The Perfect Studio?

May 22, 2018

My current favourite pen in my just-getting-started collection is this “Frankenstein’s monster” of a Lamy Studio:

The body is a Lamy Studio Wild Rubin (2014 Limited Edition), by far the prettiest colour of the series in my opinion. The sports-car gloss over the two-tone metallic red is just impossibly gorgeous. The section is one I’ve swapped in from a Lamy Studio Stainless Steel, which is the only version of this pen to feature a black plastic section rather than the stainless steel. I don’t actually mind the feel of the stainless steel at all (some find it too slippery), but I just think the look of the black against the deep red of the body is so gorgeous. Lamy should really offer this black plastic section as a standalone purchase for others who might prefer the look or feel of this material.

I was really lucky to be able to buy a Studio Wild Rubin last week, so long after it was discontinued. Googling desperately, I happened to find a local retailer that was still advertising it on its web store. I placed an order, and immediately got a call back apologising that the listing was an error, that the pen in question was long-discontinued and they didn’t understand why it was still listed on the site. I wasn’t surprised, of course, and requested that my order be canceled. The big surprise came the next morning, when an email in my inbox informed me that they had called around to their various retail locations and had managed to find a single Lamy Studio Wild Rubin in some old stock in their Perth, Western Australia shop. To apologise for the mix-up, they had it shipped to me express at no extra cost. I was over the moon! It makes you wonder how many other rarities are sitting in dusty corners of stock rooms waiting to be rediscovered.

The eagle-eyed will notice the dot on the finial of the cap, identifying it as a rollerball and not a fountain pen. Best guess after checking with the retailer: the cap was switched with a rollerball’s cap back when both were in stock at the shop. Somewhere out there, there’s a Lamy Studio Wild Rubin rollerball with my fountain pen cap on it. Ah, well!