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(Disclaimer: This will be a long review of my favorite pen in my current collection. If you want to read just the review, skip to Packaging. Plus, this review is going to be picture heavy.) Introduction: India is a land of great intellectuals and the longevity of the race to reach the top is pretty staggering. May it be an exam that can decide your future or a Periodic Test in Grade 10, exams play a vital role in a student’s life in India. This holds for Indians living in abroad as well. So, it started with me studying hard for my Periodic Tests 2 and I was really hoping to top and get a pen with my own money as until now, my parents bought me all my pens and I didn’t want them to spend 343 AED (around 90 USD) for a pen. I did top my class and as promised, my parents agreed to buy me the Platinum 3776 Century after much negotiation. They expected me to go for something less expensive. But I had topped so there was no backing off. We ordered the pen late at night and my parents gave me the biggest surprise-they didn’t take a single Dirham from me. I ordered from J-subculture along with a converter and chose EMS shipping. J-Subculture took around 3 days to ship it and the pen reached me within 12 days. I was overjoyed when I returned from school and found a package from Japan on the table. Packaging: The pen was well packaged by J-Subculture. As for the pen, it came in a blue faux leather Platinum clamshell case with a white sleeve that my mom threw in the garbage. It contained a user manual, warranty card, and the pen inside a plastic sleeve. The converter came in a simple box. Right of the bat, the converter was a bit rough and I had to grease it with TWSBI silicone grease. Pen and Nib Design (9/10): The pen is named 3776 referring to the height in metres of Mt. Fuji in Japan. It sports a classic rounded top cigar shaped design. I wouldn’t go to the extent of calling it Montblanc inspired as I am pretty sure Montblanc hasn’t patented that design. Talking about patents, this pen’s cap houses the patented Slip and Seal mechanism that Platinum advertises can keep your nib from drying for upto 2 years. The threads are all smooth and you can feel the tension of the cap mechanism after about one and a quarter of a turn. The nib is quite plain with some simple engravings. It is pretty flat in design. The pen is also accentuated with some gold-plated rings and a center band that also has some engravings on it. The engraving on it could be better. I love this design unlike many others. Construction and Quality (7/10): This is a place where this pen kind of lacks behind. The pen feels pretty solidly made with some desirable heft to it. The resin also feels pretty durable, but it lacks in finishing. The pen had some scratches and two of them are noticeable when viewed right. Also, it has two seams on the section which isn’t quite troublesome but can be smoothed out. The engraving could also be better. Looks and Comfort (9/10): The Platinum 3776 Century Chartres Blue is made to look like the stained glass windows of the Chartres Cathedral in France. Most of the 3776 Century fountain pens are French themed with the exceptions of some LE’s that are themed after various locations and lakes around Mt. Fuji. The pen looks stunningly beautiful in blue with some transparency. But, there is a but. The pen looks as it is meant to look only in bright indoor light or in sunlight. Otherwise it looks like a very very deep blue, almost black, with almost no transparency. Comfort wise, the pen could be made a bit more thicker and longer. Only then would it be perfect for me. After posting, this doesn’t matter. Filling System (9/10): It is one of my favorite filling systems. A cartridge-converter is one of my favorites because it is easy to clean, disassemble and also to fill. The only disadvantage of Platinum’s proprietary converter is its small ink capacity. Also, as I mentioned, my converter was poorly greased. Writing Experience (10/10): It is hard to find faults here. The writing experience is stellar. This nib is a champ. The Medium 14 carat gold nib is pretty fine by western standards and writes very smooth with some nice feedback. The ink flow is perfect. This is my kind of nib. I prefer this to overly wet, fat and super smooth nibs. Now I need all the Platinum 3776 century pens with almost all nibs except the Course and the Music. I am not fan of ultra-wide nibs. This nib can be used for various purposes like note taking, daily writing and most importantly long writing sessions with ease. Comparisons: On comparing this pen with the TWSBI Eco and ASA Nauka, the Platinum feels a bit small in the hand and is the second most comfortable out of the three with the ASA bragging the first place. The Platinum easily has the largest nib of the bunch. Conclusion: While this pen is a favorite of mine, it is not without faults. Its construction and finishing could be better, and some minor changes could be done here and there. But these faults won’t stop me from buying the other 3776 Century pens. I need a Bourgogne next as my Chartres Blue needs a companion. Man, I need so many more pens! All the photos were taken with a Nikkon D5300 (I'm still learning to take photos this thing) on a windowsill (my favorite place for pen photography) of my 18th floor apartment with abundant sunlight. They have not been edited. Thank you for reading my review. Please leave your suggestions and comments below.