Is the Marlen Nature Series piston-fill? How do their nibs run?

They are piston fill, and their nibs seemed to run very slightly wide (though less so than some others I've tried).

Awesome!

The Nature Series are out of catalog. These are pens from 2002, are piston fillers and my "M" is a true "M" (or runs slightly on the wider side). They have two engravings "Nature" and the name of the model (mine sayz "Sempreverde") on the body and "Italy" on the piston knob.

Click to view attachment
Here's my "Sempreverde" or Evergreen if You please

PM me if You want I can send You a picture from a magazine commercial of the whole collection.

Oh I forgot - the nib is an 18K gold one.

Wow, those are gorgeous. Thank you. Does the nib have some flex?

Sempreverde = Evergreen, btw. It's the color name, I believe.

Guys, I might need some help on this one. I may have gotten a fake Marlen "Nature." I recently got a Marlen "Nature" FP on the Bay, which is supposedly new old stock. It is a lovely brown tiger eye material, and Marlen made a Nature FP in tiger eye, probably calling it by another name. But there are significant differences from the one pictured above.

The pen I received has a different clip, with no diamond and a little wheel at the end. The cap ring does not have "Marlen" inscribed. There is a metal cap top with a raised "M." Where I understand the genuine articles have "Nature" inscribed on the barrel, mine does not. Mine has a monotone white nib that has no gold content inscription, hence a steel nib. And mine is a c/c filler.

It did in fact come with a box that says "Marlen," and paperwork for the Marlen "Nature" series pens. The same eBay seller has "Dotcom" pens for sale, also with monotone steel nibs. Those pens do appear to be piston fillers, but the filling system is not specified in the ad.

I am attempting to find out who the North American distributor of Marlen is, and I am awaiting a reply from a vendor. I want to ask if such a pen was made by Marlen. Meanwhile, has anyone here heard about fake Marlens?

FrankB,

If you got it from finegraphics, it's probably legit, but they should have disclosed the steel nib.

My guess is that some of these are made from remaining odds and ends, and they're trying to use up oddments (having discovered a market for them).

I have a Marlen dot com in pink that I ordered from another seller (judperl, maybe), and a purple one I got from finegraphics. The latter one had much more oxidation on the silver, didn't say dot com, and just looked different. It also had a roller clip.

If that's what they're selling now, and not disclosing that they're not giving you the standard Marlen 18k nibs, I'd ask to return it. I certainly would NOT expect a retail price of $495 (as they say) on a steel-nibbed pen with leftover parts.

Now I'm going to do some more photography work and examination on those pens. Grrr.

Yes, the vendor was finegraphics. I paid $79 for the pen, and that is a good price for a decent pen with a steel nib. I have not inked it yet, but if it is a genuine Marlen product, I trust it will write well. The writing ability of a pen is everything for me, so I will no doubt keep the pen.

I really like Marlen products and I have not gotten a bad one yet. This seller's method of presentation irks the living pee-pee out of me, but I am going to try hard not to let the vendor get in the way of my love of Marlen pens. This is only the second time that I know of that I have been taken on the Bay. This case is not nearly as serious as the first.

Anyway, thanks for the commiseration.

I was just watching the ebay price for the dotcom Marlen at $79 and I was a bit confused at the over $400 for this pen. If it has a STEEL nib for the 400 price, I'm going to pass. I thought it would at least be a gold nib.

Thanks for the update! No ebay dotcom Marlen for me!

Hmmm. I've ordered other pens from them and they DO have the gold nibs on them, clearly marked. Just haven't gotten one of the Nature series. I'd contact them and ask, as I've gotten good service in the past. They definitely should disclose steel vs gold.

The most expensive steel-nibbed Italian pen I've seen is the Stipula Bellini at $184. The $495 quoted value for the Marlen was based on it having an 18k gold nib.

Still, even the $495 seems optimistic; most non-LE Marlen pens run 200-350 Euros, and this one's got less complication going for it than the E-Com, which runs about 300 Euros, I believe.

Thanks for the suggestion. I've emailed them just now and will find out if it is steel or gold. $79 is a great price for the gold, but I'll pass if it's steel.

I have two dotcom pens from finegraphics and they both have dotcom on the cap ring but steel nibs. Or I should say unmarked silver coloured nibs as my Basilea which I got here on FPN has a two tone nib but no clear gold marking.
I have to say that regardless of the nib in this case the dot coms write a treat and they have been in my rotation a fair bit. I asked and received Fine nibs and they write a bit thick for a fine but still very smooth.
They are also nice looking pens.

Philip

...and arriving home has revealed that the two dot coms I got from finegraphics both have steel nibs. Fortunately, my Journal came from elsewhere and has an 18k nib, or I might be miffed.

Here's a letter I'm sending off to Marlen and Krone (as the US importer of Marlen):

Dear Sirs,

I recently purchased two Marlen Dot Com pens on closeout on eBay. The
seller was finegrafics, and they did not disclose that the pens they were
selling had steel nibs. If they had, I would not have purchased them.

When I got them, I opened up the box to verify the pen was there; that
will teach me to look more carefully, both before and after purchase (and
definitely before leaving feedback).

I believe this seller is being deceptive in their marketing; I know of NO
Italian steel-nibbed pens with a retail price of $495.

Here are the auctions I won:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=170198337183
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=200201080395

And here are some currently-running auctions from the same seller
advertising an MSRP of $495 for a steel-nibbed pen:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=170214543273
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=140228667403
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=380022612156

How much would it cost me to get the correct 18k gold nibs for these pens?
Was this company authorized to sell these pens with the non-original nibs?

Signed,
Deirdre "This time the dot bomb crash was in the karat weight of the nib" Saoirse Moen

I am not sure if Marlen makes pens that are not piston fillers or don`t have gold nobs ...

My Journal is a button filler, so yes, they make pens that aren't piston fillers.

Deirdre, I can only applaud your spunk. I am still trying to go through the distributor to verbally (via telephone) complain.

Yes, well, they might want to answer my email before I decide to ask their sales rep in person at Flax...

The Eclisse were c/c fillers, while we're on the topic of alternate fill methods...

So was the Shuttle (a C/C). In their time, Marlen has taken a shot at producing everything.

Per a note from Vicary in another thread, I need to send my note to Luxury Brands instead, as they're currently the US distributor for Marlen. Oops!

Deirdre,

Did you get any joy from the US distributer?

Philip

Nope. Very unhappy about that.

Deirdre, I actually don't know how it works in USA, but Italian companies don't even consider eBay businesses as serious and reliable, but all the opposite.
Authorized dealers and companies don't sell at auctions (even Italian law doesn't allow it), therefore people selling in eBay should be private who sell second-hand items, without any control. The most of Italian Companies of luxury items do their best for discouraging this business.

Interesting, where here in the US, there are a lot of established eBay businesses. Selling on eBay doesn't necessarily imply selling at auction, especially not these days.

In this particular case, Marlen has just confirmed that finegrafics is a Marlen dealer who specializes in old stock, asking for steel nibs to reduce the price.

And that's where I see a lot of pens-as-a-business on eBay: closeouts. For example, the 3000+ pens for sale by glenspardello, specializing in Cross closeouts. In fact, I now have a bellewether for certain pens I like being discontinued: if it shows up by one of a few sellers, I'd better buy it while I can find it if I haven't already.

As for me, I seem to find what I like only when it's discontinued, so I haunt the world's garage sale....

the following i got from finegrafics: Marlen nature steel nib pen (same version i have seen in japan but not in teh usa) for about $80. very good value
i also got gold nib journal and eclisse at about $140 each. wtih today's value for gold a very, very good deal.
i did not like the Marlen telemachus becuae it is oversize somewhat but then i have small hands. i sold it for a small profit at to a dealer at a pen show in japan. He said that they are interesting for the japan market becuaes everyone thinks they like smaller pens but there is a nitch market for ovesize ones too