Any comment on Aurora Optima - Auroloide

[tt32003]

http://www.goldspot.com/fpngallery/Aurora/AU-996V-F_big.jpg

 

This one is made from some material called auroloide right ?

What is it exactly ?

A kind of resin/celluloid ?

 

It sure looks nice but the price is expensive too.

[Solomander]

It's made out of resin. I have one and it's a lovely pen. They characteristically write with a little bit of tooth, which you may or may not like. Pam Braun has them at a good price. Alternatively, they do come up for sale in the marketplace and on Pentrace from time to time.

 

Joel

[lapis]

I have one too, in red.

It's made out of celluloid, thus the name "Aurorloide". That is exactly the right spelling for that company and came into existence as follows. Some years ago, at least European Commonwealth countries prohibited the use of celluloide for the making of pens: NOT because that resin in the final pen product is poisonous to you and me but because the manufacturing plants where the things are made can be prone to certain unhealthy emissions in the air that the workers haver to breathe: SO, they kept up their manufacturing (likely with a minimum of safety measures and filterings etc) in order to continue producing such finishes.

 

I really like my Optima. All you have to do (if not already done so) is hold the pen up sightly to clear sunlight, rotate the pen (physically) and the whole finish gains a deepness, like amber, not present (at least optically) in "normal" plastic resins.

 

MIke

[tt32003]

What's a fair price for a used one ?

$200 ?

[diplomat]

This is a neverending discussion!!

 

Check here for instance:

 

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=26448

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=57893

 

As for the money, 200$ is a very good price!! Take it if you have the option. I would expect some more for an Auroloide in good condition.

 

Best,

[Strang]

I received my Blue Optima Auroloide yesterday. Bought from a member of this community as NOS. It was $350 delivered to my door. It's absolutely beautiful and I love it already!

[Jersey Diabolo]

The solid black pens are plastic resin. By Aurora’s report, the Auroloides are celluloid. I have Optimas in both finishes. These are great looking pens and, with Broad (.6mm) and Italic (.9mm) nibs, have been sweet writers for me.

 

My Auroloide Optima is green. A stunning color. I’ve seen the blue and the red Auroloides in person too. The green spoke to me. I bought mine last year before the price increases.

 

Shop around. A fair price would be the one you and the seller settle on.

 

Happy hunting

Edited September 10, 2008 by Jersey Diabolo

[Kimo]

Auroloide is a kind of celluloid, but it is not the traditional kind that you see in old pens or high end pens. It is cellulose acetate. The original celluloid is cellulose nitrate. Cellulose acetate is a modern version of celluloid that comes close to the beauty and feel of the original cellulose nitrate celluloid but is more stable and much less expensive to make. It is a bit stronger and durable, but it lacks just a touch of the incredible beauty of cellulose nitrate. In my opinion cellulose acetate is the closest material out there to real cellulose nitrate celluloid and I have a couple of pens in my regular lineup that are made of it, along with some that are made of cellulose nitrate celluoid.

Edited September 11, 2008 by Kimo

[FrankB]

Kimo's narrative is my understanding of the composition of Aurolide as well. I have three Optimas in Aurolide and they are all lovely. They write super well, too. As for price, I agree that the fair price is what you settle for. The $350 that one member paid is a fair price. $200 would be really low.

[Kimo]

Here is the description from the Aurora factory webpage description of their use of cellulose acetate in their pens to confirm what the material is.

[tt32003]

How is an M nib for Aurora in terms of line broadness as compared to Pelikan/Waternan ?

Is it as broad or writes a tinner line like Japanes nibs ?

[Guest ahem]

Greetings,

 

I have had 4 Auroras: 2 Europas and 2 Mares. They are resin/plastic not celluloid according to Aurora so I can't give you any first-hand information. Only one was a decent writer and it had air bubbles in the top. I returned the pen to the importer, Kenro Industries who promptly lost it. At first they said they had received it but after a couple of weeks they tried to blame UPS for losing until I emailed them a copy of the signature of the person who signed for it. And their email stating they had received the pen.

 

Aurora CS was just as bad. After 2 weeks Kenro claimed they were send me a free pen. Aurora sent an email stating the same. I replied it wasn't free it was $636 which I had already paid. The first Europa was beautiful and had a smooth F nib. The second was butt-ugly and had a tack stuck to the feed. I gave it away as I did the first Mare. The second Mare wasn't too bad a writer, unlike the first and very nice looking(as was the first).

 

The second Mare I still have and is, after several hundred pages of writing, finally wearing into a very nice writer, though not an "uber-smooth" like a Michel Perchin. All 4 looked much better in direct sunlight and I imagine the Optima line does as well since the same applies to the Ipsilons. I haven't owned any but they have been given as presents.

 

They are generally very well made pens, and this include even the lower priced Ipisilon BP or RB especially when using Itoya refills. They, Itoya, are world's best BP/RB refills available, in my opinion. The Aurora FPs hold a substantial amount of ink, are very well balanced, much better looking in reality than on a computer and when smooth, incredibly so. They're the type that are worth paying the extra to a nibmeister to improve smoothness and flow.

 

While celluloid and Auroloide do require a bit more care and are more prone to chipping or cracking, as long as you don't abuse them, like leaving in your vehicle on a hot summer day, or a cold winter one, they should give years of pleasure. I don't own any Japanese pens so I cannot comment of they're camparative nib sizes. My Mare has an M which is a bit smaller that all the other Ms I've owned,except the first Mare, including Michel Perchin, Sheaffer, Parker, Cross, Waterman, Waterford, Pilot, Danitrio, Pelikan, S.T.Dupont and Delta.

 

Hope this helps.

ahem

Edited September 13, 2008 by ahem

[diplomat]

How is an M nib for Aurora in terms of line broadness as compared to Pelikan/Waternan ?

Is it as broad or writes a tinner line like Japanes nibs ?

 

Yes, the medium nib in Aurora is the same width of a Pelikan/Lamy/Parker medium nib. A fine Aurora would be comparable to the fine, say, Sailor.

 

Best

[tt32003]

I'm thinking of buying a NOS green optima auroloide at an attractive price but it's an M nib.

I'm worried how broad the line will be.

I've used a steel Pelikan m nib before and found the line quite OK.

Gold nib gererally writes broader than steel nib right ?

Edited September 16, 2008 by tt32003

[Solomander]

As far as I know, nib width isn't related to the material that a nib is made out of, but where the nib is manufactured. Most European nibs are sized the same (with some individual variation) and most Japanese nibs are sized the same, with the Japanese nibs running a size finer than their European counterparts. So all European medium nibs run in the same ballpark and most Japanese medium nibs correspond to most European fine nibs. Hope this helps.

 

Joel

[Solomander]

As far as I know, nib width isn't related to the material that a nib is made out of, but where the nib is manufactured. Most European nibs are sized the same (with some individual variation) and most Japanese nibs are sized the same, with the Japanese nibs running a size finer than their European counterparts. So all European medium nibs run in the same ballpark and most Japanese medium nibs correspond to most European fine nibs. Hope this helps.

 

Joel

 

[Nikolaos]

My green auroloide developed a crack on the cap, just under the clip. The crack was tiny in the beginning but became larger over time. I contacted Aurora via email, never got a reply from them.

I also have the Mare which is a great pen so far....

Overall, I am not sure about the auroloide material.

 

Nikolaos

[diplomat]

I'm thinking of buying a NOS green optima auroloide at an attractive price but it's an M nib.

I'm worried how broad the line will be.

I've used a steel Pelikan m nib before and found the line quite OK.

Gold nib gererally writes broader than steel nib right ?

 

Of all of my modern Aurora, the broadest medium is the one in my Ipsilon, the only steel nib of the lot. So I really think nib material is not relevant.

 

Ciao,

[lapis]

I also have the Mare which is a great pen so far....

Overall, I am not sure about the auroloide material.

Nikolaos

The Mare is resin, not Auroloide. The Optima Blue is celluloid (again, Auroloide), and basically the same as the Mare (even the whole looks of the finish) except that it (the Mare) has that nice seahorse up on top of the clip.

 

Mike