Saw these at a store today - the brown finish. Much nicer looking in person than on the websites. Anyone bought this new model?

I was given a Sauvage Onyx/Zebra Pattern fountain pen as a present recently. It's a lovely looking pen, great to write with and a very stylish looking pen.

Me!! And I must admit that I love it. It's a really beautiful pen and like all Cross models, it writes like a dream. In particular it seems to be able to bring out shading and tonality in inks better than my other pens, although the nib has a peculiar squeak to it when I use it. As it's an unusual pen, I like to use unusual inks in it, for example Caran d'Ache Saffron and Diamine Cerise; both of which look fab!!

Mine makes that noise as well, never heard it with any other pen.

David

yeah - it's weird isn't it? But I don't dislike it; for me it adds to the character of the pen!

I'm just about ready to buy one of these; I just think they look fantastic---perfectly balanced blend of form and function, which is about what I expect from Cross. And according to these reviews, the performance sounds like what I'd expect, too.

I was given a Townsend as a gift this past spring, and I love it. I ordered a fine point nib from Cross to replace the medium nib, and the whole thing has been a dream. In the meantime, I bought an Apogee with a fine point and it's at least tied for first place as the most amazingly enjoyable pen in my arsenal. Shortly thereafter, I added a fine-point ATX with that brassish finish, which I think Cross calls Rose Gold. They could call it peanut butter and jelly for all I care, the thing is just brilliant.

So, I've begun looking at the Sauvage models and expecting the same level of performance and enjoyment that Cross delivers.

Except...

Everywhere I have seen product descriptions for the Sauvage, the text makes some comment about how the shape and balance and weight and just about everything to do with this model were designed expressly for women.

My question is: how prevalent is this? This pen looks fantastic and I'm all but certain I'd love it and be glad to have it in my arsenal. Admittedly, I do like the Ivory and Onyx models, so it isn't like I'm immediately drawn to a more feminine coloring scheme or anything, however irrelelvant that might otherwise be, really. But my question remains: why would the company go out of their way to express the design origins of a new model of pen as being distinctly for women when, a) you'd certainly assume they (Cross) want to sell as many as they can, which most likely would mean not excluding the prospect of selling them to men, too; and the design itself is not such that it screams that it's a woman's pen in the first place? To be sure, it isn't blatantly masculine either, and as such the reverse scenario is not in play in which neither the design nor the advertising copy call it a man's pen or whatever.

I have every intention of buying one, so the ad copy ultimately means nothing. If I like it, I like it, and the value appears to be appropriately high, which I expect of a Cross item. But I still find the presence of some of that ad copy it at least momentarily odd.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

I believe that Cross was trying to create an FP that really appealed to women when they designed this; you will note that it is similar in shape to a couple of MB special editions (Garbo etc), but I don't believe that precludes men from liking them as well.

Cross also released the Starlight last year, also to appeal to women IMHO.

Personally I think that a lot of the Cross range is very 'masculine', so Cross were trying to balance out their offering a little bit to appeal to more women, so that their potential market actually increased, rather than decreased as suggested above.

I know I'm being slightly controversial, but I personally think that they do look like feminine pens because of the curves, but as I say, why should this preclude a man from wanting one?

The really special aspect of these pens though has to be the gold nib, which writes like a dream and shades ink beautifully. In fact I wrote a letter with my 'Giraffe' last night, using Caran d'Ache Saffron; I had forgotton what a winning combination these two are!

Leonie

Thanks for your thoughts. You make some very sound points. I admit, I hadn't really considered before that the Cross lineup tilts a bit toward the masculine end of the spectrum, but I can see what you mean. And it won't bother me for one moment if they tilt the lineup a bit over toward the other side. I, myself, happen to be rather fond of that side, I hafta admit...




And I almost wrote this in my original post, but didn't: the presence of the curves is in fact a selling point, or could be at least, to the male sensibility. I willingly confess that several of the traits I love most about the present style and design vernacular at car makers such as Aston Martin and Porsche are the curvaceousness, so to speak. I mean, let's be honest: the 2009 AM Vantage V8 for all intents and purposes has "hips," as does the present 997-generation Porsche 911, and in fact even the forthcoming VW Scirocco has a variation of "hips," too. It sometimes seems an odd term to use for a car, but it is a "sexy" look. And to me, finding such a riff (of one degree or another) in this new Cross Sauvage is equally appealing. Simply put, it's just cool. I'm definitely buying the Onyx&Zebra one and I just might add the Ivory&Python one, too, because, to my eye I mean, these new pens are every bit as appealing and exciting as these lovely bits of motoring hardware I mentioned.

Thanks again.

I think you should get both pens; they look fab lined up together!!
I'm not sure what nib size options are available though; mine came with a standard M, which is finer than my other Cross pens, but still on the wet side, which I have come to expect and love from Cross.
I really hope you love your new purchases; do let me know how you get on!!
Leonie

I have the Onyx/Zebra version and as I am concerned it is a lovely pen to look at and to use. If it feels good that is all that matters

Hope you enjoy your purchase

David

Thanks, David.

I'm looking forward to it.

Cheers.