I Can't Believe It...

[fpupulin]

I can't adapt myself to the idea that Omas went bankruptcy and disappeared...

 

It is is not just another of the many brands of fine Italian pens: Omas had a long and great history as a symbol of distinction and perfection in pen craftsmanship.

 

I am proud to have a few (too few) pens of this great brand, which I treasure as a legacy.

 

In the last few days I spent some time on the net searching for classic Omas, both modern and vintage, and they almost disappeared from the face of Earth. Too late to love them, too late to save them...

 

I can't believe it.

 

Here are two of my treasures.

 

 

[jar]

Purtty. Maybe Omas will become a Zombie and return from the dead.

[Cordovian]

Purtty. Maybe Omas will become a Zombie and return from the dead.

 

Unfortunately it will probably come back as a Florida zombie with Chinese relatives.

[Nyoko]

We had a few Omas pens but when we heard about the closure, went a little crazy and bought more that were available at somewhat reasonable prices. Here is a photo of the collection.

 

[fpupulin]

We had a few Omas pens but when we heard about the closure, went a little crazy and bought more that were available at somewhat reasonable prices. Here is a photo of the collection.

 

 

 

 

I understand your rush. The will become very rare pens on the market, very sought after, and very expensive I fear...

 

Congratulations for your successful hunt!

[The Good Captain]

Perhaps I was just unlucky, but the three I had all had piston leakage problems. I still prefer Aurora.

But probably Pelikan overall.

[FrankB]

We had a few Omas pens but when we heard about the closure, went a little crazy and bought more that were available at somewhat reasonable prices. Here is a photo of the collection.

 

 

 

Frackin' showoff! You just had to go and post that photo. Now I have to go confess the sin of envy.

 

fpupulin, you have at least two Omas fp's. Enjoy them. But I share the heartbreak with you that a venerable writing instrument manufacturer has met its demise. I have understood that Delta just might be on its way to joining Omas. I hope not, but I am braced.

[Mastiff]

I can't believe it either. I started OMAS quite late and only got to obtain arco milord and arco verde paragon reissue. I think I will hold on to them for life!

[katanankes]

The Chinese group that owns Omas is not doing well (at least in terms of income statement, the balance sheet is pretty ok):

 

http://markets.ft.com/research/Markets/Tearsheets/Financials?s=860:HKG

 

I would not be surprised to learn of a take over or something similar...

[Mastiff]

I think Visconti should take over OMAS and make it one of their brands.

[jar]

I think Visconti should take over OMAS and make it one of their brands.

Now I would find that even worse than having Omas pens made in China.

[Mastiff]

hahaha!

Correction, only if they dont influence the design!

[gregamckinney]

hahaha!

Correction, only if they dont influence the design!

Or the quality.

greg

[Nyoko]

 

Frackin' showoff! You just had to go and post that photo. Now I have to go confess the sin of envy.

 

 

Don't worry, it's probably much more of a sin to own all these pens! My only excuse is that maybe I am preserving something beautiful that is disappearing from the world. The consequence, of course, is that it sets us back a few years from buying other pens! Also, it is really a big responsibility to have all these delicate and fragile pens to care for.

 

It's sad that a company like Omas cannot survive in today's world. Of course they could have tried to be like Montblanc is now, and position themselves purely as an international luxury/status product. But, Omas pens always retained a very Italian loveliness and uniqueness, and wouldn't be the same if they started having "boutiques". Omas pens are really still mainly about writing.

 

And yes, they are fragile. I have not had the piston leakage problem with any Omas yet, but have had to deal with celluloid crazing on some pens. Eventually the piston seals will wear out, of course -- just hope some fine person will make replacement seals available when that problem develops. Unless the Pelikan piston seals sold by David Nishimura would fit Omas pens. I doubt it, but that would be worth checking out.

[lecorbusier]

Future visits to Bologna are no longer going to be the same for me in the absence of Omas...That said, my Italian friends from Bologna tell me that while Omas was like their 'Parker' in their generation (now in their 50s-60s), the younger generation has not recognised Omas for a long time already...and it is quite true that while it was a veritable Bolognese institution, its customer base was in fact more global--and luxurious: radically quite different from its origins as a pen manufacturer for the 'masses'.

 

On their last production, what is usually not mentioned is their last calligraphy set with 4 interchangeable nibs, with a nice Omas traveling pen wrap hybrid with zipper for storage (!), and a Omas notebook. The price was set too high but if there is one final memorable product in the memory of Omas, I think this set is it.

[basterma]

I tend to think that companies can avoid Omas' fate if they make nibs and feeds for writing Asian character scripts. There are far more Fountain pen users there than in the majority of Western markets. You will have more potential to get the volume that can keep you going.

 

Not having options for writing Asian scripts seems to fly in the face of demographics.

[Feanaaro]

I tend to think that companies can avoid Omas' fate if they make nibs and feeds for writing Asian character scripts. There are far more Fountain pen users there than in the majority of Western markets. You will have more potential to get the volume that can keep you going.

 

Not having options for writing Asian scripts seems to fly in the face of demographics.

 

But how many Chinese or Japanese fp users really use specialized nibs?

The vast majority of Chinese pens have regular nibs with no particular adaptation to Asian character scripts, and so do Japanese ones. Pilot, Sailor etc. offer specialty nibs on some models, but the bulk of their production just has the usual EF-F-M-B.

[lecorbusier]

Agreed Feanaaro. If folks want to write kanji or chinese scripts, there is an entire universe of Japanese fountain pens and nibs. Omas feeds and nibs are precisely unique because they were designed--perhaps not specifically but certainly evolved in what Christopher Alexander called, a 'non-selfconscious' way--for the western script. I do sense that a certain unprecedented pragmatism (i.e., give in to customer where the customer is) such that the world indeed has become 'flat' and for the more boring of it. Perhaps this is ultimately what Capitalism brings about: neither prosperity nor security for most people, but certainly a more boring, flattened, and homogeneous world (think Mont Blanc everywhere!) for everyone. What a world today!

[Feanaaro]

Well, what I was saying is just that people I know from China and Japan mostly use ballpoint/rollerball anyway, and when they use fountain pens they use regular nibs, and they write Kanji just fine with them.

The market for specialized nibs is, in my opinion, very very small even in Asian countries.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Feanaaro

[mongrelnomad]

A huge loss. I stored many of my Omas pens in Israel while I was abroad. After a while away, I was shocked at how gorgeous they were.

 

Of all the major brands, Omas will be the most missed. Their pens were the epitome of tactile sensuality. I would have preferred almost any other to be sacrificed in their stead.