Hermes Now Making Fountain Pens?

[gerigo]

Wow, I am guessing there must be some kind of resurgence because Hermes is now in the game. Any one wants to take a guess what's the asking price??? OK found the price. It's approximately US$1650.

 

http://www.dezeen.com/2014/08/20/marc-newson-nautilus-retractable-fountain-pen-hermes/

 

A rotate to "reveal the nib" pen. It does not have a clip and comes with a leather sheath, which is an obvious nod to Hermes's wheelhouse. The cross section of the pen is interesting because it's shaped like a horse shoe. It's semi circular on one side, and flat on the other. I guess that will prevent it from rolling off the table. But I wonder whether it's going to be nice to hold.

 

It's a cartridge pen. Does not say it comes with a converter. However, based on the fact it's manufactured by Pilot, I am guessing it's going to fit one of Pilot's converters. I have one of the Dunhill AD2000 pens that's made by Pilot, and those are amazing in quality and writeability.

 

The nib looks SUPER interesting. There is a breather hole and a slit but it does not extend to the end of the tines. I wonder whether that means it's a nail?

Edited August 20, 2014 by gerigo

[lvda]

Does anybody know whether this is a face-lift of a Pilot?

[playtime]

eh.

 

J

[perth]

Doesn't look very comfortable.

[inkstainedruth]

Hmm. It looks... odd. Closed up it's actually kinda stylish. But the nib doesn't seem to extend very far when "opened" (if that's the right word). So it looks like a bad intermediate point between a standard nib and a hooded one, and I have visions of it not working well as an actual writing instrument -- I imagine that the bottom of the pen end might get in the way and scrape the paper or something, unless you held it fairly upright. And that would make it write, IMO, much like a BP, which defeats the purpose.

At that price, I'll pass. I can get a Yard-o-Led Viceroy Victorian Standard -- with an 18K nib, no less -- for less money. And have a beautiful writing instrument (and one that knows what it is and what it wants to be when it grows up; oh wait, it IS grown up... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[StephY]

Yeah ... the "inside of an aeroplane" has never been a style that I appreciated. I think I'll take the Pilot Fermo or the Lamy Dialog 3 instead.

[TimLawNYC]

My first thought was "meh," but then I looked at the rest of the article and all of the pictures, and now I really want a burgundy one!

[gerigo]

The more I read about it on the interweb, the more I wonder whether they are reusing internals from a pen like the Fermo? The small size of the nib suggest perhaps repurposed internal components of Pilots vanishing point. It was a vanishing point that started the convo between the designer and the people at Hermes anyway.

[Namo]

Pentagon pen, by the same designer... 695 euros!!!! Mmmh I will have a look at Romillo's first!

[AZBennett]

From one article I read it will likely be produced by Pilot/Namiki for Hermes. I think the ridiculous price of $1800 US was listed though the cartridges would be the least expensive item in a Hermes store, only running $12 us dollars for five cartridges.

[EclecticCollector]

The more I read about it on the interweb, the more I wonder whether they are reusing internals from a pen like the Fermo? The small size of the nib suggest perhaps repurposed internal components of Pilots vanishing point.

The nib and feed, and its slightly offset position, are exactly like those of the Vanishing Point/Fermo. I would be extremely surprised if it's much more than a Fermo with a different shell. You definitely won't be getting what you pay for with this one unless you're after the brand name.

 

though the cartridges would be the least expensive item in a Hermes store, only running $12 us dollars for five cartridges.

Hilarious! Edited August 21, 2014 by EclecticCollector

[Charmian]

I wonder if this is the beginning of more pens to come from Hermès...

[finansista]

From one article I read it will likely be produced by Pilot/Namiki for Hermes.

Yes, I also remember reading on one of Japanese websites dedicsted to luxury goods that this will be a Pilot/Namiki creation branded by Hermes.

[gerigo]

The Nautilus has finally arrived on US shores and there is even a website to showcase the pen and associated note products.

 

http://usa.hermes.com/leather/writing/writing-instruments/nautilus-fountain-pen/nautilus-fountain-pen.html

 

I went to see the pen in my local Hermes store yesterday. There is a completely new section dedicated to writing in the store. There is a display with the new notebooks, covers and the pens themselves. Hermes has provided a sample kit (more pen box with a lid) so that you can try all 6 different nibs, EF, F, M, B, Stub. Can't remember what is the 6th nib .

 

Very quick initial thoughts on handing the pen. It's definitely a Fermo in a redesigned body. But what a body! Where the Fermo has a fairly finnicky grip area because of the clip, the Nautilus is just an ergonomic dream. It feels SO good in the hand because of the shape of the pen. The pen also appears MUCH smaller in real life. I guess it's because of the seamless shape with no extraneous details that make the pen deceiving in terms of size. Also the self closing mechanism of the Fermo has been much improved. When you start the withdrawing of the nib, the barrel rotates as if on clock work and the nib disappears. It's a beautiful action.

 

Needless to say, the nibs are amazing as with all Pilot Namiki product. I was interested in the stub as this is unique to Hermes. However it's a real stub than an Italic that has just a little more line variation compared with the broad.

[FPP]

eh.

 

J

I'm with playtime on this.... meh for me also. Not aesthetically pleasing to the eye for me.

[Millefleurs]

gerigo, what were their notebooks like? According to their website, their Grain d'H PM lined pad comes with vellum paper, and the cover looks really nice (although pricey at $35 for a 4x6). Curious if you had a chance to handle them.

[gerigo]

They did not have a sample to try and I don't know who is the source of paper for their notebooks. They are fairly thin volumes and have the soft card stock covers. They are not meant to be used singularly and designed to be used with their incredibly expensive leather folders. But I guess if you wanted to, you could. I am making a big guess here that the paper is designed to be used with their new fountain pens. I have not had much luck with so called designer luxury notebooks and paper. Both the Montblancs and also the LV paper are (bleep). They are designed for ball points and feather like hell. Other than Rhodia I have not really tried French. I generally use more Japanese paper, which is also super high quality but without the super high price.

[OakIris]

I'm not a fan of their looks, either, and certainly not a fan of the price. The company is incredibly proud of its 'stuff,' isn't it?!? I probably couldn't afford to breathe the rarified air inside the Hermes shops, let alone actually buy something....

 

I am surprised that you found the pen to be so comfortable to write with, gerigo - "an ergonomic dream." They certainly don't look as if they would be comfortable, so that is a nice surprise.

 

Holly

Edited October 31, 2014 by OakIris

[shuuemura]

I tried the pens today at a Hermes boutique in Paris, and found their ergonomics to be quite off. The Pilot Fermo feels much better in the hand. There were two stub nibs in the tester kits, and the tines on both of them were not closed at the tip, hence ink could not get to paper. I'm not sure if Pilot finishes their stubs that way but at their asking price I definitely won't be adding a Hermes pen to my collection anytime soon.

[Helen350]

The House of Hermes - the home of the rich & beautiful. The $1,650 pen for the well-to-do is like a $25-60 pen for the middle income, a $3-20 for the lower incomes, or a BIC for the college student with little income, when you consider a $40,000 Montegrappa 'writing instrument' for the rich and beautiful.