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Visconti Black Divina Review


Opus104

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This is the medium sized Divina, the smaller cousin of the full sized Black Divina. Both are the understated and elegant offspring of the Limited Edition Divine Proportions pen.

 

Bryant of Pentime.net and active Fountain Pen Network pen pusher gave me an excellent opportunity to get this pen. It is the most expensive pen I have, but came to me at a sizable and much appreciated discount.

 

Appearance

 

This pen oozes class with its black Lucite and inlaid silver design. The silver inlays make up the spiral based upon the divine proportion (yes, you can have your Pi and eat it too). The medium size makes this comfortable for any hand and for any pocket. The presentation is in the standard Visconti faux alligator box in black. Nothing special, but the box goes into the basement right away anyway. With the silver, this is a heavier pen that is perfectly balanced. In fact, the spirals in the body seems to let the pen rest comfortably at any writing angle.

 

The cap does post easily and with enough gap to protect the finish. You can even keep the spirals aligned on the posted cap. However, I do not post my pens, so the cap remains on the desk. This cap features a spring-loaded cam mechanism, always insuring that the silver spirals remained aligned.

 

http://brigantia.org/images/visc1.jpg

 

http://brigantia.org/images/visc2.jpg

 

Filling System

 

This is a unique captive converter system. The silver plunger at the end of the pen pulls out to reveal the piston knob. At that point, the filling process operates like any piston filler. The benefit of this mechanism is that the piston in no way interrupts the inlaid silver accents and the "divine" spiral remains flawless. The only issues would be the lack of visibility of the ink supply and the relative small ink capacity compared to, say, a Pelikan piston.

 

Nib

 

The Divina Series comes with the choice of fine, medium or broad nibs. Initially I ordered the pen with a fine nib that I felt dried out too readily. Then I decided this pen needed some special treatment befitting its looks. I exchanged the nib for a broad. The exchange process was quick and painless, and Visconti USA was a pleasure to work with. Now I had a bundle of smooth tipping material to work with. It was off to Greg Minuskin to work some nib magic. The result is a bold and beautiful 0.97mm stub nib. This is a pleasure for letter and note writing.

 

The nib closeups are courtesy of Mr. Minuskin!

 

http://brigantia.org/images/visc3.jpg

 

 

 

http://brigantia.org/images/visc4.jpg

 

http://brigantia.org/images/visc5.jpg

 

Overall Impressions

 

This is a great pen. The medium size is perfect for the pocket. The silver design is elegant. It does spend most of its life on display at the desk, loaded for personal notes and bold signatures.

 

 

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Great Pen Opus. And great photos.

 

Thanks for including your handwriting sample. That broad stub shows the most line width variation of any stub I have ever seen. Must be more than a 4:1 ratio. Very nice.

Ray

Atlanta, Georgia

 

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Very nice review.

 

I have one of the Divinas in the Desert Springs celluloid that I got from Bryant.

The black finish in the medium size was a close runner up, however. Even though it is the least expensive, I feel it is the best looking of the three finishes. The the black with the silver is a great looking combination.

 

You have me lusting after this one now.

 

 

the Danitrio Fellowship

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Thank you for the review.

I own the DP (Divine Proportionas) and its my favorite pen. I got it with a F nib and its among my favorite nibs to date.

I love the weight and balance of it and think ht e Black model you own is stunning.

My only complaint is that as much as I love its filler (power filler on mine) it still doesnt hold as much ink as it could for such a huge pen.

 

I think we all should thank Bryant for making these pens posible for us with his amazing prices.

 

Enjoy :thumbup:

Respect to all

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Wow, what an amazing looking pen. Thank you for the review.

 

Dave

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

http://www.the-highw..._questions.html

 

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii208/blopplop/fpn-verm.jpg

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Were you trying to make us all pass out and flop to the floor with that AWESOME last photo shot of the stub?? Thank God I sit in a sturdy chair! :D

Edited by PenTieRun
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Great pen, very nice review, thanks for sharing this.

 

Don

A. Don's Axiom "It's gonna be used when I sell it, might as well be used when I buy it."

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Why didn't you try the factory stub?

 

I would have loved to, however when I talked to Visconti on the phone, they indicated that only the F, M, or B were available to me on the Divina. I had even offered to pay a differential. Apparently our selection is limited in both the full and medium sized rhodium Divina nibs.

 

That being said. This is my second nib from Greg, and his work is excellent and worth the price.

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Great review Jack, thank you. How is the Visconti nib compared to your Omas pens?

 

 

They are absolutely comparable in terms of smoothness. Both firm, but with a bit of spring. Every Omas I have used has had better flow than the Visconti. To my taste, this midsized Visconti nib is a bit more attractive in its design and wider shoulders - but writing is far more important to me than looks.

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Why didn't you try the factory stub?

 

I would have loved to, however when I talked to Visconti on the phone, they indicated that only the F, M, or B were available to me on the Divina. I had even offered to pay a differential. Apparently our selection is limited in both the full and medium sized rhodium Divina nibs.

 

That being said. This is my second nib from Greg, and his work is excellent and worth the price.

Ouch! Good to know. I've gotten so hooked on the 18k stubs that it feels odd to pick up a round tipped B again. :mellow:

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This pen is absolutely stunning...does anyone know its average price? I'm in the market for my first pen.

 

Currently Inked:

Lamy Safari - Noodlers Zhivago

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Nice pen. I like it a lot. Thanks for the review.

 

There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves or lose our ventures.

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  • 3 months later...

Do the silver inlays actually line up when it is capped and posted? It would drive me nuts if it didn't.

 

jackieblue

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  • 5 weeks later...

The silver inlays line up perfectly, both capped and posted. The shape of the body is not round, but a pentagon. So you have only five positions when putting on the cap. All well adjusted to the five inlays.

 

I own a Black Oversize, but it's the same system.

 

And I understand what you mean. It would drive me crazy too. :)

 

HTH,

Volker

 

Do the silver inlays actually line up when it is capped and posted? It would drive me nuts if it didn't.
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  • 3 months later...

As to the 925 silver inlays, has anyone ever tried using silver polish on them to make them shiny? I have done so on a Conklin's silver, but am afraid to get the polish on the Lucite. Just wondering, or should I get a polishing cloth?

Royce O'Rourke - Realtor! is now available in

PRINT

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  • 9 months later...
  • 3 years later...

Excellent review, defo got to order one over the summer.

''You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes''. A A Milne

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