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It's probably for the better that OMAS is no longer with us... marketing executives would never let pens like this leave the factory! Much too 'sedate' for the modern consumer, I'm sure... 2003 Paragon Royal Blue celluloid (LVMH era) and 1934 Extra Permanio tortoise shell celluloid (La Stilografica - Bologna origin)

Hello, I got this pen last year, and its one of the extremely rare instances where I buy a pen other than FP, but I couldn't resist this beauty, this edition is limited to only 100 pieces. Best regards.

I just picked up one of these about a week or so ago. Ive been trying to get one for almost 6 months now and out of nowhere, one was available from Bryant at a fair price these days. I jumped on it and pulled the trigger! Ive only started collecting Omas pens about 2 years ago and have had to make up ground quickly. First impression. This pen is extremely elegant with the diamond like carbon purple/bronze color and rose gold trim! Very exquisite! The nib and trim is a pink gold instead of red gold and very fitting for the look of the whole package. When I first saw it, I felt that it was a pen that would fit well in an older pen collectors private vault. I didnt feel like I was a seasoned enough pen collector to have such an exquisite pen. I have a fair amount of Omas pens in my collection, but this pen is on another level. The body and cap are media blasted so you get these amazing satin reflections in the light across the facets but the edges of the facets are laser sharp. Not rounded at all. In low light the pen is a sort of light plumb/purple. Really interesting colors from this pen in different lights. It rarely looks just bronze. Despite the media blasted finish, it does show finger prints easily. The box had an outer cover in a soft touch black with kind of rose gold embossed text. The main box is standard Omas for a Paragon and came with a bottle of Omas black. Omas black is a nice ink but I dont really use it much and find that its mild, and tad light and dry. Its a very safe ink in my opinion and I typically use it to run a fill to completely clean out highly saturated inks out of piston fillers. Its very easy to clean at the end of a refill. The paperwork had the standard QC card along with another soft touch black folded card with rose gold text about the titanium series. Also had the same brief booklet about Omas. The whole presentation was very nicely done. This pen feels like its absolutely bomb proof! It has a nice weight to it and the DLC finish feels very rugged. Im not sure how hard the titanium alloy actually is on this pen but it feels incredibly solid. Its such a beautiful pen but the way its built is beyond just durable. I feel like it would just last forever and be completely unfazed even with daily use over decades. The weight feels different than a brass pen. Its hard to describe but the feel is very unique. When you first pick up the pen, it feels cool to the touch but not cold. Its winter right now here so I imagine its a little cooler than usual. The pen heats up quickly and retains a nice warmth to it for a long time. I usually dont pay attention to these things honestly but it was immediately noticeable with this pen and very pleasant! The section is black resin with the serial number embossed into the material opposite the top of the nib. I have a feeling this pen would make an excellent EDC pen if the situation was a little different. Ive been using it daily at work but Im obsessively careful with the pen due to replacement parts being scarce. I think its really the most impressive overall Omas Ive seen or handled based on aesthetics and build quality. Its writing very well these days too after some work! Writing experience needed some effort to optimize. The nib was rotated on the feed and the tines were misaligned a little. This is pretty standard in my experience with modern Omas pens save for the one pen I received that was tuned at Omas, a Paragon Ludovico Einaudi Signature in broad. That pen is my best writer and has never had a problem. Epic pen! The rest of my Omas collection made past 2004 are pretty much all tuned the same from Omas. Maybe I should say not tuned. Nib slightly rotated on the feed with some unique feedback. I was only able to get a fine nib these days on this pen in 18kt. The nib was rotated on the feed as usual and the tines a little misaligned. The misaligned tines was not usual though. I pulled the nib and feed to re-seat it correctly. I had to heat set it and then align the tines. I ground the nib and polished to a 6k micromesh finish that still maintains the spirit of the original feedback but is tuned correctly for my hand. The pen writes more like a medium now and has a nice wet line. Im very happy with the nib after working it for a good amount of time. I had to heat set it one more time as it broke in also. Might need to heat set it a 3rd time as its on the edge of ink pooling up when writing. Overall, Im very impressed with this pen! The writing experience is nice but there isnt a novelty to it like a stub or italic. Its just a good medium-ish writer now with nice feedback. I find myself staring at the pen kind of a lot. Its not as crazy as a brown arco, but the reflections are really cool over the facets! It must have taken a long time to make this pen. Its the best built Omas Ive seen by far. Its a very striking pen but verges on being understated until you really start looking at the details. From 10 feet away, it just looks like a brownish-bronze pen, but if youre writing with it, its quite spectacular and flashy in a very refined way. I would say its a must have in any Omas collection!

I found a kitchen scale laying around the house tonight so I weighed some inked pens for fun. The silver vermeil section on the brown arco really seems to add some weight! The Titanium Omas Paragon came in at 41.29G Omas new style brown arco Paragon at 49.88G Visconti Millionaire at 55.97G Lamy Studio at 32.96G

I've fulfilled a pen bucket list item tonight my friends! I've been actively bidding on/searching for an Omas Titanium Paragon in bronze PVD for 6 months now. There's a seller on eBay that seems to have several of these but with the diamond encrusted cap band. He has the listed buy it now for an insane price but every few months, he'll put one up on auction no reserve. I've been tracking prices to plan my bids accordingly but prices just keep going up exponentially! Pen emporium has one of these listed without the diamond cap band for a fixed price but they want about the last sale price for one with a diamond band. Crazy! I got an email the other day from Bryant Greer (Chatterley Luxuries) about what's on sale......I dread these emails but love them at the same time! There were no less than 4 pens on my list at insane low prices. I was surprised to see the Omas I had been looking for on sale! The price was hundreds less than Pen emporium. I just about fell out of my chair! I immediately got a hold of Bryant and made a great deal. Great guy to work with! I'm really excited about this pen! I feel I caught it right before they became unattainable at any reasonable price! No plans to sell, just write!

Not exactly your prettiest pen or your best writer but the pen that you get along with the best. The one you would never flip for whatever reasons ignoring sentimental value. An absolute keeper. For me it's my Omas Paragon Ludovico Einaudi signature edition with a broad nib. I know we have pens on the opposite spectrum that have been combative every step of the way for no reason at all. I have one in mind right now so there must be something to this both positive and negative. I ordered this Omas new after they went under. It was one of their last pens and the only year of the "signature" collection as far as I know. I got the pen from a retailer in Germany about a year ago. The deal almost didn't go through though due to a clash in price and some translation issues but cooler heads prevailed, and I'm glad they did! I've never had a seller simply respond to a reasonable offer with just "no". Then there was the USD to Euro exchange rate. Lots of obstacles in this transaction. This is the only Omas in my collection that was tuned at the factory and it's just perfect! It's never had a bad day and looks great no matter what. Always a perfect writer regardless of ink. It's even my girlfriend's favorite pen, connoisseur of pilot G2's with only a Platinum Preppy to her name. There's something about this pen. I swear it was blessed by the Pope himself! Let's hear your stories of special pens that can do no wrong!

A bunch of Omas that were offered at significantly (IMHO of course) reduced prices, have landed on my desk. I can afford to keep 3, so the rest would need to go back. The wish, of course is to keep all of them, but my banker vehemently disagrees. Do note that all of them were offered around the same price around 375 Euro equivalent, except for the c/c filler which is reduced further. All of them new/un-used/un-inked The question is : Which of these would you send back and why #1 Paragon - Art Deco Limited Edition - Piston fill - Gold Trim - Stub #2 Paragon - Art Deco Limited Edition - Piston fill -Gold Trim -Broad #3 Paragon - Art Deco Limited Edition - Piston fill -Gold Trim -Medium #4 Milord Dark Ebony Wood - Arte Italiana - Piston fill -Silver Trim - Stub #5 Paragon - Arte Italiana - Piston fill - HT trim - EF #6 Milord - Arte Italiana"mother of pearl maroon"/Bordeaux - C/C fill - Ruthenium Trim - Broad I've got a week to decide and I love ALL of em

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Just as I said in the Milord review, this is the review of The Paragon edition of the Einaudi signature line from this year. I have spent a fair bit of time writing with the pen to make sure that the impressions I give are as good as I can give, especially regarding the ergonomics, which is the main reason I switched models in the first place. As always, I will put a plug in for Einaudi's music, it is calming and wonderful to listen to, and as I've said before, given how much I like his music, this was a must buy for me. Dimensions Length capped - 150mm Length uncapped - 135mm Nib length - 23mm Section length - 26.7mm Section diameter hi - 14mm Section diameter lo - 11mm Box and Contents The box for the Paragon edition of this fountain pen is nigh on identical to that of the Milord edition; medium sized box with a microfibre lining all throughout, the pen contained within a microfibre pen sleeve, and a tray covering the usual propaganda materials just as with the Milord. For photographs of this, please see my Milord review. Although objectively I cannot really fault the packaging, for it came with all the required pieces of information and clearly protects the pen well whilst in transit, thus fulfilling its required specification, I did find it somewhat disappointing that it was identical to its ‘younger sibling’ Milord. Considering the fairly significant price difference between the pens, as well as the name and stigma associated with a flagship pen, this one in particular, I would have been even happier with the overall presentation if the box had been slightly more grandiose and ‘flagship-esque’. Most disappointingly, I found, it did not include a complementary bottle of ink as other editions of the Paragon do. Though this is subjective in the extreme, and I know a lot of readers on here don’t care for packaging at all, given these are luxury items, it would be nice for the manufacturers to make the consumer feel more like this is the case through the inclusion of random items such as a bottle of ink. Regardless, I would say I am content with the packaging and contents, but again, slightly taken aback that it wasn’t a little more reflective of the item that it contains. The word ‘paragon’ does, after all, define something that is the ideal and ultimate example of whatever the subject matter is. Appearance The Paragon is definitely the largest pen that I own, greater in both length and circumference than my 149, which I feel is slightly accentuated by the geometric finish of the pen compared to the organic curves of the 149. Personally, I love the appearance of The Paragon and Milord, finding them to be both functional and attractive, for whilst they will roll, they are not as prone to rolling as a cylindrical alternative. The dark grey cotton resin works brilliantly with the medium grey ruthenium plating of the cap band, clip and section. Its subdued characteristics make this a very good EDC implement, I find, attracting less attention, if you like that kind of thing, and just as I said with the Milord, results in a ‘professional’ appearance that would fit in with any kind of surrounding. I make this point, because a tutor of mine remarked derogatorily on my old Vanishing Point Raden, saying it looked silly that I would carry around a glitter pen; in professional practice, this pen would be more at home than say a Burnt Orange M800 for example. This is again, subject to opinion. The ruthenium highlights are slightly shiny when in bright light, but maintain their colour, unlike silver and gold highlights that mirror their surroundings. The section, where you will find the main difference in appearance between the Milord and The Paragon, is a metal, with the same finish as the cap band and clip, which looks better than the shiny black plastic used in the Milord in my eyes, fitting in more neatly with the overall appearance of the pen. Again, I find the highlighting of Einaudi’s signature on the front of the cap band to be extremely well done. The nib is the same shiny ruthenium used in the Milord, and for details on this, I ask you again to look at my Milord review, so I don’t pollute this review with ‘old news’. There is a small difference in size between the Milord and Paragon nibs, but nowhere near as much as that which can be found between the 146 and 149 I would say. Fit and Finish The overall quality of construction on The Paragon edition is fantastic. Regarding the infamous facet alignment, I would say that the facets of the barrel and the cap align correctly, if you are not tightening the cap as far as it will go. I find that the cap will be a half turn off in my model if you use triple the force to tighten the cap all the way, but given the threads are fairly tight any way, I have no fears of the cap becoming undone at even halfway secured onto the barrel, if that makes sense. This is where a minor gripe I have comes up. When securing the cap to the barrel, the threads have a tendency to squeak unless I slightly pinch the cap. This is a risk that is always incurred when rubbing two materials of differing densities against each other, and I think its a shame that OMAS didn’t put a metal mate thread in the cap as some other companies have in the past. Other than the sound that sometimes occurs, the threads a exceptionally smooth, with very little in the way of slack, less than the 149’s and comparable to that found in Japanese pens. The cotton resin, as I said in the Milord review, is a very pleasant material, and is more tactile than the resin used in the 149, whilst also being less tacky than the celluloid like materials used on the Opera Elements and Pelikan Mxxx series. It is my favourite material next to the lava blende of the Homo Sapiens to hold in the hand, and wish that more companies used it. The tolerances and fit of components across the rest of the pen are great; seams are crisp and clean without any voids, logo settings are perfect, nib alignment to the facets is dead on. Generally, everything is as it should be; they are even where they need to be even. Filling System My main issue with the Milord was the filling system; the cartridge converter system made the pen feel less solid in my opinion, and introduced a number of issues like threads grinding against each and rattling. The piston of The Paragon is large in capacity, however, the performance of the piston mechanism doesn’t seem to be as good as it could be. Whilst The Paragon’s piston is certainly not bad, it is slightly ‘grindy’ in places during the filling process, put this up against the perfectly smooth, consistent and even mechanism on the German pistons, there is no comparison. This is not an especially large problem, but it is the main downside to the general experience of using the pen in my eyes, though whether my view has been tainted by using what are generally regarded as the finest pistons on the market I do not know, and whether someone else may think differently is something I cannot answer. Like everything written here, this is a subjective area that cannot really be quantified. The only real issue I have with the piston is the lack of a method of checking the remaining capacity. Even though the ‘translucent’ barrel of the M800 I have barely lives up to the name without a very bright light source, it still allows me to check the remaining capacity. It could be argued that an ink window would ruin the aesthetic of the pen, and personally, it is not a deal breaking point for me, but I certainly think that an ink window would have worked in between the metal section and the beginning of the barrel facets, especially if darkened like on the 149. Regardless, to some people this is going to be more of an issue to others, and for me, it is more a non-issue than it isn’t, I can live with it, but it is certainly a downside to the pen whichever way you look at it. Ergonomics I will just say it here. For me, this is THE perfect pen ergonomically. Weight, size, balance and feel, all of these are captured perfectly for me in this writing instrument. The section of the Milord was the primary reason for me not feeling comfortable using the pen, for someone with a quadropod grip as I have, I like larger sections, however, for me the 149 section is not a perfect fit due to no taper and sheer size, and I haven’t had the opportunity to try out an M1000 properly so cannot form an opinion. The taper on The Paragon allows me to hold it comfortably at any angle; in bed or at a desk, and the faceted flange at the front prevents me from losing my grip at any point. If you find Sailor, Pilot or other companies with smaller sections to be comfortable in your hand, I would not imagine that The Paragon’s section would be comfortable for you, unless you adjust your grip, but to those who enjoy larger pens, this is the best sized section I have found so far. Much as people like to complain that metal sections are too slippery and cause people to lose grip on their pens, I find that The Paragon’s section is not a victim of this as much as others due to the flange at the bottom. Without this, it might be more of an issue, but as it is, it is far less slippy than something like a Lamy Studio or Opera Elements. Weight wise, the pen is definitely on the upper end, mainly due to the internals rather than the materials. The piston does change the weight distribution and balance of the pen compared to the Milord, but in a highly positive way. The balance is almost perfectly central, indeed, hold the pen at either end and you would be challenged to distinguish between which is the heavier of the two, courtesy of the metal section offsetting the piston mechanism’s weight. Posting the pen massively shifts the balance, and I wouldn’t recommend it, seen as a lot of effort has obviously gone into making the pen as well evenly balanced as possible. Due to the clip being much larger than the Milord, it is a lot easier to lever it up, however, it is still on the stiff side, meaning that sliding it in and out of pockets, whilst secure, is still a little difficult to do with ease. It doesn’t travel all that far from the cap surface, and is stiffer than the flat clips of Montblanc and Pelikan by a fair margin, at least on those that I can compare it to. Nib Performance The nib of The Paragon is absolutely brilliant in my case. Perfectly tuned flow wise, and has a wonderfully smooth tip with just the right amount of feedback. It has started up every single time I have put it to paper, and puts down a very even line that is just on the wet side, but keeps colours true without saturating them beyond recognition. The version I have is a medium, but it seems to be a ‘finer’ medium than that which I am used to dealing with from Pelikan, Montblanc and Visconti, who’s pens either write on the wet side or have a different definition of what a medium nib’s line weight should be. Either way, I find it ideal for any kind of writing, and due to the slight bounce in the nib when applying pressure, accentuates any line variation you force into the script. On the subject of nib ‘firmness’, just as with the Milord as I discussed a month ago, the nib is definitely not a nail like that of Waterman or Parker pens, but cannot be compared to that of an M1000 or Visconti palladium nib, both of which had a lot more give when writing. As I usually never attempt to put expressiveness into my writing except when completing headers or demonstrating fonts to people, this is not a concern for me, but for those who prefer softer nibs, I would advise you to look elsewhere, for you will be far better off. Closing Thoughts and Conclusion Although aspects of this review may seem critical, I felt that if I spent the whole time lauding over just how much I love this pen, it would seem a little biased, and the points that I have criticised, for the most part, are minor and don’t influence the function of the pen 90% of the time. I could not be happier; it ticks all the boxes and was worth the long wait I had to endure to get my hands on one…I have a bad feeling that this is only the first of many Paragons I will find myself buying… As I said in the ergonomics section, this is pretty much my ultimate pen in hand, and I absolutely adore it. I have zero regrets about returning the Milord for this model, and imagine that this is going to be a pen that I will carry with me wherever I go. This makes the pen worth every penny for me, but to some, especially those who may not foresee themselves using this as a primary writer, the price tag may be a little steep. At the discounted price of ~£400 from La Couronne du Comte, this pen stands fractionally more expensive than the M1000, and in my opinion is a good buy. At full retail price of £500 however, I don’t know whether or not I would still feel so comfortable recommending it, for whilst it is a Special Edition, you have a smaller nib (have to hold the pen closer to the paper, which some people dislike), no ink window, and a nib without springiness. To some people these might be deal breakers, to others not so much of an issue. I think, therefore, I will conclude by saying that I would recommend this pen without hesitation, if you like larger pens, this is absolutely worth a look at. -edit- Pictures are not uploading now, but tomorrow I will put them up in here

I recently purchased what was described as a NOS Paragon. It writes very well, but there is a mysterious odor emanating from the nib and the cap. If I had to describe it, I would say it smells like a rusty toolbox and stale bread. My Paragon has an 18k gold nib with gold/orange plating. This plating appears to have worn at some places, and I suspect that it is the source of the odor. Any insight would be appreciated.

Friends, The moment might have arrived for me to make another purchase. As a birthday gift to myself I'm thinking of something special. Possible options are Visconti Homo Sapiens Crystal Swirls, OMAS Paragon Arco Bronze/Brown, Danitrio Mikado. I had also considered the amazing Conway Stewart Churchill, but those are very hard to come by these days and they are not piston fillers. As you probably guessed, I like big pens, with a a hefty section. The winner will become my daily writer, replacing my Montegrappa Emblema in red celluloid. It's very beautiful but the nib is too small and the section too thin. ( a great pen though). Oh yes, I also like large nibs. Open to suggestions.

Hi all, I just received an Omas Paragon Arco. It's a 2002 model. My question is this: I thought the beautiful glowing wood-like colors were supposed to go all around the pen. On this pen there are two sides that exhibit the glowing, beautiful gold and brown colors, and two sides that are dark brown striped. Did I get a discolored Arco? Or is this normal? It's hard to show the dramatic difference in the colors in the photos, but hopefully you can see what I mean. Now, if I don't put the cap on just perfectly, nothing lines up. I am not happy with the coloration, because I expected it to be consistent all around the pen. I need to know if this is acceptable for Arcos or if I should send the pen back. This photo shows the dark brown striped side close up: This one shows the beautiful golden colors of one side of the pen: Another shot of the brown stripes with a little bit of the gold so you can see how the pen goes from one color to the next. There's no graduation. Thanks for your help. Susan

Now this is how to pack a boxed pen for trans-atlantic shipping. Almost six feet of 14 inch wide bubble wrap, plus about five feet of five inch wide wrap on each side in a FedEx Express medium box. The pen inside the display box is wrapped in tissue that is taped. I know there are other probably easier and equally effective ways to pack for shipping. I was just impressed by the attention to detail in the wrapping process. It took me a few minutes to cut through it and perhaps longer for the shipper to wrap and tape it. Stay tuned for photos of the pen.

Hi guys, I got my NOS Omas Paragon Saft Green today, and have a favor to ask. I found that the cap cannot fully close on the barrel, which will leave a gap between the cap and barrel when I close the pen. Did Omas leave the pen like this on purpose or there is a problem with the pen? Thanks!

Hi, I just purchased what seems to be a black (used/NOS) Omas Paragon with Greek key design on the cap and section. No date stamp. The capped pen measures 14,3mm/5,6". No tag on the barrel, "Omas" on the cap. The big friction fit two-tone nib appears to be a stub with a little flex but has NO nib grade and NO gold k value on it ... ? I wonder if anyone can help me date or even identify the pen? Maybe this helps ... it seems the cap shrank a little since it turns tight near the end and the greek key cap band feels somewhat loose - older vegetable resin? Thx!

I recently discovered Omas pens but I don't understand which pens are which. Some of theme are called "Arte Italiana," some are just called "Italiana" and some are called "Arco." Another term I know of is "Milord." Are they all part of the same series? What do the different terms mean? All these pens look similar, however. The only differences I can see are differently shaped grip sections and colour. Why are the grip sections different? I know that "Paragon" attached to the name means it's oversize. Do all Omas pens have a Paragon option? I also know many of them are limited edition. Are there any regular editions and is there a catalogue of the versions that have been released? If someone could tell me all about the Omas pens, I would be very grateful. I'm definitely not thinking of buying, due to the price. I'm just very interested in these spectacular pens. Arte Italiana: http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Omas-Arte-Italiana-4.jpgAlso an Arte Italiana? http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Omas-Arte-Italiana-NOIR-fountain-pens-e1360773509610.jpg Just Italiana, no "Arte" in front:http://fpgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/OMAS-Dama-Celluloid-Pearl-Grey.jpgArco: Thank you.

I was playing with my lightbox and decided to photograph my entire Italian pen collection, which amounts to a grand total of two pens from OMAS and Delta. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2180/13053976833_dbe5846875_b.jpg The OMAS Paragon in Maroon/Rose Gold Trim. The distinctive 12-faceted pen body is meant to resemble a 12-sided Greek Doric column. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2677/13053842765_2314b152d6_b.jpg The maroon cotton resin body and the rose gold section match perfectly. http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3832/12944875214_bdbccedf2e_b.jpg The Delta Stanfuffo Grande Circo. The celluloid literally glows in the hand. The pearlescent colour and depth of finish are unparalleled. http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/12944582413_3289568e38_b.jpgThe larger #8 size nib on this limited edition pen matches the size of the pen barrel.

I have this bronze arco Paragon, 141 or 142 mm, BB nib, with no year stamped on the section (or anywhere else I can find) It has a black box (no ink) with a black booklet and black paper outer box. I'm curious about it's age, and know next to nothing about Omas. I have another identical pen (B nib) dated 1998 on the section, with an off white box that says "Collezione Celluloide" on the tray (no ink) with a tan booklet and tan paper outer box. Please, can you help me with the unmarked pen? And do I have the boxes mixed up? After looking through the threads I'm wondering if there was an undated old style model in the early LVMH years.

Still missing : solid white gold/platinum, one dark kind of exotic wood, arlecchino club, pearl grey.