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Aurora Optimas Brighten A Rainy Day

whichwatch

By whichwatch
in Italy - Europe

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Dillo Donor Pen

Dillo

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi,

 

The Optima is one of my favourite modern Aurora pens. I have both the mini size and the full-sized one. One thing I really like about the mini-sized one is that it is a piston-filled pen just like the full-sized one and doesn't need cartridges or anything like that. It holds plenty of ink, and it has the same features as the full-sized one. Of the two sizes, I prefer the mini-size. It's very comfortable in my smaller hands. The full-sized is really nice though. This is a picture from three years ago right before I filled them. I have been using them continually since that time. Unlike the Pelikan models up to the M600 which have snap-fit piston mechanisms, all Aurora Optima pens have a piston mechanism that unscrews from the rear of the pen, even the mini Optima. Another thing is that the piston the Optima starts moving immediately as soon as the knob on the back is turned. In some pens like the Pelikan and Lamy pens, the can be unscrewed a small way before the mechanism engages. I've also found the Riserva Magica feature helpful. There have been times when I have forgotten to refill my pen (kind of funny if you think about it because one of my pens is a demonstrator), and it has saved me by allowing a few extra pages. The Riserva Magica is of course more useful if your pen has no ink window like one of my other Aurora pens.

 

I used to have another small piston filler, the Pelikan M300, but it drove me crazy because the snap-in piston unit would wiggle. The Aurora Optima Mini seems a lot more robust and solid than the M300, and nothing wiggles or turns. The fit and finish seem better too.

 

9234032679_7d2600e881_o.jpg

 

Dillon

Edited by Dillo

Stolen: Aurora Optima Demonstrator Red ends Medium nib. Serial number 1216 and Aurora 98 Cartridge/Converter Black bark finish (Archivi Storici) with gold cap. Reward if found. Please contact me if you have seen these pens.

Please send vial orders and other messages to fpninkvials funny-round-mark-thing gmail strange-mark-thing com. My shop is open once again if you need help with your pen.

Will someone with the name of "Jay" who emailed me through the email system provide me an email address? There was no email address provided, so I can't write back.

Dillon

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Calabria Collectors Item

Calabria

Posted
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Dillon -

 

I like the Optima Mini review. It reminds me of an Italian sports car. Always wanted one!

 

Derek

"If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live."

– Lin Yu-T'ang

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  • 1 month later...
Babangita Near Mint

Babangita

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One thing is sure, one cannot have enough of these Optima's!

Oddly, the model is a bit short for my hands but sometimes I use it unposted without noticing.

Perhaps because I enjoy the beauty :D .

First I was searching for a green one, and I got a blue marble.

Then I was looking to buy a green marble and found out about the brown 365.

Useless to tell what happened after that, they just keep on throwing new ones out every couple of years now...

Current modern daily users: Montegrappa Miya, Omas AM87, S.T.Dupont D-Line, Stipula Etruria Tuscany Dreams, Tibaldi Modello 60.

Current vintage daily users: Aurora 98p, Big Red Lucky Curve, MB622, P51, P75, Pelikan NN400.

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Chrissy Museum Piece

Chrissy

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I'm currently into Aurora Optimas. I would like to own a Mare and a Sole, but I haven't managed to find the right ones yet. I love my brown 365 though. :wub:

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da vinci Antique

da vinci

Posted
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I have a sterling silver version of the Optima - great pen.

 

Whichwatch, how are you progressing to filling that box? :)

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whichwatch Collectors Item

whichwatch

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Posted (edited)

 

Whichwatch, how are you progressing to filling that box? :)

 

 

LOL - I guess I'm progressing pretty well, thanks for asking.

 

Since that picture, I have added the three on the far right in the updated picture: a Primavera, the new Monviso, and a Sterling Silver 80th Anniversary, which is not an Optima but is a pen I have had my eye on for some time. I had purchased the Abissi but immediately sent it back once I saw the material actually used in the pen.

 

How about posting a picture of your silver Optima?

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B46BAAF2F-EE02-4A12-82A7-44C9CC784F1B%7D/origpict/AUpdate.JPG

Edited by whichwatch
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mehandiratta Donor Pen

mehandiratta

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I have heard the nibs being too toothy ..

is that right... can anyone help me with this...

 

I majorly dont like Sailor nibs... can anyone compare Aurora with them....

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

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Babangita Near Mint

Babangita

Posted
Posted

I have heard the nibs being too toothy ..

is that right... can anyone help me with this...

 

I majorly dont like Sailor nibs... can anyone compare Aurora with them....

It is always an individual feeling but yes they tend to have feedback.

Still, we are talking of workhorses and really beautiful and comfortable ones.

They don't have writing angles and soft spots, literally from the box you can perfectly write from almost any position or angle.

Just to try I worked just a few times one of mine with the smallest and softest grit of these nail polishing multicolored cubes.

Result, feedback feeling gone.

Current modern daily users: Montegrappa Miya, Omas AM87, S.T.Dupont D-Line, Stipula Etruria Tuscany Dreams, Tibaldi Modello 60.

Current vintage daily users: Aurora 98p, Big Red Lucky Curve, MB622, P51, P75, Pelikan NN400.

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mehandiratta Donor Pen

mehandiratta

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Posted

It is always an individual feeling but yes they tend to have feedback.

Still, we are talking of workhorses and really beautiful and comfortable ones.

They don't have writing angles and soft spots, literally from the box you can perfectly write from almost any position or angle.

Just to try I worked just a few times one of mine with the smallest and softest grit of these nail polishing multicolored cubes.

Result, feedback feeling gone.

OKay.. Will then zero in myself on Aurora Sole 88

vaibhav mehandiratta

architect & fountain pen connoisseur

 

blog | instagram | twitter

 

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  • 3 months later...
santander02 NOS (New Old Stock)

santander02

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Today dawned gray and rainy. I needed something to brighten my mood. My collection of Aurora Optimas did the trick! My pictures aren’t the greatest. You should see the color of these babies in person! And if the sun were shining…

 

I think they look especially nice in this great Aurora box I was able to obtain. But it seems there are some empty spots! One will hold my Optima Monviso when it arrives in a few weeks. I have a red capped Demonstrator, an 85th Anniversary Optima, and a Primavera on my radar, but haven’t found just the right ones yet.

 

Does anybody else like Optimas?

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B8174196D-5F83-405F-990A-504E7E742347%7D/origpict/A1.JPG

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B1401C5ED-B17C-4986-A731-AB86EC2C4DF6%7D/origpict/A2.JPG

 

http://www.fototime.com/%7B7F14BDC4-43EF-42B6-BD2F-9B5C3A1BA003%7D/origpict/A3.JPG

Magnificent fountain pens. I like them a lot

Edited by santander02
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Andreas Weber Near Mint

Andreas Weber

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have heard the nibs being too toothy ..

is that right... can anyone help me with this...

 

I majorly dont like Sailor nibs... can anyone compare Aurora with them....

 

Can't compare to Sailor, but the factory stub on my Optima was perfectly smooth (and aligned, obviously) out of the box. It's significantly crisper than e.g. a Lamy 1.1 nib, but not finicky in any way. I'm very pleased with it!

Edited by Andreas Weber

the cat half awake

and half sleeping on the book

"Quantum Mechanics"

 

(inspired by a German haiku by Tony Böhle)

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guyinkits Near Mint

guyinkits

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Posted

The Aurora Optimas look amazing and I can't wait to get one in hand to see how they actually look in the light. A lot of times, I think these online pictures don't do these pens any justice.

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