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Platinum 3776 Century Nice, Fine Nib: Review


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As a big fan of rose gold, I was super excited to see that Platinum would release a limited edition 3776 Century with rose gold trim. I thought that the frosted demonstrator look is really cool, too. Overally, I purchased this thinking that there would be no better opportunity to try out the much-loved 3776 pen for the first time.

 

First Impressions

 

14662594637_f55ef099fa_c.jpgDSC_0010 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

The box feels cheap but I appreciate Platinum's efforts at making it pretty. The bottom is white cardboard and the lid is a textured pearly off-white with the Platinum logo and some text written in rose gold. I like the ovoid shape. I don't have a nice pen storage system yet, so I'll probably be keeping the pen in here for now. I don't mind!

 

14869006133_88fb894a20_c.jpgDSC_0013 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

There were a couple of paper things inside (a lil thing on the #3776 Century Nice that says that this pen "personifies the mild southern French climate and the radiant sunlight, which attract celebrities from a far [sic]," a Century User's Manual, a warranty card) that I did not include in the photo. What's important is that you get a blue Platinum cartridge, a converter, and A REALLY COOL PEN.

 

Appearance and Design

 

14662604417_177b679583_c.jpgDSC_0014 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

What a pretty pen! I think I'm really into this sort of "subtle demonstrator" look. According to Platinum, the frosted panels are supposed to be evocative of the waves on the beaches of Nice. Lovely! I haven't been there, so I can't speak to the accuracy, but I would argue that Platinum still made a very elegant pen, here. It's a very light, graceful sort of elegance. It's clean and summery. It doesn't confuse sombreness with sophistication.

 

The rose gold is slightly more pink than it is in these photos, for the record. Above, on the clip, it seems to look a lot more yellow than it actually is.

 

Overall, the pen feels quite sturdy. A lot of the weight is from the trim, but that adds some much-needed heft to an otherwise light pen.

 

14846696474_706e7792a7_c.jpgDSC_0018 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

The text on the cap reads "0149/2K," meaning that I have #149 out of the 2000 pens made! I know the number doesn't really matter, but #149 is in the first 7.5% of the pens, and I can't help but be a little excited about that ;)

 

14662530338_bf48202645_c.jpgDSC_0019 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

Here's a sort of close up on the frosted, translucent resin.

 

14846708114_d570d70d52_c.jpgDSC_0020 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

Cap with some of that Slip & Seal technology on display. It's nice that this will keep the pen from drying out! I do live somewhere with a cold, dry climate so that could be a real concern. Still, this pen is too much of a pleasure to write with for me to set it down for very long!

 

Weight and Dimensions

I didn't take these measurements myself, but here they are pulled from Goulet Pens (I bought the pen from there, too... no affiliation). They seem to be the same specs as for the other 3776 pens.

 

  • Weights: 20g overall, 10g body, and 10g cap.
  • Lengths: 140mm overall closed, 159mm overall posted, 120mm body, 67mm cap, and 23mm nib.
  • Diameters: 13mm body, 15mm cap w/o clip, 17mm cap w/ clip.

 

Overall, it's a comfortable pen to hold! I think this diameter suits my hands/grip particularly well. The transition between barrel/threads/section is comfortable; the small step didn't bother me at all.

 

The cap is ridiculously heavy, as it is the same weight as the body, so the pen is weighted horribly when posted. Definitely don't post with this pal. I'm not a fan of the balance, at least. Perhaps that will help to prevent scratches/cap marks on the barrel? It's light unposted, same as an unposted Lamy Safari, but I quite like that.

 

Nib and Performance

 

14869016023_f4c3238f7c_c.jpgDSC_0016 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

The nib is 14K rose gold plated and available in fine, medium, and broad. I chose the fine-nibbed version as I generally write small and plan on using this pen for work, which means plenty of mathematical symbols, subscripts, and superscripts. I definitely wasn't let down, here. Fine but still super smooth! The below writing sample is on a Rhodia 5mm dotpad. I was writing at slow-medium speed so the lines look a little thicker than they would when I write quickly.

 

14826126736_5d93976960_c.jpgDSC_0030 by tinylilsnail, on Flickr

 

After doing the sample above, I wrote a few pages of math, still using the Platinum Cartridge. The pen only skipped once and it was due more to user error than the nib. Overall, it was super smooth and a real pleasure to write with. I really can't stress that enough! I felt like I barely needed to touch the page to write, which I guess makes this my perfect anti-ballpoint.

 

Filling System

 

The 3776 Century Nice is a cartridge/converter pen and comes with both a blue Platinum cartridge as well as the Platinum converter. Unfortunately, the silver of the converter doesn't really match the rose gold, but the frosted barrel hides this mismatch so you can't really tell. Not much to say about the converter! It's usually about $8 on its own, which is kind of expensive for a converter, but it works well.

 

I actually really like the Platinum Black cartridge I used for the writing sample above! It's a nice black. I aim on mostly using bottled ink, but I might keep some cartridges on hand.

 

Cost and value

At a list price of $250 (USD) and retail price of usually about $200 (USD), it's about $25-30 more than the other pens in the Platinum 3776 Century line (discounting the music nib versions). If you're a big fan of the look of this pen, then I'd say that jump is worth it. I wasn't in love with the other 3776 pens before this one, though I knew I did want to try a 3776 eventually, so I personally didn't mind paying more. It's really an excellent pen.

 

Still, $200 is no chump change so don't go impulse buying this or anything, but this nib has blown me away. The design is the icing on the cake! I can tell this pen is going to be pretty special to me. I can't say I have tried other pens in this price range, so I can't compare the value of this pen over others.

 

Conclusion

I'm really, really happy with my purchase. Other than a Parker 51 Special, this is my first pen purchased for over $40, so I had pretty high expectations and had carefully considered my purchase. I can confidently say that I'm super impressed with this pen, both in terms of its stellar writing performance and really cool appearance. I don't think I am brave enough to take this to work/school, but this pen is definitely going to be the first one I reach for at my desk at home.

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Nice review!

 

If this pen had been around when I was looking for a demonstrator, I would probably have gotten this over my Pilot Custom Heritage 92. It's so beautiful! Modern and unique, but the frosted finish makes it look quite classy, I think. Glad to hear it writes so well!

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I bought one of these in the red color and will be doing a review pretty soon! They do write like dream......

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@Anneleen: Thank you! First review, so I'm still finding my footing. It's such an interesting look, isn't it? Lovely to look at!

 

@Chi Town: Nice! Looking forward to seeing your review. And, RIGHT?! I think I may be hooked real good. Thanks a lot, Platinum!

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It's a nice looking pen. (See what I did there?)

 

I really like the frosted barrel. It's a nice effect. The pen is tempting, but I have an earlier special edition (the Shoji) and found myself quite underwhelmed by the experience of using it and looking at it more closely.

Proud resident of the least visited state in the nation!

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It's a nice looking pen. (See what I did there?)

 

I really like the frosted barrel. It's a nice effect. The pen is tempting, but I have an earlier special edition (the Shoji) and found myself quite underwhelmed by the experience of using it and looking at it more closely.

 

my review of my review is that I missed the opportunity to use a ton of super terrible puns

 

I didn't know how I would feel about the frosted effect at first, but I love it so much in real life. It even makes the pen more "grippy," in a way. That's really too bad! Sorry to hear about your experience with the Shoji. The transparent light blue is really nice, at least. Anything I should look out for?

 

The frosting of the pen really sets it apart from other clear demonstrators. Great review!

 

It was such a great decision on Platinum's part– between the rose gold and the frosting, this really is something special. Thank you!

 

***

 

I should add that I'm planning on using this pen quite regularly over the next few weeks/months, at least 30min/day, so if I get any more insights on the way it writes, I'll make sure to add to this thread.

Edited by tinysnail
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The text on the cap reads "0149/2K," meaning that I have #149 out of the 2000 pens made! I know the number doesn't really matter, but #149 is in the first 7.5% of the pens, and I can't help but be a little excited about that ;)

 

I just got #42. :P

 

I hadn't read your review yet, but when I first opened the box and looked the pen over 'subtle' was the word that came to mind. I find it nicer looking in person than in any of the pictures I've seen (even excellent ones like in this review). I had some concern that I'd find it tacky or cheesy in person; far from it.

 

On the other hand...

 

I have an earlier special edition (the Shoji) and found myself quite underwhelmed by the experience of using it and looking at it more closely.

 

I don't know what Waski meant exactly with his Shoji, but it wasn't hard to find minor imperfections in the plastic of the barrel. Fortunately, they are mostly at inconspicuous places. The only one that really bothers me is, I think, on the outside of the part in the section for the slip and seal mechanism. It looks like one of those small bits or blobs of plastic left behind when one piece is broken off another piece. The sort of thing you might see on, say, plastic toy soldiers.

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."

 

~ George Orwell

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I just got #42. :P

 

I hadn't read your review yet, but when I first opened the box and looked the pen over 'subtle' was the word that came to mind. I find it nicer looking in person than in any of the pictures I've seen (even excellent ones like in this review). I had some concern that I'd find it tacky or cheesy in person; far from it.

 

On the other hand...

 

 

I don't know what Waski meant exactly with his Shoji, but it wasn't hard to find minor imperfections in the plastic of the barrel. Fortunately, they are mostly at inconspicuous places. The only one that really bothers me is, I think, on the outside of the part in the section for the slip and seal mechanism. It looks like one of those small bits or blobs of plastic left behind when one piece is broken off another piece. The sort of thing you might see on, say, plastic toy soldiers.

NICE!

 

Subtle is definitely the best word for it. I enjoy the look of this pen more and more as I use it. I love the lightness, both visually and in terms of the actual literal weight of it.

 

Hmmm, I'm trying to look for some imperfections right now and haven't found much except some weirdness towards the end of the barrel. Oh geez, that bit on the section does sound real annoying, though.

 

 

Great review! Between you and Henny Penny, I'm getting closer to clicking "add to cart" :D

 

:) I realize I am entirely being an enabler here, but: dooo iiiit.

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Hmmm, I'm trying to look for some imperfections right now and haven't found much except some weirdness towards the end of the barrel. Oh geez, that bit on the section does sound real annoying, though.

 

 

That's exactly where I have some imperfections or weirdness. I'll try to take a picture of that bit in the section.

 

The pen writes very well, which is good.

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."

 

~ George Orwell

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I have a Shoji and after reading some other users' posts about imperfections, I inspected mine very thoroughly. I don't appear to have any of the weirdness some of you have reported. It is an extremely attractive pen - the blue is so pale & subtle, it is like icy water. I love it. And the nib is a joy to use.

 

I'm a bit disappointed that Platinum don't appear to be continuing the Fuji 5 Lakes series this year.

Verba volant, scripta manent

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Very pretty pen, thank you for the review! Do you know what the retail price is in Japan? $250 seems high.

 

The Platinum website in Japanese says 20,000 yen, which comes out to about $195 in USD. I'm guessing that's just the list price so I'd have to dig further to find the retail price, but that's already cheaper than the American list price.

 

I have a Shoji and after reading some other users' posts about imperfections, I inspected mine very thoroughly. I don't appear to have any of the weirdness some of you have reported. It is an extremely attractive pen - the blue is so pale & subtle, it is like icy water. I love it. And the nib is a joy to use.

 

I'm a bit disappointed that Platinum don't appear to be continuing the Fuji 5 Lakes series this year.

 

The Shoji really is stunning! That icy blue is incredible. Hopefully they'll pick it up again. I heard that Nice was supposed to round out Platinum's "Francophone" trilogy alongside Bourgonne and Chartres Bleu.

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I just got mine with nr 174 with Fine nib.

It writes perfect and Iike the design of this pen.

Price quality seen , unbeatable.

I just compared this pen with a pilot heritage 92 and like the platinum nib performance much more.

Much more feedback and pleasant writing than my pilot.

Very happy with this pen

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Glad you're happy with it too, arran! I reach for mine every chance I get :) this fine nib sure is fine!

 

I should add that I did not review this pen's clip at all because I never really use the clip anyhow. I'll check it out tonight, but again, I don't really have any basis for what makes a good clip or not.

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I've attached a picture of the plastic blob in the section I mentioned in my first post. I exchanged emails with someone who also has a 3776 Nice. He wrote that the section on his has the same blob in the same spot. His pen also has the 'weirdness' at the bottom of the barrel. He agreed with me that the bottom of the barrel stuff looks like dried glue.

 

I also have Chartres and Bourgogne 3776 pens and both have some odd imperfections inside the barrels. I'm sensing a trend.

 

post-19598-0-23096200-1407979979_thumb.jpg

Edited by Kugelschreiber

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."

 

~ George Orwell

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Nice pictures!

I've just got my blue Century. I like it so much but I think it might not be suitable for English writings.

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