Articles about pens and other writing instruments
Krone, founded in the United States in 1997, has made its name by producing commemorative limited edition pens as a tribute to people, events, and things that helped shape history. Editions have included such topics as Thomas Edison, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Duke Ellington. The most recent honors Vincent Van Gogh, featuring a beautiful hand-painted representation of his famous work Starry Night in miniature on the barrel.
David Oscarson has been creating luxury fountain pens since 2000 and has won three Robb Report’s annual Best of the Best award – each one a personal tribute to the art of writing. “The biggest challenge today is helping people remember what a signature means: that it is an extension of one’s self,” says Oscarson. The use of hand-rendered guilloche and enamel, traditional art forms also seen in watchmaking, are emblematic of the brand, and Oscarson takes great care in keeping their quality pure. This also true of the new Alexander Fleming collection.
One pen that really caught my eye at the 2015 edition of Baselworld was the Montegrappa Cult Q1, which offers a first in the world of fine writing instruments. The Q1 can be loaded with four different ink colors that may be exchanged mid-sentence.
The long-awaited recent release of the ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ trailer delights me to no end (it is also nice to see that Ben Affleck might actually turn out be a decent Batman; the few seconds of him in the trailer were shockingly good in my opinion). Without further ado, I’d like to call to memory a few timepieces that have commemorated Batman in recent history by Jaeger-LeCoultre, Romain Jerome, and Montegrappa.
Jaquet Droz’s dials are some of the most beautiful in the world of watches due to their timeless simplicity. To me, it makes perfect sense to translate this beautiful, minimistically inclined design to other lifestyle objects, in this case a high-quality writing instrument and matching cufflinks. As I don’t wear French cuff shirts, I opted to give the pen a try for a few weeks and test out Jaquet Droz’s first foray into this area.
I really can’t talk about Edelberg products without talking about the people behind them as I’ve known father-and-son-team Carlo and Samuel Naldi for years. Edelberg writing instruments wield an ergonomic, high-style character that is somehow both trendy and classic and cutting-edge yet familiar.
Contemporary visual artist Timothy John, whose works have been exhibited both widely throughout his native Australia and internationally, recently took his nature-inspired themes to a much smaller canvas: a Montegrappa pen. Nancy Olson asked him a few questions regarding his thoughts about handwriting in general and, of course, this unusual project for him, which began when he reached out to Montegrappa CEO Giuseppe Aquila to pitch it.
When it comes to a brand like Breguet, one expects nothing but the very best in every aspect of its representation. So I figured its pens, like its recent jewelry collections, would be solid and elegant expressions of the company’s overriding sense of quality and innovation. I was right.
Once you get hooked on a great pen, the next step on the road to ruin is great paper. There are numerous options and a plethora of sources from which to choose, from plain bound journals to highly designed note cards and custom stationery. One coveted source of high-end stationery is New York-based artist Bernard Maisner.
Making the nib of a fountain pen – the point of the instrument that directs the ink – does not differ much from working precious metals to be used as watch components, but it does entail a heck of a lot of work done by hand. The nib alone needs about 40 steps until completion; making a whole pen, including barrel, cap, feed and, of course the nib, takes about 200 individual steps.