I just got my first nice celluloid pen, an Aurora Aurolide. It's my favorite overall pen so far (though there are a couple of others that I like almost as much). I have started looking at other celluloid pens and scoped out the highly regarded Omas Paragons. What makes them worth so much money? Are they really more than twice as good/nice/functional/cool as Auroras? I look forward to your enlightenment.

Joel

OMAS celluloid has a sheen like no other, you really gotta see it in person

I like Omas pens and think the nibs on the old paragons are nice enough to make them worth saving up for.

I have several of the old style paragons in the regular black resin and several of the celluloids. I do not think there is much difference in the function or fit or basic writing performance of the two. I think you are paying the extra money for the material.

Whether it is worth it to someone to pay the extra is hard to say. If someone has the money and likes the look, they might as well go for it. Nib wise, the resin and celluloid pens write alike. They use, after all, the same nibs. If someone does not have the money to buy the celluloid, they are missing out on the joy of looking at and handling the celluloid but they still have a great pen.

just my opinion.

Congrats on your Aurora! I have YET to have experience with Aurora but I hear mostly good things about their products.

To answer your question, like all 'flagship' albeit non-limited models, the paragon is priced as what it is given its standing among omas's offerings. Like what John has said, the celluloid adds a premium on top of an already pricey pen offered by an equally pricey company, which is the unfortunate turn of branding events steered by Arnault and his LVMH.

Is it worth the money? For me yes. The celluloid is indeed beautiful and I find that the pen possesses a peculiar tactile character as I write. The question now arises is, does the celluloid adds to the writing experience? For many, answer is no. For me the answer is yes: as I see the entire writing experience from the ornated nib, to the craftsmanship of the pen as one complete package. This is not to say that the black resin is lesser. Rather, it merely conveys a different experience. In the best possible world I would have both. But alas.

In my long experience with FPs, and the considerably relatively short experience with premium ones, I realized that pen costing twice as much is not twice as good and mine is neither an economical nor an systematic explanation. I simply find that different pens do write differently no matter what pundits may say, and the experience varies greatly with the type of paper, ink and hack, writing angle you use. Many times it even depends on your mood--like you write hard and fast when you are anxious, and when you write laborously slow and in the flow when in total serenity. But this is not to say that all pens are made equal. There are some which are really bad that I would not even want to touch given what I have now.

So perhaps in answering your question to beget another, I dare to say that your future paragon will write differently than your current Aurora. I also recommend you to look at Montegrappa, which is nearly at the same price point as the Paragon Celluloids. I made my judgment on my new Montegrappa too quickly and now I realized too that there is a breaking-in period on these new pens. Now it writes like a dream. Again, while I used to think my paragon writes better than the extra1930, I do think they write differently now, and both are in my opinion, great pens. And hardly by a case of cognitive consonance!

Intrinsicly they are worth about $25.

But that is not the way the fountain pen market works. (or the mechanical watch market, or the diamond market, etc.)

Vendors can sell them for what people are willing to pay for them. As long as there are enough people to pay the price, they will charge it. Since they do get discounted new, the retail M.S.R.P. prices for most of them are just an optimistic starting points.

The usual questions is how bad, in terms of money out of your pocket, you want the item.

They are beautiful and wonderful to look at. The nibs on all Omas pens are great. It is just a matter of what you are willing to pay. I constantly enjoy just looking at mine as well as writing with them. Like other site said, price depends on what people are willing to pay.

I do not think that this is true. What do you base your judgment on?

Someday...... i will own an Arco brown Celluloid FP. Just not ready to sell half my collection to get it though.

Jim

Me too. I'd love one of the celluloids. I have a paragon grey silver tech and it is a great pen.

From what I understand, your Aurora Aurolide is a really nice pen, but it is not actually celluloid - not at least in the way that the term in used for many antique pens or a few modern pens. Aurolide is Aurora's marketing name for a material made of cellulose acetate. This is the same material as the Retro 51 Double Eight line of pens, among other makers and models. Real celluloid is made of cellulose nitrate. Cellulose nitrate is a little harder to make than cellulose acetate in that cellulose nitrate is more flamable and requires longer curing times. The slightly greater raw material cost of real cellulose nitrate is no where near the astronomically higher prices Omas charges for theirs and some makers offer real cellulose nitrate pens for a far more reasonable cost than Omas does.

In any event, cellulose acetate is a more stable material and in my opinion is very close in look and feel to cellulose nitrate. I have pens made of both (for example, I have a limited edition Nettuno Idra made from cellulose nitrate and a Retro 51 Double Eight made from cellulose acetate) and I like them all.