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I recently found an OMAS Ogiva Alba on Ebay for a pretty good price, and considering the rumors that OMAS was closing its doors, I decided to get this beautiful pen. I made a video review of the Alba that you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Qb4Z_A2cDC8 Packaging OMAS does a very good job with their packaging. This is the first thing that the customer interacts with, and I'm convinced that impressive packaging makes a strong first impression. That is certainly the case with this pen. The pen comes in a large, heavy coffin-style box. Pulling off the top of the box reveals the pen in a suede pouch, comfortably holding the writing instrument. Initial Impressions Wow. I had always assumed that the Ogiva Alba was a small pen, but I was definitely wrong. Not only is it long, but its also quite girthy. The pen feels substantial in my hand, and the ribbed body feels comfortable. The Body The body of the pen is made of a purple cotton resin. It feels and looks great to the touch, but also remains fairly light. Those people that associate heft with quality might feel let down, but I personally find the pen to have a demanding size and shape. This particular mode comes in several colors and they're all demonstrators. Being a dark color, the purple version makes it harder to see the innards of the pen. The Cap The cap screws on to the section securely and smoothly. OMAS is famous for its tight tolerances and smooth threads, and now I see why. The cap has a silver-colored clip with the OMAS wheel on it. This allows the pen to slide in and out of a pocket. I like this feature. The Filling Mechanism The Alba uses a piston mechanism to fill its massive reservoir. Keeping in mind that I had received my pen second-hand, the piston mechanism was smooth, but not as smooth as my Pelikan or even Lamy 2000. I could probably fix this with a bit of lube. The Section The section is made of the same cotton resin as the body of the pen with a thin, silver band near the edge. It feels great in the hands, and the threads don't bother me when I write. The Nib This is where the pen gets interesting. My pen came with a broad nib, and apparently broad means stub to OMAS. This pen is a true joy to write with! After I filled the purple pen with some Mont Blanc Lavender and started writing, the nib glided over the smooth Clairefontain paper with ease and grace, and the ink flowed out with perfect precision. It really is a joy to write with. I personally love very wet nibs, and this is now my wettest nib taking a rating around 9 out of 10 on the wetness chart. Summary Overall, the OMAS Ogiva Alba with a broad 18k nib truly is a wonderful pen! Not only does it have the looks and precious hand-feel, but it also writes amazingly well. What do others think? I know that OMAS also

Hello Everyone, So Before Omas went out of business, I was able to get my hands on a Omas Ogiva Cocktail Lemon Vodka. It was my grail pen at the time and ever since it arrived it has had one problem after another. The piston seal kept leaking and I was forced to replace it myself and that has partially solved the problem (ink still gets behind the seal on occasion). However, the biggest issue happened when the pen leaked from the nib while it was capped. I did not notice it while it was inside my carrying pouch and the ink completely flooded inside the cap. It was probably sitting like that for about a week while I was at school and when I finally did notice what has happened, the ink completely destroyed the inner cap seal (the clear plastic part inside the cap). The inner cap seal was practically eaten away by the ink (MontBlanc corn poppy red) and no longer kept the air from coming in from the hole in the cap where the clip is inserted. Not only did it not hold the air seal, but it was also permanently stained blood red like a crime scene and being a almost completely clear yellow pen it did not look pretty. So after attempting to clean it for days with no success I was forced to remove it. All this happened last July and ever since the pen keeps drying out and I cannot find anyone able to a fix it or sell a replacement part. I have checked all over the web with Mr. Mottishaw of Nibs.com, Tom Weserich of penboard.de and of course ebay with no success. The pen is basically unusable and I don’t know what to do. I cannot insert the part back because it shriveled up and no longer creates an air tight seal and does not fit back into the pen. If anyone has any extra seals they are willing to part with or sell or just any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I attached an image of the part that I'm looking for here if anyone is confused about what I'm talking about. Thank You, Alex

Hi folks, Sorry if this question has been raised before-- I can't find the answer. Why did Omas make their Alba limited editions in runs of 327? My guess-- they were founded in March 1927??? Thanks! Ralf

So earlier this week I was finally able to purchase on of my personal Grail Pens...The Omas Ogiva Alba in Violet. Ever since I saw it on Goulet Pens I wanted this pen, especially since purple is my favorite color. I wasn't able to purchase it at the time. A couple of months pass and on a casual search I find that it's sold out almost everywhere and I was disheartened. I then found it on ebay from Tay from Pensinasia. I wasn't able to fully pay for it at the time and he graciously let me put down some money to hold the pen for me! A couple of weeks later, I managed to get the funds to fully pay for it and I finally was able to pay for it on the 2nd. Tay proceeds to ship it out on the 3rd and it was delivered to me today! 3 Day Shipping from across the world! Amazing! I waited all day today for the package to arrive and after calling the shipping company a couple of times, the package arrived right when I was about to leave my house. I delay my plans for an hour while I crack open the package, open the awesome Omas box and was finally able to hold the pen that I've wanted for a while in my hands. It's 33/327. I also was able to get the Extra Fine with the Extra Flessible nib. After I flushed the pen out, I inked it up with an ink that perfectly fits this pen, Bung Box Imperial Purple, and wrote with it on my Rhodia Ice pad. I was completely blown away with the writing experience. It's completely different from all the pens I own and I am loving it. The incredibly soft nib and the flex it provides gives me joy. My friend gave me some guff about spending that much money on the pen, but I was incredibly happy and pleased with my purchase. http://puu.sh/jrcUi/c7e6c9528d.jpg

Hi guys, I've recently received a delightful OMAS Ogvia Alba with an 18k fine nib. Really enjoying it - a smooth wet writer without no significant feedback. Just what I had wanted. I have noticed however that the feed looks misaligned. However, I have no problems with ink delivery - it's wet with inks like Pelikan 4001 and of course it's nice with the more lubricated Iroshizuku and Edelstein inks. The pen write's smoothly on a range of papers from cheap copy to tomoe river and rhodia. Does this occur frequently - ie the looks funny but works perfectly conundrum? Is it a problem I should be concerned about? I'd appreciate some experienced wisdom to a relative newbie how reads too much! With thanks in advance!!! M.

Hello everybody, I recently found at an old stationery in the Genoa hinterland an Alba Duplex vintage fountain pen; it is cartridge/converter filled. When I started maintenance actvities on it, I noticed the converter is different from any one I know. The outlet's inner diameter is 4mm, the outer is 6mm; I am posting here an image where the cartridge outlet is compared to a standard international one: http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5338/9004520611_387a870773_b.jpg Alba Converter di S.R.GE, su Flickr Can anyone help me to find out if there is a contemporary converter type that can fit the old one? Thanks a lot! Sergio