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I am a big fan of Waldmann's Precieux pens. I have two now and soon will have four. What is special with two of them is that they are custom orders. On the basis of a Sterling silver pen, I custom-ordered a yellow-gold vermeil and a rose-gold vermeil. I have already received the yellow-gold one - see photo below. This pen has become my favorite pen for everyday writing. So, I was dreaming about getting more of them. When Waldmann brought out a new catalogue, I had to realize that my favorite pen is now out-of-production. The danger of not getting what I dreamt off sped up my decision that I needed them now and I quickly ordered another vermeil and the corresponding base-pen (Sterling silver only). I was very lucky and got the last two examples on stock, one will be changed to rose-gold vermeil. As you can imagine, I am counting the days until they arrive. I will then show you that three-color set (silver, yellow-gold and rose-gold). Since I got that FP in 2020, I wished I had ordered a full set of FP/MP/BP and RB in that design. Now, knowing about the production end, I ordered the missing members mechanical pencil, ball-pen and rollerball. My present to me for my retirement which lurks around the corner. In the photo below, you also see another non-catalogue Waldmann Precieux, the P2000. It is made from stainless steel and black-coated. It is a limited edition which is out-of-stock at Waldmann too. The base design is the same as the metal pens which I ordered or have. You can find more about these pens on my blog, about the vermeil pens or the P2000. I like very much the attitude of Waldmann to accept custom orders and do remodeling of their catalogue pens.

I'm praying that it is a Vermeil instead.

Just purchased 2 used MB pens. Both pens are Vermeil (gold over silver) with Bordeaux barrels. Had some questions about the pens; Neither pen has the "pix" stamp on the back of the clipClassique BP has "metal2" on top band (above clip)Le Grand RB has "metal3" on top banc (above clip)The hallmark stamps are present and correct. Unfortunately I'm unable to post any pics. Comments? Thanks in advance. Razr

Are all gold Sheaffer Imperial Sovereigns vermeil? Gold layer on top of silver? Mine is gold finish with diamond/hatch pattern stamped only "Sheaffer (crown) USA-D.L." on the cap band - and has 14k inlaid nib and converter, with no reference to barrel/cap metal content. Can I safely assume vermeil?

Hello to all. I’m new on this forum as a poster, but have been a long time lurker. I finally decided to post reviews on some of my pens. In this review I’ll give you some information about my latest pen, the quite rare Aurora Firenze in vermeil (gold plated silver). As my in laws know I’m always writing with a fountain pen (I’m a lefty and end up with a blue hand whenever I write with a ballpoint), they wanted to give me something special for my recent birthday. Especially my father in law likes to go completely over the top with this kind of thing and he decided to get me a kind of pen I wasn’t likely to encounter “in the wild”. I’d say he succeeded in that part ;-) I have been writing with fountain pens for over 20 years. I started with a very small 1918 Pelican that once belonged to my grandmother. Over the years my hands have grown and as I like nice accessories like watches, cufflinks, fountain pens, I have acquired several pens. After the Pelican I bought a Waterman Le Man in blue with an 18k fine nib. During my time at the university I have even managed to wear out the nib (the point), which has been replaced by Waterman free of cost just after graduation. The new nib was too stiff to my taste, it was very hard to adjust to it after writing with the old one for so many years. My parents heard me complaining about this and they decided to give me a graduation-gift from Montblanc. Since then one of my favorite pens has been my Montblanc Meisterstück, along with my St. Dupont Lacque de Chine. Lately I have bought several other pens just for fun. I seem to have a soft spot for the Snorkels by Sheaffer: I bought a refurbished black Sheaffer Snorkel Statesman with palladium-silver conical F-nib and really enjoy it. So much that I even bought another (green) Snorkel last week, which is in the post right now. Back to the pen that this review is all about: the Aurora Firenze (Florence) in vermeil: General information, looks. Aurora is an Italian penmaker, founded in 1919. They make quite a few models in a broad price-range. The Firenze (VF-800) is one of their Special Edition models and has quite an “Italian” styling, which lots of people will find way over the top, especially with the red resin body (which Aurora calls “Terra di Toscana red”, Toscany soil red) and the (heavy!) gold plated silver decoration on the cap. Love it or hate it ;-) It won’t be everybody’s choice. The Firenze has a body that is engraved with Fleur de Ly’s, its cap is screwed on the body. The images on the cap are: 1)Ponte Vecchio, 2) Cathedral of Santa Maria, 3) Signoria Palace and 4) Michelangelo’s David. Construction and quality. The Firenze is a sturdy pen. It is well made and feels like it will last a long time. The filling is easy, it has a nice, smooth action and is on par with or better than my Montblanc. The weight of the body isn’t really impressive, this isn’t a heavy pen until the moment you screw the cap on: the gold plated silver makes this a rather heavy pen. The gold plated parts are crisp and well cast. They are nicely finished, with lots of detail. The nib is a rather big 18k gold nib with a big feeder under it. I got the “M” nib, which writes well: not as smooth as my Montblanc, but the pen hasn’t settled to my hand yet. Filling and maintenance As I have only filled the Firenze twice, there isn’t much I can say about the filling of the Firenze, other than that the filling is butter-smooth and that this pen hold a LOT of ink. I suppose cleaning will be just as easy as with my Montblanc and other pistonfillers. Conclusion I got this pen as a gift. I probably wouldn’t have bought it myself as it is a rather expensive model (I don’t know the exact price and don’t want to know). I probably would have gotten myself something a bit less flashy and more in line with the larger part of my collection. I’m a lawyer/barrister and in that profession this kind of pen is quite a jawdropper. However, this pen is a very nice writer, that is well built and certainly is a discussion starter. I am very pleased with it (which is a good thing as I will have to write with it for the rest of my life ;-) ). Pictures: I took some pictures with my cellphone. I will see if I can upload better pictures anytime soon...