Delta Dolce Vita Review

[larsbj]

Great review, and a wonderful pen! I got the Oro Pison Filler, pretty much the samt except for all the black

[Ceramicist]

Nice review! Beautiful pen! I have the Delta Mask and I love it.

[Regulateur]

Thanks to your review, I am a few hundred bucks poorer. Can't wait to receive my Dolce Vita piston filler stub nib from Bryant! Great review, thanks.

[Javert34]

I, like many who pursue this passion of ours, keep a specific pen journal with those I currently own and those I have owned in the past and have gifted to others or have traded. I also keep a section with a listing of those I would like to own some day. Near the top of that list was the Dolce Vita; a wish. It was a, "should I ever find one at a good price that wont't get me in trouble with my beloved," type of wish.

 

Last week while visiting family outside of New York, I was perusing the website of a certain well-known establishment in Manhatten and noticed that they had placed the mid-sized (aka full size) Dolce Vita on sale. Weighing the fact that I had already visited FPH earlier in the week and purchased a copy of the Pelikan M120 remake, against the potential domestic wrath of, "seriously, two pens this week!" The age-old question we all face of trading household tranquility for an addition to the collection was one staring me in the face. Pen? Domestic tranquility? A tough call.

 

So now to the thoughts on my new Dolce Vita....

 

Others have provided much better reviews, so I will not attempt to replicate those here. Rather, I would like to just provide my take on this not so little gem. The most striking feature is of course the color of the orange barrel which photos cannot do justice. The color is truly striking and can only be appreciated in person. At the risk of trying to sound poetic, which clearly I am not, the best thing I can liken it to is if you were to imagine the most brilliant sunset. Again, striking.

 

The cap band is engraved, sterling silver which is also equally remarkable and can be overshadowed by the orange brilliance of the barrel. As you can hopefully see in the photo, it is deeply engraved and serves as a subtle, but amazing accent.

 

The monotone gold nib is also equally beautiful to look at. I purchased mine in fine as they only had it along with extra fine and broad, both of with I generally don't care for. After a week of use has broadened slightly as it has grown accustomed to my hand. I have had the chance to try many fine nibs over the years and have developed a love/hate relationship as I generally prefer wetness that is not often provided by a fine. Pleasantly, I have found that the Dolce Vita is the wettest fine nib I have ever written with, outpacing my MB 149 that I have come to love. I have also found that it offers the perfect amount of feedback when writing. It is a fine line (pardon the pun) between feedback and scratchiness and this pen does a wonderful job of providing feedback, similar to my 149.

 

Speaking of which, I have seen some places that compare the oversized Dolce Vita to the 149, but nothing comparing this mid-sized version so I thought I would do so. You will see from the photo that the 149 is just slightly larger when capped and that the diameter of the barrel and section are very close. Being the size of a javelin, the nib on the 149 takes it in terms of size, but not by as much as I had thought.

 

Overall, the Dolce Vita is a large pen that commands attention. It is a wonderful pen that in my mind personifies why I enjoy these things so very much. It is a piece of art that is functional, beautifully crafted and timeless.