Xezo Maestro Review -- "All Sea Shell"
I happened on this pen while casually surfing eBay . . . one of my searches was for 'abalone pen', and this one turned up amongst a large number of Labans. I did a quick search of the FPN archives and found only a few comments on the Xezo brand, but all were positive . . . so I decided to put my bid in. The pen was for sale by a direct Xezo eBay shop, and after a successful bid it arrived on my doorstep a few days later.
First Impressions - 5/5
The pen arrived in a pretty standard package . . . a faux snakeskin gift box inside a cardboard sleeve, nicely pacakged in a cardboard shipping box. The gift box is quite nice and a bit unusual . . . the top opens 'sideways' in two halves instead of a traditional 'clamshell', as shown in the picture below.
The box is prominently stamped 'Limited Edition' in gold on the side, as the pen is one of only 500 made (or perhaps 470 . . . more later). Inside, the box is a standard gray velvet with a band to hold the pen. The pen itself was further protected in a cellophane sleeve, and came with a plastic screw-plunger converter and four black ink cartridges, also packaged in their own sleeves.
In addition to the boxed pen, Xezo also included a nice leather 2-pen carrying case. It is tastefully stamped with the Xezo logo on the flap, and comfortably holds both of the two largest pens in my collection -- a Taccia Doric and a Taccia Staccato. This was a very nice and welcome addition to the package.
The pen is packaged with a catalog of other Xezo products (mostly watches, but also pens and cases), an instruction/pen care booklet, a small multi-lingual 'Certificate of Quality' including hand-written notes on the pen model and series number, and a plastic warranty card again hand-written with the model name, a serial number, date, authorizing signature, and website. The card states that the pen is guaranteed against all defects for three years.
Appearance - 5/5
Wow . . . if I could, I'd give this pen a 6/5! I think it's absolutely beautiful . . . but then I really love the look of abalone.
The cap and body are covered in a series of rectangular pieces of abalone, with platinum-plated fittings. The abalone is beautiful, with lovely green and purple irridescent hues offset by black swirls. Each rectangular section has a unique pattern. The sections on the cap are rounded and smoothed, but the body has eight faceted sides. It may be a cliche, but it's true . . . pictures really do not do justice to the beauty of this pen!
The cap has a large glossy platinum end cap with a round black plastic jewel, and a wide cap band that is engraved with Maestro Limited Edition in script along with an X logo. The clip is unique . . . it looks like a stylized elephant face and trunk sans ears, with small eyes and tusks at the top and wrinkles at the bottom. The band which holds the clip in place is engraved with "020/470", which indicates a smaller run of 470 units instead of the advertised 500. This squares with the numbers in the Certificate of Quality.
The end cap on the body is similar in shape to the cap, but without any jewel. There is a small, black, threaded bit of plastic between the end cap and the body proper, which allows you to screw the cap on when posting . . . a nice touch, but a minor take-away in the looks department. The section is a pretty standard black plastic, with a large silver and gold-plated nib.
Design - 5/5
If you like a substantial pen, then you should love the Maestro. It's pretty big . . . nearly identical in length to my Sheaffer Legacy, with a larger diameter. The body and cap are brass beneath the abalone covering, so it's heavier than the Legacy as well. The Xezo website lists the pen as 136mm capped and 168mm posted, with a diameter of 15mm and a weight of 47 gm. It's shown below in comparison to a Waterman Carene, Sheaffer Legacy, Parker 51, and Pelikan M600.
The pen feels very well put together and has a lot of nice features. The cap screws on smoothly, and comes off in one full turn. Posting the cap takes about 3/4 of a turn. The pen seems well balanced for writing, and the octagonal barrel feels very comfortable in the fingers. I don't write with the cap posted, but it seems well balanced in this configuration, too. The clip -- while not spring-loaded -- is very substantial with enough give to clip onto a thick pocket with ease.
From my understanding, the pen is assembled in Texas from German parts.
Nib - 4.5/5
Here is where my ability to rate this pen fall short . . . I am no expert in nibs by any means. I believe that the nib is steel, and is stamped 'Iridium Point Germany'. I am knocking off half a point because it does not appear that this pen is offered with a gold nib of any kind, which I know is important to many members. I also don't know if the nib is removeable or exchangeable with other designs . . . I can't tell by looking, and I'm not going to start twisting it or pulling it to find out! Perhaps one of our resident experts can tell more than I can by looking at a few pictures . . .
The pen writes beautifully. It produces a nice, wet -- but not too wet -- line, and seems to start up immediately on every try. The feel is as smooth as any nib I've tried. The nib was listed as a Medium, but seems to put down a slightly thinner line than many other mediums I've used (like Pelikan, Taccia, Waterman, etc). I plan on grinding this into a Cursive Italic shortly, as I do with all my pens.
Fill Mechanism - 4.5/5
Standard plastic piston converter, as you'll find in nearly every other pen you pick up. It's on par with those I've seen in my Laban, Taccia, or Libelle pens . . . not as high quality as those in a Sheaffer or Waterman, but still nice.
Value - 5/5
The list price for this pen on the Xezo site is $165 . . . I picked it up from the Xezo eBay store for $102 plus shipping. For comparison, the best price I've seen on a new Laban Large Abalone Pen (which is very similar in design) with a steel nib is $162, and the best price for a Taccia Stained Glass MOP pen with steel nib is $149. And for that low price you also get a very nice two-pen leather carry case . . . quite a bargain in my eyes.
The Final Verdict - 4.8/5
If you like abalone pens, and are not restricted to particularly small or lightweight pens, then by all means grab a Maestro if you see one . . . you won't be disappointed!
