Omas Ogiva Alba Review

[tjt7a]

I recently found an OMAS Ogiva Alba on Ebay for a pretty good price, and considering the rumors that OMAS was closing its doors, I decided to get this beautiful pen. I made a video review of the Alba that you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Qb4Z_A2cDC8

 

Packaging

OMAS does a very good job with their packaging. This is the first thing that the customer interacts with, and I'm convinced that impressive packaging makes a strong first impression. That is certainly the case with this pen. The pen comes in a large, heavy coffin-style box. Pulling off the top of the box reveals the pen in a suede pouch, comfortably holding the writing instrument.

 

Initial Impressions

Wow. I had always assumed that the Ogiva Alba was a small pen, but I was definitely wrong. Not only is it long, but its also quite girthy. The pen feels substantial in my hand, and the ribbed body feels comfortable.

 

The Body

The body of the pen is made of a purple cotton resin. It feels and looks great to the touch, but also remains fairly light. Those people that associate heft with quality might feel let down, but I personally find the pen to have a demanding size and shape. This particular mode comes in several colors and they're all demonstrators. Being a dark color, the purple version makes it harder to see the innards of the pen.

 

The Cap

The cap screws on to the section securely and smoothly. OMAS is famous for its tight tolerances and smooth threads, and now I see why. The cap has a silver-colored clip with the OMAS wheel on it. This allows the pen to slide in and out of a pocket. I like this feature.

 

The Filling Mechanism

The Alba uses a piston mechanism to fill its massive reservoir. Keeping in mind that I had received my pen second-hand, the piston mechanism was smooth, but not as smooth as my Pelikan or even Lamy 2000. I could probably fix this with a bit of lube.

 

The Section

The section is made of the same cotton resin as the body of the pen with a thin, silver band near the edge. It feels great in the hands, and the threads don't bother me when I write.

 

The Nib

This is where the pen gets interesting. My pen came with a broad nib, and apparently broad means stub to OMAS. This pen is a true joy to write with! After I filled the purple pen with some Mont Blanc Lavender and started writing, the nib glided over the smooth Clairefontain paper with ease and grace, and the ink flowed out with perfect precision. It really is a joy to write with. I personally love very wet nibs, and this is now my wettest nib taking a rating around 9 out of 10 on the wetness chart.

 

Summary

Overall, the OMAS Ogiva Alba with a broad 18k nib truly is a wonderful pen! Not only does it have the looks and precious hand-feel, but it also writes amazingly well.

 

What do others think? I know that OMAS also

[BillZ]

I, too have the Ogiva Alba in green/teal. My nib has an M on it but it's a stub none the less. It measures about 1.1mm I use it for addressing envelopes as it

does better for printing than cursive, at least for me. I'll check out your vid.

[tjt7a]

That's really interesting! I really like the stub-like quality of the nib. Does your medium also write smoothly?

 

Tom

[stric75]

@tjt7a

Thank you for posting this review. Sadly, these fountain pens are nowadays only available as second-hand, used products with-sometimes- questionable history. Does anyone know if Alba models were only available in rhodium trim as opposed to gold trim? I think that initially they were, but then again I keep coming across some used Albas that also have gold trim (clip, rings, nib) and I’m a bit confused.  Personally, I think they look nicer with rhodium trim. Thanks.