Here's a very quick summary of the Aurora 88 Medium Sized Fountain Pen. I have attached a few pictures. Sorry for the poor quick quality. I was too lazy to use a tripod and didn't want to wait till the morning to use sunlight. It's a 14K gold nib. The reason why I didn't buy the larger version is that I really don't like thick barrels. I want something elegant looking and classy. I think this epitomizes a classy classic look!

And I also notice that this pen is quite similar in terms of appearance to the MontBlanc Classique!!

Thanks for the review and pictures. That's a very handsome pen! And that's a fine nib? Your writing makes it look like an extra-fine, which I like. The blue ink is very nice as well. This makes we want to check this pen out.

From what I'm seeing, our pens are identical. Thanks for the photos and your written thoughts on the pen. I've said it before, it is a cool little pen!

The F nib looks very nice, I keep telling myself I need to get an 88 at some point...

I will post better pictures later. I just looked at the pictures and they look hideous; so is my handwriting, for that matter. I was in a big rush. So I apologize for the rush.

I must say I really like Aurora as a brand. My Cross Century II medium nib, though aesthetically pleasing does not write nearly as smoothly. For one thing, the medium nib writes like a broad, and the lines get unevenly thick or thin. The Aurora is very consistent and like I said, truly glides.

The only downside is the price. I paid 250 bucks for it (I've heard that there have been 3 price increases in the last year due to the weakening dollar). But then again, an MB Classique would cost at least 400.

This is a good review. Thanks. I find Aurora's 88 series pens to be classic good looking pens that write extremely well. I have the O/S model with an italic nib. I agree that the nib glides wonderfully.

The ever increasing prices are discouraging, aren't they? I would like to get another Optima, one in burgundy, but I might not follow through because of the prices.

Here are better pics. Sorry, still no tripod cuz I was too lazy. The other pen is my Talentum rollerball.

Forgot to add that the 88 is blacker than the Talentum. Otherwise the two pens look quite similar. I am trying to decide why the 88 is part of the Prestige collection and the Talentum is part of the Elite collection. My guess is that what sets the two apart are the intentional differences in the intensity of black!

greenpea, i couldn't attach the pic in the PM. please take a look here. Thanks.

I think it has to do with the fact that the slightly larger 88 is a piston fill. whereas the Talentum (which is a wonderful pen) is a c/c only.

Whilst yours is a c/c as well, because it is an 88 it falls into the higher rating pen. At least that is what I think.

I really need to get an 88. I'd like to check out those in-house nibs.

may i just ask, why are in house nibs better?

also, i hear that the aurora nibs are interchangeable? do i need someone who is an expert to do switch nibs? or is it simply twisting it? of course, i am not going to try switching. just curious.

Couldn't be easier. Just unscrew gently, they come right out, and screw back on, again gently. This was handy when I wanted to clean the ink view window on my 88--I was able to get a cotton swab in the barrel to wipe it--I had thought it was stained.