Omas Arte Italiana Celluloid Milord In Wild Pattern

[jandrese]

This is the Omas Arte Italiana Celluloid Milord in Wild pattern with 18 k broad nib ground to cursive italic by John Mottishaw of Nibs.com.

 

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This is a big pen, bigger even than a Pelikan M800 and it is something of a throwback. The material is celluloid, and the pattern could be called black cracked ice or black and white marble. I’ve seen vintage pens with this pattern like the Conway Stewarts pictured below. The polish is very nicely done and it does show fingerprints if you look closely. Certainly the pen stands out but is not at all loud or garish. The pen is faceted into twelve faces said to resemble a Doric column. Nicely, the facets on the cap and body line up, as do the facets on the piston knob.

 

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The feed is ebonite, or hard rubber, which ceteris paribus makes for a superior feed and is again something found on vintage pens. The pen drinks ink only from a bottle since it fills using an integral piston mechanism, which also has vintage flair. Unlike the larger (yes, larger) Paragon version this pen has a smooth, rounded grip section. In general I don’t like metal grip sections, which is a very common sentiment echoed frequently in these pages. In addition to being uncomfortable and cold, I’ve seen several metal sections on Omas Paragon pens that came loose from the celluloid barrel. Of course, this is unacceptable for a very expensive pen and all things considered I think the Milord is the better pen. Trim elements are minimal consisting of a ring shaped tassie, a clip, a cap band, and two thin rings-one between the piston knob and the body, and one at the end of the section. The clip is highly functional and attractive. All the trim, as well as the nib, is rhodium plated in what Omas calls HT or high tech. To the extent that this represents the height of current technology it seems, in name anyway, juxtaposed with the rest of the pen.

 

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The pen, despite its size, is lightweight and must have a plastic piston mechanism. The weight and balance make for comfortable writing but the cap really is best left unposted. Ink flow from the ebonite feed, as expected, is excellent and the pen always starts up writing immediately. The nib is quite large and elongated with some degree of umm…flexibility or at least softness. The custom ground nib is very smooth at intended writing angles. Line variation from this cursive italic is expansive ranging from extra fine cross-strokes to broad down-strokes. With some pressure double broad down-strokes are easily possible. The nib requires minimal pressure to write but takes pressure well, which is good because I tend to press too hard. I wish all nibs were as nice as this one.

 

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At first, I was simply attracted to the looks of this pen when I first saw it about two years ago. IMHO Omas pens are over priced and at full retail this pen certainly is in comparison to other fine pens. However, I purchased this pen during a special promotion at Nibs.com at 36% off retail, which I think fairly prices the pen. The packaging is smartly done with a solid but fairly standard box and a pen sleeve. At this price point packaging is usually overblown and I appreciate the minimal but well-executed box. Typical of Omas everything is not perfect. The cap band is a little bit loose and I wonder about the trim at the end of the section. No big deal though, this is Italian and it has a lot of character!

[Pelikanyo]

Recently purchased the roller version of this.

While a beautful piece, it has slowly come apart.

The secton came apart, and now the cap tightens, then slips on the shallow threads.

It will be returned for repair or exchange.

 

Regards!

[Ghost Plane]

Other than mourning the loss of a good B nib, sounds lovely!

[IWantThat]

Have had my eye on the sale from John Mottishaw, but...alas...no funds at this time. You got a great one!

[georges zaslavsky]

Great pen enjoy yours

[SHK]

Very nice! I don't know if I should pick up the Milord or the Paragon!

[Wael El-Dasher]

Congrats on your Omas, I've been interested in this celluloid ever since I saw the 360 that used that same material.

 

Had a couple of chances to pick one up but I've been scared of Omas quality (for their price) and mostly because of what I've read in the past about their nibs (nails is what I read). Your review has softened my view of Omas a bit now, but I'll have to see more reviews before jumping in. Sadly, there are no Omas dealers in my area, so if I buy one it will have to be online, which means if I don't like it, I'll have to deal with the hassle of shipping it back.

 

Thanks again for the review and hope it gives you many years of good service.

 

cheers

 

Wael

[mchenart]

Thank you for an unbiased review of a great pen.

 

I have a similar Omas Arte Italiana Celluloid Milord but in Arco pattern, which I think is a more suitable pen for me than the old Arco in Paragon size. The section of the new Milord is more comfortable to hold, and the larger size just suits me better.

 

When trimmings of the pen comes apart, I think it could be caused by the shrinking celluloid material. I hope your problem could be solved satisfactorily.