Waterman Lady Agatha

[Mainecoon]

Reading all those nice reviews, I thought: "it's time to contribute to this great network in this way as well". So here it is. My first review. Hope you like it and enjoy it.

 

 

Introduction

This review is about the Waterman Lady Agatha. When I saw the pen I knew it: I must have it; particularly because of the colours. pattern and last but not least the matching pencase. When it arrived, it seemed even more beautiful to me, because of the depth of the colours. The one I bought was a used one, but in near mint status, almost no scratches etc. It came in a standard waterman pen box (there is a special box for this Lady, but I don't have that).

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7409810288_77a0db34da_c.jpg

Lady Agatha out of the box

 

Appearance & Design (9/10)

 

There are several known colours and finishes of the Lady Agatha. All colour combinations are of geometric flakes and in random arrangements. The colors are: mineral like finish in colours blue/topaz, rubine/blue and magenta/bronze and wavy Lines finish in blue brown. Mine is of the last type. The colours are really bright and change depending on how you hold the pen in the light, I like it a lot.

The Waterman Lady Agatha has a resin body and cap. It Marks "ideal" on the top of the cap and "waterman" is inscribed in the cap ring. The pen is meant to be a purse pen and has no clip on it. It has an 18k – 750 golden nib.

The tube-type pencase is of the same material as the pen and has a swinging metal top with the waterman logo on it. The pen and pencase are trimmed with gold. It has an overall classic look. So, in size and measurements it really is a lady's pen.

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/7409810040_4a86f86fae_c.jpg

The Lady in her shelter

 

Construction & Quality (8/10)

 

The pen feels very solid. It has a snap-on cap that closes firmly. This is the same with the pencase. The pen is finished very well. Although it's a used pen from the early 90's, there aren't almost any scratches etc. on the pen yet.

 

 

Weight & Dimensions (7/10)

 

The pen measures app. 11cm capped and 10,2 cm unposted and uncapped. Posted it is 13,8cm long. The diameter of the barrel is 1cm, on the grip a little smaller. So, although it is a small pen, posted it's longer than an unposted MB146 or Waterman Carene. For me it is a little too small in diameter to be a daily writer, but it writes well, posted with more balance than unposted. You easily can do that without harming the barrel due to the construction of the pen.

The matching pencase has a length of 12,5cm and a diameter of app. 1,7cm.

Due to the used material (resin) and measurements it is a light pen. Posted it is well balanced. Unposted the pen is a little too short for me.

 

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5445/7409809370_24e04fd69f_c.jpg

Agatha out of the house!!

 

Nib & Performance (8/10)

 

The pen has an 18k golden monotone medium nib. I don't know what other sizes were available. The nib matches the pen very well in size. When starting writing it can hesitate a little; she is a little shy.

I found out it depends on the angle I hold the pen. I'm left-handed and tend to write with a rather sharp angle on the paper (doing so, the ink has a little more drying time before my hand reaches the ink). This nib likes it more upright. Once you've found the right angle it writes very well, with good feedback (some of you will call it scratchiness), but I like that. I have to feel what I'm doing. It has no flex.

The m-nib gives a good line that don't betray it's such a small pen and nib. It is not on the wet site of the spectrum (I tested it with Diamine China Blue). As a lefty, that works well for me.

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8150/7409809656_76117e6e76_c.jpg

Lady's nib

Filling System & Maintenance (7/10)

 

The pen is a cartridge filler. It only eats Waterman minicartridges. Those are almost the same size as international cartridges, but the latter don't fit !! You can't buy those mini's everywhere, but there are some good pen shops on the net, that hold a supply of it in different colours. I bought myself a converter for this pen, because I like to use other colours than the app. six colours available in mini's. The converter – a Monteverde mini –doesn't hold that much ink, but that's ok with me, because I will use it at home only. The filling system itself is very easy. The same for maintenance.

 

 

Cost & Value (9/10)

 

Agatha is a rather rare Lady, which you don't see around often. And when you see her, it's almost never in the colour pattern I have now. I did some research on the net afterwards, and I think I had a good deal (€ 115,--) with her. For the finishing, golden nib and the matching pencase it is good value.

 

 

Conclusion (Finalscore, 4,8/6)

 

This Lady has great looks and the finishing, golden trim and nib with matching pencase makes it special to me. Agatha exceeded my expectations on that part. For writing the pen is too small in diameter for me to be a daily writer; I think it would match a real lady better (at least someone with small hands and of course an evenly beautiful purse). But she stays in my collection for esthetical reasons and on my desk for making notes now and then, or just for enjoying the looks of her …this fine Lady. I know it for sure now: She put a spell on me ...

 

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8024/7409809852_478dcb1fe8_c.jpg

House of Agatha

Edited July 2, 2012 by pakmanpony
At posters request to fix spacing.

[Lorna Reed]

What a beautiful Lady Agathe! I've never seen that design before, and at a good price I think.

I have the more usual colour combination of burgundy/greeny-brown. I have to admit that I haven't used mine for quite some time as I find it too small and 'fiddly', but beautiful.

 

[breaker]

nice review and pics!

thanks!

[Mainecoon]

@ lorna : thank you. Your Lady is a beauty as well; sometimes referred to as 'the rose'. seeing your picture, that makes sense indeed.

 

@ breaker: happy a could contribute. Pictures aren't as sharp as they should be; tripod and macrolense are somewhere else at the moment.

[goldiesdad]

Nice review ... very "girly" pen I think my wife will like this one for her small hand ... Thanks for a Great review ...

[wkiffin]

Lovely pen

[KTZ of NE]

This is indeed a beautiful pen. Does anyone know if there was more than one design ( not pattern, but size and shape) of the tube and logo? I previously purchased a Rouge Lady Agatha with a case that has the cover missing. It came with the original box with all the papers and parts, except the lid was missing from the tube. I just bought a green replacement case on eBay from another individual. It did not match my pen, but I wanted to investigate swapping the cover. The replacement arrived today and it is about 1/2 inch shorter than the original tube. Also the Logo on the lid does not match the logo on the lid shown in this review. The logo on the replacement is merely a Waterman W without any hexagon around it. In addition, the replacement tube has 4 holes along the length of it two on each side, on directly opposite sides. My original tube does not have any holes in the sides. I did write to NewellCo with the question, but in my experince, they are very slow to respond. Thanks for input. Best wishes to all.

[rokurinpapa]

Thank you for your nice review. I bought this pen(color: dark purple, deep red and so on) for my wife.

Thank you for your information about converter. I will try to get it.

 

rokurinpapa

 

 

[macfrenzyfrost]

Great review. I have owned this pen since the mid 90s it was a gift from a wonderful stranger who was buying one for his girlfriend and surprisingly me for helping him select the perfect gift. One I couldn't have imagined affording EVER especially at that time. An act of kindness that I will remember for a lifetime. It has always been a treasure to me. I lost my original converter and was delighted to learn the Monteverde mini fits. Thank you for that. Have any LA owners found that it does not close properly after a cleaning until it is fully dry?

[iuoma]

Thanks for the review. It is a lovely pen indeed. I was lucky to buy one too, in mint condition, and it feels very good. I know I will go to use it on a special occasion.

[Scanspeak]

Hi, you say you used a Monteverde mini converter on it and it works - does it leak and what modification does it need? Do the Waterman mini international cartridges fit well or?

[Mainecoon]

Hi, the monteverde mini converter works without modification. No leaking in my experience. Waterman Mini International Cartridges should fit aswell.

[sfbum]

Does the Waterman Lady Agatha have a serial number, as like the Serenite? I have no idea if my Lady Agatha pen is an authentic reproduction, aka "fake", or the real pen that I too have an affection for.

[sfbum]

... not that a serial number is a for-sure sign of authenticity. Just a starting point.

[Mainecoon]

The Agatha has no serial number.

On the capband there is an inscription waterman, made in france, on the top of the cap an inscription Ideal.

[jl63_penguy]

I remember selling many of those beautiful pens back in '97-'99 when I started at Colorado Pen ( Paradise Pen )

They were stunning.....the old WATERMAN....NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE