Picasso 0926 Flowers In Hand (ivory)

[fruitandlemon]

This pen was purchased through an ebay pen supplier as a gift for a lady. I picked it because of the colour and the image as I thought it was quite sweet. I thought it would be an unusual gift as I have never seen them in shops in the UK and was hoping that it would be good quality for the money.

 

It took about 10 days to arrive from Hong Kong to uk and cost £20 half of which was the carriage as it came in a large presentation box.

 

Appearance 7/10

It is the same length posted and unposted as a Lamy Safari but a narrower pen. The finish is very good. It has a 14KGP nib. The colour is ivory the image is of flowers the trim and clip are gold colour. It comes with a converter which is gold, and matches the other trim.

The clip has a jewel attached. It came with a small velvet cover and a box of international small size cartridges.

 

Weight and Dimensions 8/10

It weighs 35gms a little heavier than a Lamy Safari and is 6 1/4 inches long posted and 5/1/2 inches with the top on. The pen top is a push fit, it snaps on and is a good fit. It is comfortable to right with and not too big for someone with a smaller hand.

 

Nib 8/10

The nib is a medium 14kt gold plated with a lot of detail on it. I tested it by loading Diamine Black Old English. It wrote smoothly and quietly not scratchy. The ink flowed smoothly on 80gm printer paper. I am left handed and I found it pleasurable to write with. I think that you can order different nib sizes they do seem to have fine and broad, Replacement nibs would be difficult to get hold of so need to be sure that you order correctly. The medium seemed to be on the fine side of medium to me.

 

Filler System 8/10

It came with a converter which matched and was gold coloured and it would also take standard International size cartridges. I can't remember if it was a piston or a screw type and would have held about the same ink as a small international size maybe a bit more.

 

Value for Money 6/10

I have purchased a lot of pens and know if you shop around then you can get some real bargains however this pen was good value because of its rarity value in the UK and the workmanship that went into it however the carriage cost at £10 offsets this somewhat. The detail and finish was very good for the money. A pen with a 14 k gold plated nib for £10 is good value.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[geoduc]

Did she like it?

[akrishna59]

the pen looks good, although i would have preferred the flowers to be not there, spoils the classic look of the pen somewhat, but these opinions are subjective and differ from person to person.

 

i am sure that your gift will be much appreciated.

 

rgds.

 

krishna.

[fruitandlemon]

plrase see below

Edited September 1, 2010 by fruitandlemon

[fruitandlemon]

Hello Geoduc

She did and I did say if she wanted to swap it for another pen out of my stock then she was welcome.

 

It did write very nicely. I hedged my bets and got her a Caran d'Ache Metal Collection Metal-X Line 849 Ballpoint Pen in red (with the goliath refill which has 8000 metres of ink) so that she would have a day to day ballpoint for the office as well.

 

http://www.cultpens....al-X.html#a5757

 

Hello Ashrina 59

Yes I agree, it is a shame that manufacturers aren't more in tune with the fashion for simpler lines and less decoration on pens that are intended for day to day use. .

 

It would have been cheaper to dispense with the Picasso theme and branding (which has caused IPR issues I understand) remove the painting and faux diamond on the pen , and the excessive packaging all of which would reduce production and distribution costs. A simple cream pen with gold trim and nib with slightly better ergonomics would it would have been better.

 

The pen that I would have preferred to give her was the Waterman Charleston in ivory but that is about £60 in the UK and I couldn't afford as I was buying pens for a number of people.

 

http://www.waterman....pens/charleston

 

Thanks