Visconti Discontinuing Palladium Nibs?

[Twister292]

I've heard that Visconti are going to phase out the Dreamtouch Pd nibs...the relaunched watermark series and the Voyager 30 all have 18K nibs.

 

Flipside? The newer nibs are insanely expensive. I queried getting one for my watermark to swap out the Pd nib, and they are EUR315+VAT for F, M and B and the EF and Stub will be EUR363+VAT

 

I'm not sure whether they're just meant to replace the Pd nibs or are simply another tier up...Considering they're a good EUR125 (ex-VAT) more expensive than the Pd nib units, this could mean the refreshes of the HS series could go up by as much as US$200(!)

 

Your thoughts?

[dapprman]

I'm surprised they did not switch back to gold a few months back and also that the new nibs are more.

 

Visconti started to use Palladium nibs where palladium was roughly half the price of gold. Any assumption other than the reasons being financially based should be treated with a pinch of salt. Since then the price of palladium has risen and in February/March this year it over took gold, meaning gold was now cheaper. It was at that point I expected Visconti to switch back.

[Twister292]

I'm surprised they did not switch back to gold a few months back and also that the new nibs are more.

 

Visconti started to use Palladium nibs where palladium was roughly half the price of gold. Any assumption other than the reasons being financially based should be treated with a pinch of salt. Since then the price of palladium has risen and in February/March this year it over took gold, meaning gold was now cheaper. It was at that point I expected Visconti to switch back.

 

That makes a lot of sense indeed. What doesn't make any sense at all is the pricing on what are still likely to be standard Bock nibs in Visconti housings...

 

Moreover, the amount of metal (gold or Pd) in a nib is miniscule. The prices reflect the pscyhological premium over steel more than the cost of the metal itself.

[jchch1950]

 

That makes a lot of sense indeed. What doesn't make any sense at all is the pricing on what are still likely to be standard Bock nibs in Visconti housings...

 

Moreover, the amount of metal (gold or Pd) in a nib is miniscule. The prices reflect the pscyhological premium over steel more than the cost of the metal itself.

+1.