LAMY Lady

[Phthalo]

"Lady" - LAMY (1994)

 

Another review for an older and now discontinued pen… but, as only a little information is out there on the LAMY Lady, I thought I would contribute my part.

 

Introduction

 

Introduced in the early 1990’s and discontinued later that decade, the LAMY Lady is an unusual pen that is worth a second look. With its odd size and boldly-accented porcelain body, it stands out, and I like to think that it has an awkward beauty. It is perhaps the Elsa Schiaparelli of pens designed for women.

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/de/lady/LadyFull-01.jpg

LAMY Lady.

 

The barrel of the Lady is made entirely from Rosenthal porcelain, and I believe that LAMY were the first to produce a pen using this material. Other porcelain pens include:

 

- Montblanc Marquise de Pompadour (2001) (Meissen)

- Montblanc Sakura 333 (2001) (Meissen)

- OMAS Giacomo Casanova (2003)

- Loiminchay FuShou (2005)

- Loiminchay Golden Arabesque (2006)

- Sailor Arita (2007)

 

Of course, the above-mentioned pens are hand-painted limited editions which retail for thousands of dollars, so they are hardly in the same league as the LAMY Lady. However, I think the Lady deserves a league of its own, since no other manufacturer has produced a porcelain-bodied pen for the masses.

 

 

Appearance / Design / Finish

 

The Lady is available in three distinct designs, two with matte gold trim, and one with matte silver-palladium trim:

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/de/lady/LamyLadyGroup01.jpg

LAMY Lady. (Models 240, 241 and 242.)

 

The bold wave-like and geometric designs are achieved when the kiln-fired white porcelain barrel tube is printed (or painted) with black and/or blue glaze, followed by liquid gold or liquid silver luster. The barrel is then re-fired to ensure a permanent bond of the glaze and lustre decoration. The liquid gold or silver is comprised of gold / silver chloride and an acrylate polymer – this is the same hard-wearing liquid lustre which is used on quality porcelain dinnerware, jewelry and other decorative porcelain pieces.

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/de/lady/LadyFull-03.jpg

 

Being a pen styled with a lady in mind, the LAMY Lady lacks a clip, and instead has two little black buttons set into the side of the cap and barrel end. These stop the pen from rolling when placed on a flat surface.

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/de/lady/LadySection-02.jpg

 

I was surprised by the size of this pen – it's actually one of the longest pens in my entire collection. Capped the Lady is 142mm (5.5") long, and uncapped it is 136mm (5.3"). The cap does not post on the back of the barrel, due to the little black anti-roll button. This is probably a good thing given the weight of the pen and length of the uncapped barrel. The Lady weighs 35g, uncapped.

 

Everything about the Lady says quality. The pen is perfectly assembled with every part well-made, flush fit and secure.

 

 

Nib / Section / Performance

 

The Lady 240 and 241 models have a 14K Yellow Gold nib, while the 242 Lady has a 14K White Gold nib. The 14K Lamy nib has a kind of conical style which is similar to the Sheaffer triumph, but is a little more angular, and only wraps around part of the way. The nib is slightly springy with longish tines.

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/de/lady/LadyNib-02.jpg

 

The pen I bought was advertised with a 14K M nib, which I thought I would get customised if I liked the pen enough. I was surprised when the pen arrived with a factory Broad Left-Oblique nib. While this is an interesting nib, it’s completely unsuited to my writing. I have had the nib customized by Richard Binder, and now it is a stunning 0.4mm Cursive Italic.

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/de/lady/LadyNib-01.jpg

 

 

Filling System

 

The Lady takes the generous LAMY Z 26 converter or LAMY T 10 cartridges.

 

 

Cost / Value

 

The US RRP of the Lady was ~$265 when it was released, and the matching case LAMY made for this pen was ~$65. (LAMY Nappa Leather Case, Palladium Fastener, A 40).

 

I bought my Lady in wonderful condition for $95. A couple of tiny light scuffs on the cap were the only visible signs of use.

 

 

Final Thoughts

 

I use this pen often, but carefully, and it is one of the few pens I do not take to work with me. Not for fear of something happening to the porcelain barrel, but due to the matte gold finish of the trim – in general, this type of finish can be sensitive to marks and scuffing.

 

Since this pen arrived back from Richard in May 2007, it has been a constant in my pen rotation, just perfect for my journaling or correspondence.

 

http://www.ciar-roisin.net/photos/de/lady/LadySection-01.jpg

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this review!

 

~Laura

Edited July 21, 2008 by Phthalo

[kadymae]

I have complete lust for the blue and silver model.

 

That is one beautiful pen.

 

Thank you for this review.

[Have Fun]

Thanks for this introduction ~ Lovely series of pens I don't understand why Lamy stopped making them

[Phthalo]

Honestly - nor do I.

 

The biggest problem was possibly the name and lack of a clip model, I think... I mean, they are larger, solid pens - there is nothing particularly lady-like about them! No flowers or butterflies etc.

 

Also, to me the matte-finished metal section makes a real difference over a polished metal section - it's much less obtrusive.

Edited April 12, 2008 by Phthalo

[Nikolaos]

Beautiful pen and review Laura. It is an eye-catching pen for sure. For a while there were some of them on the German ebay and were going for around what you paid for it, which i think is a great price. I like the sort of winged nib it has and the patterns and colors of the body remind me of marbled ice-cream.....yummy

 

Nikolaos

[Maja]

Wonderful review, Laura...and what a great bargain you got for this lovely pen---bravo!

I first read about the Lamy Lady on Rick Conner's website (article here) and never thought I'd see one in person as they rarely seemed to come up for sale on the pen boards or eBay. Well, believe it or not, I saw the pens for sale in not one, but two local stores a year or so ago! The porcelain barrels were lovely but the pen was a little heavy for me (and the price was too ) so I passed on them. They were sold a few months later but I'm glad I got to see them in person.

Thanks again for the review!

Edited April 14, 2008 by Maja

[QM2]

Wow, I just received this very same pen as a gift from a friend!... I am still in shock; it was a complete surprise! When I opened the box, I recognised the pen immediately, having seen it in this review and on Pthalo's website before.

 

It would have never occurred to me to get this pen for myself -- all the gold and abstract patterns are not what I am usually after in pens. But oh, seeing it in person, I love it! All the elements just sort of fit together, and I can't stop staring at it and touching it! The weight is actually perfect for me, as I like heavy pens. And the little black jewel stoppers are super-cool. The nib is a very different design from my Studio gold nibs. Mine is not marked, but writes like a medium, so I'll eventually get it reground to a finer line.

 

What a gift! It will take some time to believe that I own this pen!

 

QM2

[Phthalo]

Congratulations! They really are quite interesting, aren't they? I think they are hidden gems of the pen world.

 

When in Brisbane city a couple of weeks ago, I saw that my local store had three or four in the cabinet - for a whopping AU$750. (I know Australian prices for pens are inflated, but that was just ridiculous. I had to move away from the cabinet immediately, in case I said something rude.)

 

Anyway, enjoy the LAMY!

 

 

[Rocket Jones]

That is one gorgeous pen! I'd carry one, even if it *is* called the "Lady", because sometimes a guy just wants to feel pretty.

[piembi]

When I was a student, I went to the stationary shop about 100 meter away from my place and admired the Lamy Lady and the Lamy Persona. Both beautiful pens but way out of my price range. When I was thinking about those pens again, both were discontinued.

 

Some months ago I was very lucky to win a Lamy Lady from ebay. It is in near mint condition and I like it very much. It is one of those pens you don't see people writing with. One of those "special pens"

 

Now the Lamy Persona is the other Lamy pen I am looking for. But this one is hard to find and the prices are high ....

 

[Cerbeos]

Great review! Even though I hate to say it, that $95 is still a little pricey in my eyes. Its a beautiful pen and great you got it with that B nib you could get Binderized .

[Silvermink]

Wonderful review, Laura...and what a great bargain you got for this lovely pen---bravo!

I first read about the Lamy Lady on Rick Conner's website (article here) and never thought I'd see one in person as they rarely seemed to come up for sale on the pen boards or eBay. Well, believe it or not, I saw the pens for sale in not one, but two local stores a year or so ago! The porcelain barrels were lovely but the pen was a little heavy for me (and the price was too ) so I passed on them. They were sold a few months later but I'm glad I got to see them in person.

Thanks again for the review!

 

Funny you should mention - Richard has a fountain pen and a rollerball in different patterns that he showed me at the VPC meeting last Thursday.

[WillSW]

This review made me think that I'd love to see Lamy try their hand at an integrated nib design. Lamy 2000 LE with an integrated nib? Eh? Eh?

[jthole]

I have exactly the same pen lying here (just refilled), bought around 10 years ago. It's very high quality indeed, and it is a pity that Lamy stopped making them. The lack of a clip does make it a "stay at home" pen though, which limits its use. However, the build quality and finish are excellent, like you point out, and it is a superb writer!

[Ipno Tizer]

I've seen ring top fountain pens from early in the last century which women could wear on neck-chains, but apart from that, none of the modern "Ladies pens" that I have ever seen have been remotely convincing and I'm at a loss to understand what features a pen could have that would make it more suitable for a lady than for a gentleman.

 

That being said, I bought the Yard o' Led Viceroy Barleycorn because I felt that finish was more suitable for a man whereas the Victorian finish was more fore feminine, but others would doubtless disagree with me.

 

So maybe Lamy stopped producing these pen because the marketing told men it wasn't a pen for us, but failed to convince women that there was anything special about the pen that should interest them.

 

Chris B.

Edited June 26, 2011 by Ipno Tizer