Need Help Identifying Omas Pen

[mol_lon]

I was looking to buy an Omas Arte Italiana Celluloid Gray. The seller is saying that the pen is from 1990s. I don't know enough about Omas to identify the pen myself. I would appreciate any help. Did Omas sell this pen the 1990s? Did Omas sell bi-color nibs in 90s? I really want to know if this pen is genuine 1990s Omas Arte Italiana Celluloid Gray.

 

Can somebody explain different Omas names? What does extra meaning in the name of an Omas pen? What is the diferrence between Arte Italiana and Arte Italiana Arco Celluloid? Thanks in advance.

 

 

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[Barkingpig]

Your pen has the same body & nib (two tone, 18kt) as my Omas Saft Green "Extra." My pen has the date 1992 engraved upon the section, near the body of the pen, just before becomes enlarged to the back section that carries the facets of the pen body. You don't see the engraving when the pen is capped, only when uncapped.

 

Mine is also engraved "Omas Extra" on the body section & it is above this smooth point, on the upper section, where the date 1992 is engraved. I would believe yours would surely be of the same vintage.

 

I believe mine is the body style that later was identified as Paragon, but was called Extra @ it's time of manufacture. I have never understood the meaning of "Extra" in reference to body style since I also have an Ogivia shaped pen in yellow, cotton resin, I presume, which also is engraved "Extra." It is considerably smaller than my Omas Ogivia, 90th anniversary, 2015, Burkina celluloid, yet one is called Ogivia while the other is merely identified as "Extra" with the same body style.

 

I have read posts here explaining the use of "Extra" but I haven't ever found a clear understanding about it's use & time frame.

[mol_lon]

Your pen has the same body & nib (two tone, 18kt) as my Omas Saft Green "Extra." My pen has the date 1992 engraved upon the section, near the body of the pen, just before becomes enlarged to the back section that carries the facets of the pen body. You don't see the engraving when the pen is capped, only when uncapped.

 

Mine is also engraved "Omas Extra" on the body section & it is above this smooth point, on the upper section, where the date 1992 is engraved. I would believe yours would surely be of the same vintage.

 

I believe mine is the body style that later was identified as Paragon, but was called Extra @ it's time of manufacture. I have never understood the meaning of "Extra" in reference to body style since I also have an Ogivia shaped pen in yellow, cotton resin, I presume, which also is engraved "Extra." It is considerably smaller than my Omas Ogivia, 90th anniversary, 2015, Burkina celluloid, yet one is called Ogivia while the other is merely identified as "Extra" with the same body style.

 

I have read posts here explaining the use of "Extra" but I haven't ever found a clear understanding about it's use & time frame.

 

I really appreciate your response. After going through Omas forums, I learned that the two tone nib is certainly from the 1990s. The word "Extra" doesn't really mean much, like you said. I could identify Burkina pens because there are many pictures available. But this one is harder to confirm.

 

As you pointed out, this pen is known as the paragon. The "Arte Italiana" part threw me off. Omas has so many different names for their pens. It has 1991 engraved on it. There were three colors available in 1991. Brown, grey, and green. In 1992, they introduced more colors. I just can't find decent pictures/review of this color and year. I am hoping someone with this pen could post detailed images. I also learned that the grey color was changed a little in subsequent years.

 

Any opinion on the quality? It's supposed to be mint condition. And it is going for roughly $1000. Fair price?

[praxim]

At first it appeared to me that Extra meant a larger size, looking at earlier Italian pens. Now, it seems it was used like Super, or adding GT to the label on a car. Once upon a time it meant something.

[Barkingpig]

I had my Saft Green Extra a few years before I ordered the Ogivia in 1995 & it has been used regularly & never presented any problem for me. I do fill it, use the ink & frequently clean after emptying the fill, store it for a bit, before refilling again. The Burkina pen has been kept in use since it's arrival, mainly because I prefer it's nib & love the material.

 

Prices for Omas have increased so much since they ceased production so I could not say if $1,000 was a fair price. I would want to know if you LOVED the color @ that price & if the nib was your preferred grind. I would think that price should represent a color & desired nib.

[AltecGreen]

I was looking to buy an Omas Arte Italiana Celluloid Gray. The seller is saying that the pen is from 1990s. I don't know enough about Omas to identify the pen myself. I would appreciate any help. Did Omas sell this pen the 1990s? Did Omas sell bi-color nibs in 90s? I really want to know if this pen is genuine 1990s Omas Arte Italiana Celluloid Gray.

 

Can somebody explain different Omas names? What does extra meaning in the name of an Omas pen? What is the diferrence between Arte Italiana and Arte Italiana Arco Celluloid? Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

'Extra' is a bit complicated. In relation to Omas, it was first used as the model name for the first facetted celluloid pens introduced in 1932. That shape with a little tweak here and there has been in use until Omas folded. The original Extra model was the Omas flagship that replaced the earlier Parker Duofold clones of the period. This is also the pen that made Omas successful. The originals were all lever fillers. You will find Extra stuck to the name of many Omas pens of the 1930's into the 1950's. In the 1940's and 1950's, the pens can have both Extra in the name as well as a a number (i.e. 555, 556, 557). Later, the Extra was dropped. Tehnit was brought back. Bear in mind that 'Extra' was not exclusive to Omas. Many other Italian pen companies also made pens with the name Extra. Montegrappa made an Extra for example.

 

Arco celluloid generally refers to the layered celluloid that produces a beautiful pattern when cut. The brown/bronze is the most recognized while people only familiar with modern pens also know of the green arco. Omas did not invent this material. It was Bayer and a lot of other Italian companies used the arco material. There is also a platinum arco that was used heavily by Omas and Montblanc. You can find other colors of the Arco pattern among vintage Italian pens. Red and Blue for example.

 

Arte Italiana was a marketing name Omas came up with in the mid 1980's when they tried to revived the fortunes of Omas. It referred to the new collection of pens that they began making. Most of these were re-interpretation of the classic pens of the 1930's and 1940's.

 

In the 90's Omas began the celluloid revival when they re-introduced celluloid pens. All ofthe patterns that most people are familiar with date to this period. So, yes, the pen in question is from the 1990's. The two-tone nib was also offered at this time and was a hommage to the much earlier two-tone Lucens nibs from the Lucens and Extra Lucens pens from the 1930's. BTW-those 1930's Omas nibs are some of the best ever made especially if you want true vintage flex.

Edited September 22, 2018 by AltecGreen

[mol_lon]

 

'Extra' is a bit complicated. In relation to Omas, it was first used as the model name for the first facetted celluloid pens introduced in 1932. That shape with a little tweak here and there has been in use until Omas folded. The original Extra model was the Omas flagship that replaced the earlier Parker Duofold clones of the period. This is also the pen that made Omas successful. The originals were all lever fillers. You will find Extra stuck to the name of many Omas pens of the 1930's into the 1950's. In the 1940's and 1950's, the pens can have both Extra in the name as well as a a number (i.e. 555, 556, 557). Later, the Extra was dropped. Tehnit was brought back. Bear in mind that 'Extra' was not exclusive to Omas. Many other Italian pen companies also made pens with the name Extra. Montegrappa made an Extra for example.

 

Arco celluloid generally refers to the layered celluloid that produces a beautiful pattern when cut. The brown/bronze is the most recognized while people only familiar with modern pens also know of the green arco. Omas did not invent this material. It was Bayer and a lot of other Italian companies used the arco material. There is also a platinum arco that was used heavily by Omas and Montblanc. You can find other colors of the Arco pattern among vintage Italian pens. Red and Blue for example.

 

Arte Italiana was a marketing name Omas came up with in the mid 1980's when they tried to revived the fortunes of Omas. It referred to the new collection of pens that they began making. Most of these were re-interpretation of the classic pens of the 1930's and 1940's.

 

In the 90's Omas began the celluloid revival when they re-introduced celluloid pens. All ofthe patterns that most people are familiar with date to this period. So, yes, the pen in question is from the 1990's. The two-tone nib was also offered at this time and was a hommage to the much earlier two-tone Lucens nibs from the Lucens and Extra Lucens pens from the 1930's. BTW-those 1930's Omas nibs are some of the best ever made especially if you want true vintage flex.

 

You provided a much appreciated history of Omas. Thank You. So, where did the name Paragon come from? Was the pen I posted called the Paragon? Is this pen smaller than Milord or larger?

 

If you had to choose between this pen and Extra Lucens from the thirties, which would you choose? Material and nib wise. Seems like you prefer Extra Lucens.

Edited September 22, 2018 by mol_lon

[AltecGreen]

 

You provided a much appreciated history of Omas. Thank You. So, where did the name Paragon come from? Was the pen I posted called the Paragon?

 

If you had to choose between this pen and Extra Lucens from the thirties, which would you choose? Material and nib wise. Seems like you prefer Extra Lucens.

 

The Paragon name was first used in the 80's. Omas basically renamed the 557F as the Paragon. However, the Milord name dates to 1968 and is pretty much a 556.

 

Hands down, I will always choose the vintage Italian pen over a modern one. The pens Omas made when Simoni was alive is a class way above the modern pens. The same is true of Aurora, Montegrappa, etc. The nibs are night and day compared the generic Bock/Jowo nibs. Even Aurora's modern nibs do not compare to the vintage nibs. The materials were better and the fit and finish. Also, the pens actually worked. I still scratch my head at the decision for Omas to use that thin collar on the 90's Omas pens instead of the tried and true friction fit. Those things crumble and the nib and feed fallout. I had a NOS 90's celluloid Omas and the collar just crumbled after one week of inking.

[fabri00]

Is a great pen with the in-house maded nib of omas.

I bought the same pen at end 80s early 90s when it went in to the market, and of course I still have it.

[sidthecat]

Interesting: I have an Omas ringtop in similar green celluloid. It’s not faceted but it has many design similarities so I assume yours is a throwback to older models. It was sold by someone who had no idea what these things seem to be worth - otherwise I couldn’t live with myself - but it’s a wonderful pen that has stayed in my daily rotation since I bought it.

[fabri00]

Interesting: I have an Omas ringtop in similar green celluloid. It’s not faceted but it has many design similarities so I assume yours is a throwback to older models. It was sold by someone who had no idea what these things seem to be worth - otherwise I couldn’t live with myself - but it’s a wonderful pen that has stayed in my daily rotation since I bought it.

as far as i known the not faceted in celluloid are recent pens.

The faceted were for several years in the 90's then only model in celluloid.

The model you have should not have the omas in house nib, if I'm not wrong.

[sidthecat]

I assume that a ringtop anything would be not much newer than the 1930s, since that style dropped precipitously out of fashion about then. It has an Omas nib with considerable flex. All in all one of the best-engineered pens I have.

[fpupulin]

The celluloid of the pen you have found is the “peckle” grey, which was only used in 1992. I have an identical pen that has this date engraved on the section. It was then substituted by the “marbled” grey celluloid for the Arte Italiana series of the Ninethies and again in the limited edition of the 2000s. Independently from personal tastes, peckle celluloid is much more rare in Paragon pens than the marbled grey.

If your aim is to build a collection of celluloid Paragons, this is certainly an interesting prey.

[fpupulin]

And, by the way, in my opinion it is a beautifully understated celluloid, which makes the pen easy to use in any circumstance.

[mol_lon]

Thank you to everyone that responded to my post. I wasn't able to buy the pen in the original post because I waited too long. Nevertheless, I was able to find a similar pen. I really like the pen. It is black with grey marbling.

 

I am attaching some photos for future references.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Very informative posts.

[Wahl]

OMAS from the 30´s

 

 

Edited October 19, 2018 by Wahl

[Wahl]

Another one

 

[Wahl]

One more

 

[mol_lon]

Another one

 

 

Is this one Extra Lucens? How does it write? Mind if I ask how much it costs. There is one Extra Lucens Oversize for sale for $1,600.