from cap to barrel, but once back in Canada with ink in the barrel the nib started skipping more than writing! Visconti QC is really subpar I have to admit. I've sent the pen to Richard Binder and not only has he fixed the ink flow, he also reground the nib to a true EF. It took 4 months but it is now a pleasure to write with, although strangely enough, the ink stops flowing before the pen is completely empty, when there is still 1-2 mm of ink on the bottom of the visible ink portion of the reservoir. Is this normal for a Visconti vac?

I am really sorry to hear about your misadventures with this ebay purchase. I would definitely not keep the pen whose ink view window you have pictured above. Why not keep the nib unit and send the rest of the pen back to Outline asking him for an exchange? Maybe you want to try to ink the pen before, just to make sure the nib unit delivers ink from the barrel without skipping like mine used to.

Regarding outline, I've purchased a Tibaldi Iride FP+MP set from him for a price below what FPs alone go for these days (295$ if I remember correctly). He is quite accomodating on buy it now offers and ships quickly. The FP turned out to have a misaligned nib, the pencil required regrinding of an inner part to propel lead and the serial numbers on pen and pencil did not match. Oh well, I was nonetheless happy with the these suberb writing instruments and the medium nib will soon be sent to a nibmeister. This being said the window molding problem on the Divina Proporzione is in my opinion unacceptable and I don't see how it can be fixed without replacing some parts. On top of that the cap doesn't work. It's more than enough to send the pen back.

I have just emailed the photos to the seller, I am asking for another replacement so lets see what happens.

This has truly been a divine experience, my first crazy money pen purchase which has caused a proportionate increase in my stress levels by 168.1%

If the seller decides to not play ball I will take action via paypal.


I am tempted to go straight to Visconti, I think it is pathetic to release luxury products with "made in china" quality.

I am left with mixed feeling w.r.t Visconti, when this gets sorted I will no longer be purchasing any more Visconti products, this is just shoddy and something I have never seen with Mont Blanc, as much as some like to knock them they have very consistent quality.

Jay=

Are you able to find any of the hidden numbers? I can not find anything at all, thats using a loupe under strong light with both VDPs.

I have a feeling the seller has QC failed stock which may explain why the pens did not receive the "secret numbers" - just a theory which I hope is wrong.

That would explain a LOT as I've never seen anything like what you're experiencing on the lower end Visconti I own. I have a vermeil salesman's sample of the gold Rinascimento and, even after shop usage, it never looked like what you've pictured. When the lowly Pericles has infinitely better fit and finish, you KNOW you have a problem.

To tell the truth I hadn't bothered trying - superstitious claptrap whose most profound effect on my life was to make me waste a moment of it pondering whether 'claptrap' was hyphenated or not.

A cursory examination shows nothing of import, but I doubt that we got rejects as I'd expect all of the production pens would have whatever numerical geegaws were intended by Visconti.

Frankly it surprises me that Visconti fastened on the numerology bit as I'd not have thought it likely to sell them any more pens, but I guess you never go wrong underestimating human nature and I have known a couple of nutters that were into that sort of thing. One of them thinks that the Brown book is the lost gospel and actually takes it seriously (visiting days every second Monday).

Take a look at STYLOPHILES review where they note that the production versions were intended to have these secret numbers. Maybe they just don't appear to the unbelievers - if you find them, let me know. Maybe in the end they didn't bother? Does the manual say you are supposed to have them? (I stuffed the box away in the box drawer and the pen in the portfolio without looking at it)

Please do update us on your journey toward getting what you paid for - it might be a thought to let outletline know that many pen fans are watching this issue with bated breath.

I find it disturbing that a company would release QC failed material into the marketplace, warranty or not. I've seen it happen but the manufacturer will take their name off the product or mark it with a visible "seconds" mark. An example is a popular knife manufacturer, a "second" from the factory has a notch ground on the tang to signify "no implied warranty". It is unethical to even sell a second without making it clear to the buyer.

I understand Visconti is a small company with a lot of hands on steps in the manufacturing process. I've always envisioned that the visually failed product would be sent back to the manufacturing department for reworking, in this case, the ink view window. It just doesn't seem like good business to throw out a high end pen to dealers who don't fully disclose all the details which could lead to damaging the company reputation. After all, Visconti knows who's buying their $1000+ products and they want that business again, and they won't get the repeaters this way.

I haven't read the full thread but if you haven't already, I'd ask the seller outright about the "damaged" goods and see if he will fess up, and contact Visconti about it also. There may be a problem they are not aware of in house. It could even be somethig simple like with the vendor who supplies the cast windows to Visconti.

Good points, greencobra.



How can one OVERLOOK that imperfection? This still puzzles me.
On the other hand, imagine how this online guy can manage to have such low prices! Ok, he doesn't have a store, maybe just a little warehouse or a space therein where he stores all his boxes. He doesn't offer good customer service as it seems. He is not able to send you an F nib when you order one. So, but still... His stuff is so cheap, there is something weird about it. I've never bought new stock from him, so I cannot tell if he sells items of second-class quality. But makes me appreciate those real dealers who take care of their stuff and don't send this out in the first place. Often, but not always, if you pay less you somehow get less. It's not always true, but sometimes, unfortunately, it is.

I think you guys are being a bit precipitate.

This guy obviously has a source for Italian pens and sells an absolute ton of them. They aren't seconds, they are regular stock. I suspect that the volume he sells is responsible for some of the oversights - he probably doesn't remove each pen from the case it came in - likely just ships it off to buyers.

I think that the condemnation is due the Italian producers themselves for letting substandard product out the door, and our friend outletline is only due criticism for not checking each one carefully. The defects in the Visconti Jay got would not be apparent to a cursory exam - which is clearly all that could have taken place (if that) on that second pen with the defective windows.

He has been good with me in terms of supplying nibs other than the one in the ebay listing (good idea to ask him ahead of time, of course). He also removed the DP from the main box, put it a separate tube and taped it to the outside of the main box, putting everything in a larger box with packing, to prevent the pen bouncing around and maybe coming adrift during shipping. Maybe he didn't look carefully enough at Jay's pen, but he does do a decent job as a seller, and his products aren't 'seconds'. Just don't expect him to be a sparkling conversationalist.

Yes, you could get better service in a B&M store. You would also pay more than twice as much for the pen (which I simply wouldn't do).

You're probably right. I don't want to bash the seller in question as his prices are indeed unbeatable. I don't think either that he willfuly sells second-grade stuff. I would love to learn, though, how offering such prices becomes possible and where he gets his stuff from.

jaytaylor, if it doesn't get resolved, I'd definitely contact Visconti USA. My Van Gogh Midi fell out of my pocket onto a tile floor and cracked in two places. The clip didn't have much tension, and tightening the screw drew the clip away from the body, so I think it was defective....but still, mostly my fault for letting it fall out, and for using it with a knowingly bad clip in the first place. However, I thought I'd try to get it replaced.

I first sent an email with no reply, so I called instead. The woman, while a bit curt, was friendly and advised me to send in the pen, with a letter of explanation. I mailed it in and, ten days later, my pen arrived with a new barrel and cap. Free of charge. I might add that I purchased the pen used and had no documentation. Needless to say, I'm impressed, and will definitely continue to buy Visconti stuff...I might go for an Opera Club or Wall Street next.

So if your plan doesn't work out, I would not hesitate to call them. Their number's on their website at www.viscontiusa.com.

Gee, I've got this Pilot Varsity, paid about $4 for it? Writes every time. But I'm just a newbie, waddya know?

So what's the big draw with Visconti pens, other than they're poorly made and obscenely expensive?

I sent a pen to them on August 28 and after several emails and several calls finally was told that it should be back next week.

If it comes back I think I will sell it as the annoyance of a quarter year out of hand has soured me to the pen and brand. Let's see if it is fixed as well.

Kurt

They're usually NOT. So when a clanker like this happens, it REALLY stands out

I agree...just must be bad luck.

Same with you, Kurt....sorry to hear about what you've gone through. Maybe it'll be so smooth and perfect you'll end up keeping it.

They are pretty expensive though.
Check out: http://www.joonpens.com/Visconti_pens.html
With those price tags, I wouldn't blame you for expecting outstanding quality control
and service.

I don't think it is necessarily the Italian company's fault directly. They use Bock nibs, and in my experience, when a brand relies on somebody else to make the heart of their pens, they lose alot of quality control. Fortunately a replacement nib/feed sometimes fixes the problem and a good nib technician can almost always provide a solution.

I don't think that Jay's nib had any quality issues except that it was just the wrong size.

Here's the original posti.

Hello, I am relatively new to collecting fountain pens, and recently bought my first Visconti off of Ebay, too. It is a yellow Firenze; it barely writes at all, and I was wondering if I dared try to send it back to the factory for repair. Thanks for posting, as it looks like they wouldn't touch it anyway. I could contact the seller, but would bet good money that he'd just laugh. Should probably try that first...
Better yet, maybe I'll just stick to my Pelikans! I own 40 of them, and not an issue in any. It is nice to diversify, but buying a "new" pen that has an issue really ticks me off!

My experience with Visconti customer service (in the US) was spectacular. I have an entry-level Van Gogh Midi which I dropped; the barrel cracked right at the screw threads that grip the cap. I emailed their customer service and they told me just send the pen - they certainly didn't ask for proof of purchase or a letter from the Pope or anything. They replaced the barrel and had it back to me in two days, in a very nice little gift box with a complementary bottle of black ink. Totally polite and responsive. I'm sorry to hear you're having an awful time and would love to know the conclusion of your negotiations.

I've another thread where I detail the horrid experience I am now having with Visconti customer disservice.

Not responsive in the least it took more than 3 months for me to get it back

And they damaged the nib and didn't totally fix it.

Kurt

Even Mr Mora who owns the mora shop told me about the horrible experiences people had with Viscontis and the after sales service. There were and still are problems with nibs and filling systems. Not too mention that, the viscontis are too expensive for their worth and the quality of customer service leaves a lot to desire. On the other hand, Mr MORA told me how people where happy with Omas and Montegrappa products as well as from their customer service.

Not exactly happy with Omas service because of the long turnaround and the atrocious wrapping of expensive celluloids when returned, but definitely bearable barring their phlegmatic attitude when asked to correspond quickly.

I wish I could be as positive with OMAS & Montegrappa...but I have vented my spleen on one Italian pen manufacturer already.


Kurt

May your spleen touch the scratched nib of your Visconti and eat away the gold! Does it contain aqua regia by any chance?