Romet Asia

[jandrese]

This is a review of the Romet Asia fountain pen in tangerine. The Asia is a large and lightweight pen with a vibrant color scheme. Filling is by cartridge/converter so don’t get too excited. Evidently, the pen is no longer being manufactured, however, there may still be examples available for sale. Romet is an Italian pen manufacturer that claims to make pens for better-known companies, although it won’t say which. Perhaps one of those companies is Montegrappa since the cap band on the Romet closely resembles the cap band on the Montegrappa Extra 1930 pen. I don’t remember exactly how much I paid for the pen, but it was probably around $75. For such a large pen, especially an Italian pen, this is a modest price.

 

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Obviously, expensive materials like precious metals cannot be had on pens that sell for $75. Although attractive, it is evident that the Asia is not a first quality pen. Nevertheless, it is well made, and is comfortable to use. The problem with the pen is the stock nib, which is a thin, scratchy, steel nib labeled only "Iridium Point Germany". I’ve had the pen a few years and have written with it several times only to be disappointed each time. On several occasions I even tried to modify the nib to improve the performance, all to no avail.

 

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At long last I decided to replace the stock nib with a kit pen nib. The 14 carat gold #6 generic nib from Bock is a near match for the stock nib. Thus, I was able to replace the original nib without changing the feed or making any other modifications. What a world of difference a nib makes! The Bock nib is outstanding. It has a soft feel and puts down a generous, consistent line of ink.

 

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Even though I like the way it looks, before changing the nib I was thinking of selling this pen. Now, I can’t imagine selling it. Although the replacement nib was more costly than the pen in the first place, it was certainly a good investment. If you see one of these pens for sale, and like the way it looks, buy it and replace the nib, you’ll be a happy camper.

 

[inkyfingr]

That's an attention-getting material! It's too bad a beautiful pen like that doesn't come with a decent/usable nib.

[diplomat]

Hello, and thanks for the effort put in the review.

 

I just wante to pop up to say this is not an Italian pen!

 

As it was reported in the italian forum on FPN: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...st&p=921862

 

Romet was a Texas company that used to sell (they do not exists any more) pens produced in China.

Clearly they were using Italian names and styles (like the Montegrappa-alike cap band) to exploit the hype around the Italian pen manufacturing.

 

Apart from that, looks like the pen is worth any dollar payed.

 

Best,

[Joehek]

Great color on this pen, even if it was made in China. I went out to eBay and there are a lot of them still available at around $50. None of that I saw had as good of color as this one though. I have a few spare nibs, maybe I will look into it. Thanks for the write up.

[MYU]

Fantastic photographs--they really show off the coloration beautifully. Excellent choice on the nib swap too! Where did you buy it from?

[Brian]

Congratulations on a successful project. Nice pen and colors. Good photo skills too.

[jandrese]

I got the new nib from nibs.com

 

Fantastic photographs--they really show off the coloration beautifully. Excellent choice on the nib swap too! Where did you buy it from?

 

[jandrese]

Interesting. Thanks for posting this information.

 

Hello, and thanks for the effort put in the review.

 

I just wante to pop up to say this is not an Italian pen!

 

As it was reported in the italian forum on FPN: https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...st&p=921862

 

Romet was a Texas company that used to sell (they do not exists any more) pens produced in China.

Clearly they were using Italian names and styles (like the Montegrappa-alike cap band) to exploit the hype around the Italian pen manufacturing.

 

Apart from that, looks like the pen is worth any dollar payed.

 

Best,