Waterman Allure- serious pen, joke price

[rochester21]

I was inside a french supermarket and by sheer curiosity, I head down to the stationary aisle. They had a few fountain pen models, the cheapest was the Waterman Allure in 3 finishes, all discounted. I never had an Allure, so I picked one as a keepsake and continued my shopping. 

 

What can you expect from a 5 euro fountain pen? Well, I can tell you I was surprised.

 

My Allure comes in a unconventional colour, a mix between cream white, light pink and peach. I don't know how to describe this exact nuance. Before removing it from the packaging I thought this is a plastic pen, but nope. Metal body with a plastic section. The pen is very slippery at first, but this goes away in time.

 

It is a pen of (above)average size, with a very standard, white collar design, like that office worker who always arrives on time for work and has a neat tie and white shirt. Totally uninspiring and yet, commendable.

 

I can't seem to make up my mind as to whether the Allure is a entry level fountain pen for kids and teenagers or a midrange model ready to take notes in a hands of that clean shaved office worker who for some reason is never late for work and always wears a neat tie and white shirt.

 

The body of the pen appears to be made of thin aluminium, the paint job is very neat and the cap has a pronounced click when attached to the rest of the body. 

 

If we study the steel nib for more clues, we would see that it's marked F and it's perfectly polished, the finish is actually better than what you'd find on a $30 pen. 

That's impressive, but how does it write? It writes very well. Waterman always made good nibs that maintain that delicate balance between feedback and smoothness, it's a pleasant experience and there is nothing letting you know this nib was made at a price point.

 

Hence the confusion. If we simply accept the fact that the Allure is a midrange fountain pen, what would become of the other midrange pens from Waterman that cost double or triple, more specifically the Hemisphere and the Expert?

 

I have always had doubts about the visual appareance of the classic black Expert and although I like the Hemisphere, I always thought they are just a bit overpriced. 

 

The Allure, on the other hand, is underpriced for what you get. It has less character than a Hemisphere, sure, but the same can be said about the Expert. 

The Waterman Allure is a proper fountain pen and should come in a cardboard box instead of a blister. It shouldn't cost 5 euro(discounted from 16), it should cost 30 or even 40.

 

The Allure costs the same as a typical Parker Vector/IM but make no mistake, it's a better fountain pen. The Parker Vector is a smaller pen with a slippery grip, the IM is a clunky pen and pretty heavy. The Allure on the other hand is a grown up fountain pen but pretty light and well balanced. In the picture bellow you can clearly see the Allure is larger than a Pelikan M200 and has almost the same proportions as a Sheaffer Targa.

 

It does not feel cheap in the hand and it does not write cheap, it's a respectable writing instrument and the only limitation is the conservative, squerish design. Obviously, Waterman didn't want to embellish the Allure in order to avoid cannibalising sales of the Hemisphere and Expert models, which are significantly more expensive(but not better made).

The pen posts very well and because of the light weight and average diameter, it's never uncomfortable to use.

 

In conclusion, if you ever cross paths with a Waterman Allure, just buy it. If the design doesn't win you over, the low key quality will. I'm happy to have mine, I cannot fault it.

[Ted Nashe]

Nice review. Cheers👍

I have a mint green Allure and find it to be all the things you said. It's a fine pen. 

[jchch1950]

Fine pens that are good writers don't have to be expensive. There is in the market a Parker pen that looks very similar to the Allure, also at a competitive price.

[mr T.]

On 10/23/2025 at 10:02 PM, rochester21 said:

 

On 10/23/2025 at 10:02 PM, rochester21 said:

The Waterman Allure is a proper fountain pen and should come in a cardboard box instead of a blister. It shouldn't cost 5 euro(discounted from 16), it should cost 30 or even 40.

In most B&M and online shops, the Allure will sell for about €30 - €35 at the moment. For that amount of money you get a pen that is made in China with a ´French´-label but without the proprietary Waterman converter. A Waterman converter will sell for about €10 - €12. That means that the Waterman Allure will cost about €45,- at the moment. Not really a bargain in my opinion.

[Misfit]

I have one of these. I got the camouflage version because of also getting a kind of ice cream colors camouflage cover notebook. 

[rochester21]

On 11/2/2025 at 7:43 PM, mr T. said:

In most B&M and online shops, the Allure will sell for about €30 - €35 at the moment. For that amount of money you get a pen that is made in China with a ´French´-label but without the proprietary Waterman converter. A Waterman converter will sell for about €10 - €12. That means that the Waterman Allure will cost about €45,- at the moment. Not really a bargain in my opinion.

There is nothing proprietary about Waterman cartridges or converters.

 

If you can't find a Waterman for less than 45 euro in your area, just get something else.

 

This is the Waterman online shop:

[mr T.]

On 11/4/2025 at 7:38 PM, rochester21 said:

There is nothing proprietary about Waterman cartridges or converters.

Genuine Waterman converters are slightly thinner than a standard/DIN converter and (some) are threaded at the end. The problem is that many Waterman fp's take standard/DIN converters but some do not. Even within the same productline there can be differences. For example: most Kultur fp's will take a standard/DIN converter but the Phileas will not. The only way to be sure that a converter will fit in a Waterman fp is to use a (expensive) proprietary one.

[rochester21]

On 12/11/2025 at 2:54 PM, mr T. said:

Genuine Waterman converters are slightly thinner than a standard/DIN converter and (some) are threaded at the end. The problem is that many Waterman fp's take standard/DIN converters but some do not. Even within the same productline there can be differences. For example: most Kultur fp's will take a standard/DIN converter but the Phileas will not. The only way to be sure that a converter will fit in a Waterman fp is to use a (expensive) proprietary one.

Well I have the "expensive" converter and I don't use it. I use a syringe. Because it's faster and there's no need to wipe the pen after filling. Also, the syringe is universal, works with every cartridge ever made.

 

Now waiting for the next person to say "but syringes are expensive!". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jchch1950]

8 hours ago, rochester21 said:

Well I have the "expensive" converter and I don't use it. I use a syringe. Because it's faster and there's no need to wipe the pen after filling. Also, the syringe is universal, works with every cartridge ever made.

 

Now waiting for the next person to say "but syringes are expensive!". 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But they can be used many times.