Fake Visconti Van Gogh?

[jrholwe]

Hello all!

 

I've been an outside observer on this excellent forum for years now, but this is my forst post!

 

I have a question for you. I need you help identifying whether or not a Visconti Van Gogh Starry Night I recently purchased is a fake.

I purchased it off of Ebay from a company called Truphae, Inc. I could not find any bad reviews of them prior to buying from them, but, no bad reviews do not necessarily equate to a stellar company.

 

I received the pen today and several things struck me:

1.) the top of the cap has an unusual Visconti logo. I have a Rembrandt and it looks a bit different than this

2.) the branding of "Visconti" on the clip is not black. It's actually etched into the metal. While I find this more appealing, I have never seen it before on a Visconti pen.

3.) the colors of the finish just seem "off." While I know each piece is individual, I don't remember anyone mentioning browns in their finishes -- probably because the actual painting it is based off of has little to no brown in it...

 

Anyway, I would REALLY appreciate any input you all might have!

 

Thanks so much in advance!

[Uncial]

I think Visconti very recently updated the clips to engraved clips rather than the rather sloppy old style. Looks like you have a relatively newly made pen. The colour isn't something I'd worry about as the variance can be very significant and include somewhat strange stray colours.

[jrholwe]

Update: the nib is so incredibly dry that it is virtually useless to write with.

[flipper_gv]

Update: the nib is so incredibly dry that it is virtually useless to write with.

 

Try to clean the nib unit and the converter using a little bit of soap, there might be some manufacturing oils still left in there making flow impossible.

[jrholwe]

 

Try to clean the nib unit and the converter using a little bit of soap, there might be some manufacturing oils still left in there making flow impossible.

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

[s_t_e_v_e]

A couple of things:

 

Truphae Inc. Is a genuine guy and I've had positive experience and great service from him.

 

The clip on newer models is laser etched due to quality issues with the paint or enamel flaking off.

 

Visconti changes styling on their models more often than we think and notice. The logo on the finial seems genuine to me.

 

Though Visconti is known to have wet nibs, I've seen a few folks get supposedly dryer nibs. As other have already suggested, I would also recommend flushing the nib unit with soap water.

 

That pen you have looks genuine to me. If you are not satisfied by your purchase try reaching out to the seller and sort things out. Truphae Inc should be more than happy to help, I would think.

[fabri00]

Nobody will counterfit a pen with a limited niche market like Visconti.

[Cordovian]

I have the same pen and yours looks legit.

 

Yeah, I don't think Visconti Van Goghs are being counterfeited either but, hey, you never know.

 

The nib on mine was also non-functional. I tried flushing to no avail and finally took the nib out and flossed the feed. Has written perfectly ever since.

 

Hope you can get it working properly because they are great writers once you get them right.

Edited August 2, 2017 by Cordovian

[Bidle]

Good to read the last two posts,.... as these fakes really worries me. If I find a nice pen I'm definitely going to ask for some input first.

[Bluey]

Update: the nib is so incredibly dry that it is virtually useless to write with.

That's a genuine Visconti for sure, although Viscontis are usually more on the wet side.

[amcityink]

Nobody will counterfit a pen with a limited niche market like Visconti.

 

Yeah... I'd have to agree with fabri.

[PAKMAN]

Looks like the real deal to me.

[jl63_penguy]

After selling Visconti pens for over 15 years it looks genuine to me. Although you can contact Coles of London and see what input they have.

Hello all!

I've been an outside observer on this excellent forum for years now, but this is my forst post!

I have a question for you. I need you help identifying whether or not a Visconti Van Gogh Starry Night I recently purchased is a fake.
I purchased it off of Ebay from a company called Truphae, Inc. I could not find any bad reviews of them prior to buying from them, but, no bad reviews do not necessarily equate to a stellar company.

I received the pen today and several things struck me:
1.) the top of the cap has an unusual Visconti logo. I have a Rembrandt and it looks a bit different than this
2.) the branding of "Visconti" on the clip is not black. It's actually etched into the metal. While I find this more appealing, I have never seen it before on a Visconti pen.
3.) the colors of the finish just seem "off." While I know each piece is individual, I don't remember anyone mentioning browns in their finishes -- probably because the actual painting it is based off of has little to no brown in it...

Anyway, I would REALLY appreciate any input you all might have!

Thanks so much in advance!

[jrholwe]

I just want to thank everyone yet again for all the input!

[jrholwe]

I have the same pen and yours looks legit.

 

Yeah, I don't think Visconti Van Goghs are being counterfeited either but, hey, you never know.

 

The nib on mine was also non-functional. I tried flushing to no avail and finally took the nib out and flossed the feed. Has written perfectly ever since.

 

Hope you can get it working properly because they are great writers once you get them right.

Thanks for the advice! What do you recommend "flossing" it with? Dare I presume actual dental floss?

[Cordovian]

Thanks for the advice! What do you recommend "flossing" it with? Dare I presume actual dental floss?

It's a process involving removing the nib and feed and clearing any debris or obstructions in the feed channel. You can use brass shims, .05mm wire or even old 35mm film as "floss". Basically anything fine enough and stiff enough to clear the channel.

 

On the extreme side, I've found a couple of feeds where the feed channel was not completely formed (one was a Visconti...**sigh**) and used a scalpel to fix them. A stupid dangerous method that I do not recommend, but it did work.

[mitto]

Pen looks legit.