First Impressions:
I love Visconti pens. For me, Visconti and Omas hit just the right balance between art and functionality. So, I occasionally troll eBay for Italian pens, and kept coming across this limited edition pen, and it caught my eye every time I saw it, so I bid a few times, and either was always outbid at the last minute, or else never met the reserve. Finally, I made a "Best Offer", substantially less than the "Buy It Now" price, and the seller accepted. I think perhaps he took pity on me.
When the box arrived, it was exactly what I had hoped. The pen itself has beautiful swirls of pearl and grey/black. It came with it's own little identification card and a bottle of ink in a standard Visconti presentation box.
Construction, Filling System:
The construction on this pen is tight. The nib section is not removable. The filling system is the Visconti double reservoir filling system. The cap unscrews and a plunger slides out.
There is an animation on the Visconti Web Site that demonstrates how the filling system works (http://www.visconti.it/home.htm - click on the "Use and Maintenance" link on the left navigation pane).
The double reservoir filling system is a little cumbersome. First, you need to have a deep well for the pen to suck up the maximum amount of ink (the pen doesn't seem to suck the ink in unless the nib is fully submerged), and, second, the design makes it very hard to change inks, as it is difficult to to completely flush the chamber. If anyone has any good suggestions here, I would be much appreciative.
On the other hand, the pen holds a lot of ink. I mean A LOT.
Design/ Size/Weight:
The pen is Acrylic, and is heavier and slightly wider than I expected. The pen is 5 5/8" capped, 5 1/4" uncapped, and 7" posted. The pen is girthier than most of the other pens I use, but I quite like the feel of it in my hand. The section is perfectly round and polished.
Nib Design & Performance:
The nib is a Visconti 18k "Fine" nib, and writes a thick, wet line consistent with every other Visconti pen I have ever used, Although this is, by far, the smoothest out-of-the-box nib I have ever written with. To me, however, the "Fine" of most Italian pens is more like a "Medium". It is thicker than, say, a Pelikan fine. I do most of my "everyday" writing in journals and taking notes in meetings and classes, so my preference is for a much finer line, so I will, likely, send this pen to be reground to an EF, so that it writes more consistently with a Pilot/Namiki "F". This was not a surprise; the nib width and generous flow meet my expectations from Visconti.
Cost/Value:
Hard to quantify the cost value for this pen, as I made an offer on it through eBay. At the $560.00 buyout, I think it is not a bad deal, but not a great deal. Searching completed auctions, however, indicates that several of these pens have been sold at less than the $300 price point, and at that price, I think it is a good buy.
Overall Opinion/Conclusion:
I am very happy with this pen, save for the reservations about the filling system mentioned above. Once the nib is adjusted to my specifications, I am sure this will be one of my favorite pens for many years to come.
