FAVERO of Bassano del Grappa

[Ipsilon]

Hi All,

 

Most of the FPN members know of the Montegrappa pens, and that they originate from the Vicenza province in northeast Italy (Bassano del Grappa, to be more precise). The Vicenza province, apart from the beautiful landscape and towns, is also famous for the commerce and work of precious metals and stones.

Walking in the streets of Verona recently, I came across a Jewel shop called FAVERO, that originates from the same town, Bassano del Grappa. Not only did they have jewels in their shop, but also pens. I was curious, so I entered and asked about their products. The jewellers of FAVERO are specialized in the incrusting of jewels in precious metals and resins. Most of their pens are also incrusted with diamonds, or other precious stones, and are... well... a bit overdone for my taste (see their web site: www.faverojewels.com, in the Collections/Accessories section). But as I had never heard of the FAVERO pen, and was curious, I decided to take one.

 

Appearance:

The pen is made of black resin, and the rings and clips are of silver. The clip has the FAVERO logo on it (two F facing each other), which is of 18K yellow gold. The clip also has two rubies (cabochons) incrusted in it. The basic pen can come with no precious stones at all. I opted for the simplest of the "jeweled" pen. Other stones are available (diamond, emerald, etc...). The middle silver ring as FAVERO written on it.

The pen has a very pleasant, classic look.

 

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs464.ash1/25507_368898494993_639169993_4865790_2623649_n.jpg

 

Weight and Dimensions:

Length: 147mm capped, 160mm posted

Width: 14mm center of the barrel

The pen is light, but not too much. The metallic parts give it some weight, and it feels fine in my hand (I have small hands, and have problems handling large or heavy pens). It is well balanced uncapped, but you loose that feeling once posted. Posting the cap will also (probably) ruin or scratch the silver end of the pen.

 

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs444.snc3/25507_368898504993_639169993_4865791_2735562_n.jpg

 

Nib and Performance:

Hmmmmm...

I was told in the shop that the nib is silver. I thought that was strange, as I had never heard of silver nibs before. Reading the certificate that comes with the pen, I see: "fountain pen in sliver 925./.. treated in aqueous solution of alkaline inorganic salts and biodegradable surfactants of rhodium". A rhodium plated sliver nib??

I know that FAVERO does not make its own nibs, but I don't know who makes the nibs for them. My feeling is that these guys are jewellers, and that their pens (especially the diamond incrusted ones) are jewels, and not writing instruments. The pen writes ok, but it is probably the worst of all my pens, as far as ink flow and how it slides on the paper are concerned (it does not slide well, to be honest). I opted for the M nib, as I do not like fine lines: this is the finest of my M nibs, and it really feels like an F nib to me.

The nib performance is disappointing, and this is very unfortunate, as the pen is very nice in appearance. Maybe I should send it to a nib master, to improve it?

 

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs464.ash1/25507_368898514993_639169993_4865792_8271826_n.jpg

 

Cost & Value, and Conclusion:

The pen is very nice in appearance, and, as stated previously, is more of a jewel than a pen, in my humble opinion. This is one of their cheapest pen (300 Euro with the rubies). The pens that come all incrusted with diamonds are much much much more expensive. The feeling is that one is paying for the stones, precious metals, resin and metal incrusting technology (their own, patented). But not for the pleasure of a well made writing instrument.

 

Anybody else has come across a FAVERO pen before? Your impressions? Am I being too... severe?

 

Yves

Edited March 4, 2010 by Ipsilon

[significantpass]

Interesting. The moment you said that the pen was from a jeweller, I assumed that the pen did not write well.

[Ed Ronax]

Nice review, thanks.