There is something that I have been wondering about some of the pens that Visconti makes. I have been noticing that there are some Visconti pens on the market that the company itself almost does not acknowledge. Try looking on the Visconti website for the Golden Nugget, Black Storm, Gold Point No. 1., or even the Divina Desert Springs. They are all not their and I would guess that there are some other pens in existence that are not there also. What makes these pens almost appear abandoned by their own company? Other than eBay, the Black Storm is not available, the Golden Nugget is available at one store, the Gold Point No. 1 is available at one store, and the Divina Desert Springs is available at two stores (all to my knowledge). So, if anyone has any information as to why these pens (and possibly others) seem to be forgotten, I would be highly interested.

-Cody

Their web site is just sad.

Most pen companies have bad sites, but Visconti's is really hampered by poor quality pictures and being woefully out of date.

In case anyone's listening, here's what I want:

1) Historical information, including GOOD pictures, MSRP at the time they were available, when they were introduced, when they were discontinued, dimensions, weight, filling system, and good pictures of each color.

2) Current offerings, which I hope would offer at least as much information.

I have noticed that Visconti has updated their website considerably, but not everything is there. Since I could probably call Visconti my favorite pen company, it is a shame that they are so uninformative.

-Cody

I noticed the update as well, but it looks to me like the "Museum" page was lifted directly from the old site and not updated. I didn't look at the page for current models due to the heavy Flash animation, but I wouldn't be too surprised if it's the same as well.

I agree that their website is not the best around. But their pens are a splendid value. I have owned 5 so far and all were great writers.

Jim

Well, if my upcoming eBay purchase goes well, I will be essentially broke but the proud owner of 4 Viscontis. I have a Opera Club in Typhoon Blue (my absolute favorite to write with), an uninked Golden Nugget that is getting closer to the ink pot everyday, a Divine Proportion that I just got at a great price, and my forthcoming purchase. I love their pens, but I wish there was more information available about all of their pens. For example, there is more than enough information available about the Divine Proportion but little to none about the Golden Nugget.

-Cody

I believe that some of the pens you listed are available only on ebay, from the outletline seller? Perhaps he has an arrangement with Visconti to produce some special editions, which therefore won't be listed on the proper Visconti website.

Outletline is also able to regularly get special Bexley pens that aren't available on the Bexley website (in addition to his Molteni pens, which are usually renamed Bexley pens in new colours).

Thanks for the references to the other pens. And how is it that with only 88 pens made 1 store has seven? And has recently sold four?

Dave
macaddicted

A good point about the number of pens the eBay sellers have. I have the Golden Nugget (which I got from outletline), and it is number 62/88 (I think, I do not have it in front of me). Every time I check eBay, both he and prahableu have the Golden Nugget. I would think that he/they would have an exclusive deal with Visconti except for the fact that I have seen the pen in a B&M store. I was in the Pen Boutique store in Montgomery Mall in Bethesda back in February to return a purchase. In the front glass case, on its own little stand, was the Golden Nugget. Who knows what is going on. All I know is that the pen is very nice.

-Cody

On a different note, I just won the Visconti Ripple that I had my eye on. My pen buying days are now over for a while. The next pen I buy will be the Jules or else I am liable to spend all that I have saved up for it.

-Cody

Congratulations! I hope you're as happy with yours as I am with mine.

Ever since I first saw the Ripple, it has been in the back of my head as a "must eventually get" pen. I know I will be happy with it.

-Cody

Since we've been trading pens when do I get to buy it from you?

The Ripple holds a special place in my heart that the Aida never achieved. The only parting I will be doing with the pen will be to (hopefully) send it in to get a factory stub along with the DP that you I got from you. The only other Visconti I have that would be anywhere close to being up for sale would be my Golden Nugget. I have yet to ink it, but I am getting close. If you really want a Ripple, and I would hope that everyone would want one, go to eBay. Or, you could fly across country and steal from me, but with current fuel prices, you should just buy one.

-Cody

When I went to Bittner to buy a Visconti, I said, "I want a double reservoir power filler. Show me what you've got."

Bob brought out:
Wall Street LE
Ripple
Arte Mudejar
Romanica Vermeil
Pontevecchio (the blue one)

...and that's the order I liked them in. To me, the Ripple was clunkier than I'd hoped. The Pontevecchio was gorgeous, but I just wasn't into the LE aspect of that particular pen (fortunately, the new blue Opera Master is made of the same blue, so I'll get that one, probably).

The Arte Mudejar was right up my alley, but ultimately it wasn't one I liked as much.

I also considered a Divina Desert Springs and a black Divina.

I went home with the Wall Street -- and not because it happened to be the least expensive pen on the list. I told him I knew they were expensive and I didn't want price to be the first cut.

Cody, I just bought a Black Storm. Had to do something to move away from the squared circle, though I may add a Ripple in the future. And Deirdre I would love an Arte Mudejar (as I already have a Wall Street LE).

I just never got into the DP Silver LE. I liked the design but just didn't get that "feeling" about it. I bought a Desert Spring and I find I'm still not into the pen. Ah well.

Despite not liking black or brown, I'm very struck with both the Divina and the DP Silver LE. Don't care for the Desert Spring for some reason. If it'd been available in a midnight blue with a bit of sparkle in it, I'd have been all over that one.

The Arte Mudejar has lovely striations in it that you don't see until you really hold one.

I lust after the black and silver Romanica. But not enough to sell my car and a few other goodies to buy one.

I want a Rinascimento. Of course, I also want a blue pony.

I'm currently scheming a way to pay for a pen I want. This pretty much means that when I go home, I'm going to pick out three pens and ask the other two household members which two of them I should sell -- and work from there.

I'm also considering selling half my vintage pens.

Which one, the silver or the gold with diamond?

The Vienna. I thought it also came in a silver version.



(Image from Prahableu, who only has the rollers.)

In hindsight, I like the Black Storm's colors a little bit more than the Golden Nugget but not enough to puchase another pen that is almost exactly identical. Enjoy your pen! Also, I am somewhat of a math/geometry enthusiast, so the DP already had special significance to me.

-Cody

That's a funny looking pen. I guess I'm still an FP newbie; I just can't understand writing implements that don't look like Sheaffer school pens.

Well, if you're gonna dream...

Visconiti Four Seasons

It did/does. Have you checked with Pam Braun to see if she's got one?

I was just reading the May issue of PEN World, and I noticed an article about Visconti expanding their My Pen System. The article said please see Visconti's website for details. While the new system is intriguing (gems and zodiacs), I wish the website had SOME information about it. I have my initials on my Opera Club, and I really like the concept of the My Pen System. I just wish I had more information about the expansion.

-Cody

WOW!! Beauty. On the availability of the Black Storm, I know that Art Brown (NYC) and Bertram's (Old Balt. and DC) had them for sale at one point, I think after the Black Storm became available last fall. Each store had them in very limited quantities due to the 88 unit production run which was so small because of the limited amount of rod stock. Other B&M stores may have had them too. I believe Ken Jones probably tried to spread them around among all the Visconti dealers. There were a few threads on the Black Storm back in the fall of 07 which had more on this. I managed to snag a Black Storm along the way. Bwahahahaaa! It was a self-present for a decade birthday which will go unmentioned. It mirrored the mood I was in having past that certain date. It was a real pick-me-up.

Then again, I also went on a "walk-about" and picked up 6-7 different bottles of ink during my birthday "victory tour" through various pen emporia. YEEHAAA!

Love them Viscontis!! The Black Storm joins my 2 Manhattans, Wall Street LE, and Titanic. Hmm, hadn't though about it until now, the Titanic and the Black Storm together in the same pocket...the Perfect Storm!!! There's the making of a plot line there.

Thanks. My local newsstand had a copy (I was amazed) so I picked one up. It sounds interesting. I assume the stones are supposed to be birthstones. Eastern and Western zodiac signs? OK. But pins, cuff links and ear rings? I love Visconti but that goes to far for me.

Of course that being said if they have them in time for the LA pen show (and if I can make it this year) I just know I'll be looking for them (no, not the earrings).

I would care less about birthstones and more about the stone color mathcing the pen color. Think about the combination of a blue stone on top of the Ripple.

-Cody