A Slim Pen From Ferrari Da Varese

[jar]

So far we have looked at the Montegrappa 80^th Anniversary and Privilege Deco, the Sheaffer Plain Polished Legacy and the Waterman Sterling Silver Gentleman and the Yard-o-Led Viceroy Grand Victorian and the Grand Barleycorn.

 

It's August and life in the city is hot and muggy, it's time for a vacation.

 

Now let's return south to Italy to explore the valleys and mountains, the small cities that climb up the hillsides and look at a few more Sterling Silver pens from that region. Don't worry though, we will wander back north to England before this series ends.

 

We were last in Italy looking at some of the pens from Elmo & Montegrappa which is located in Bassano del Grappa. Let's jump in our Alfa and head south and then west, through Vincenza and Verona, Bresca and Bergamo, Monza and Milano then turning north again to Varese.

 

Varese sits on the border with Switzerland beside Lake Varese and there we will find the headquarters of Ferrari da Varese. FdV owns manufacturing plants in both Germany and Italy and specializes in fountain pens, writing accessories and jewelery, particularly objects made with Sterling Silver. FdV is currently managed by Ivan Ferrari, son of the founder.

 

The US Distributor for Ferrari da Varese is Franklin Christoph who is also a member here at FPN.

 

This first pen from Ferrari da Varese was made around the late 1990 or early 2000s. It is Sterling Silver with gold plated clip and cap rings, has a gold plated steel nib and uses standard international cartridges and converters. It is among the thinnest pens I own, a clean, simple design of diamond cut lines on Sterling Silver with minimal ornimentation.

 

http://www.fototime.com/725248C6CCB41D8/standard.jpg

At that time, a decade or more ago, Ferrari da Varese was also making pens for other companies, particularly high end jewelery stores and this was one of those offerings. According to Ivan Ferrari it never had a model name but I have always called it Tony.

 

http://www.fototime.com/E55D3DDB6E85E8A/standard.jpg

 

http://www.fototime.com/E8F8BFCFF6EE8AA/standard.jpg

The pen is amazingly light for an all Sterling Silver pen weighing in at but 19.5 gm, less than the weight of the cap on some we will be reviewing.

 

http://www.fototime.com/D097AB2B9292787/standard.jpg

To emphasize just how thin this pen is, here you can see it between the Waterman Gentleman (the thinnest we had reviewed so far) and the Sheaffer Legacy.

 

http://www.fototime.com/B61760973CF3677/standard.jpg

If you like slim pens, this is a great example, one that can be used in both formal and informal setting, that says quality but could never be described as ostentatious.

 

That may not be true for the next Sterling Silver pen we will be looking at.

[Fountainpenlover]

Very interesting, but have left me very curious about the next sterling silver pen you will be showing us, as I collect particularly sterling silver fountain pens!

[jar]

Very interesting, but have left me very curious about the next sterling silver pen you will be showing us, as I collect particularly sterling silver fountain pens!

 

Well, here is a hint.

 

http://www.fototime.com/922056568DCCCFB/standard.jpg

Edited August 3, 2011 by jar

[Cordovian]

Nice reviews Jar. Every time I'm researching an Italian pen your reviews come up and are always very informative. What would you say is a fair price for a used "Tony" 😀 in good to excellent condition?

[jar]

Nice reviews Jar. Every time I'm researching an Italian pen your reviews come up and are always very informative. What would you say is a fair price for a used "Tony" in good to excellent condition?

 

That's a tough one to answer. The absolute bottom would be the $10.00 or so that is the scrap value of the silver, but that is probably unrealistic. A more realistic price would be in the $50.00-$75.00 range I would imagine. Under $50.00 would be a sumgai.

[Cordovian]

Thanks Jar! I'm shooting for a sumgai.