Which brand has the most elegant design?

[Apollo]

You know, this is a very difficulty poll to post on simply because there are many brands that have very elegant pens as well as plain Jane models. Off the top of my head, I'd probably say Visconti based on overall models available by each brand.

[framebaer]

And thinking of Metal pens one must certainly go with the all time classic....

[amin]

Waterman - love the Edsons, and the Exception

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a3/kmlstmoorthi/WatermanExceptionGoldDandN.jpg

I haven't yet decided for whom to vote. That Exception sure is elegant! I find the Edson more bold and more beautiful, but the Exception takes it in the elegance category [iMO]. My Edson has the smoothest EF nib I have tried to date. I don't so much mind the small ink capacity since the EF is fuel efficient .

Edited April 21, 2006 by amin

[solaris]

To my eyes, the Sheaffer Legacy Heritage, with black barrel and palladium cap is of an ultimate elegance.

[KCkc]

I still opt for MB but does not mean other brands do not offer nice barrel engraving/design.

 

Some nice sterling barrel engraving that are offered by some of the poll candidates:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/ebaywatch888/Guts/IMG_1727.jpg

 

This is a nice Sheaffer vintage BP, love the grape & vine motif:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v288/ebaywatch888/Guts/IMG_1725.jpg

[RLTodd]

Fountain pen design peaked with the open nib Sheaffer Balance, and nothing has surpassed the purity of the design. It can only be copied.

[Ruaidhri]

While I am firmly in the "51" camp I do believe that the falcon has the sexiest look of all

[Kees]

I don't think a pen gets more elegant than the Omas MoMA...

Jim, I think I would agree with you. It’s one of very few pens that still get my saliva going. For the rest, I’m rather a Sheaffer person, but one who, in accordance with the rules set by the poll organizer, voted for Waterman...

 

Kees

[Blade Runner]

I chose Mont Blanc for the sheer diversity of their line and limited editions, but

here's one i think is elegant -

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/jelb/IMG_3737.jpg

A modern Aurora 88. A great writer too.

[SimonWang]

I vote for my love pen, CS FPs.

[RichardS]

Of the options offered, I'd have to go for Visconti. From the Manhattan to the Voyager, by way of the Wall Street and the Van Gogh, these are seriously elegant pens.

 

However, if the list wasn't limited to 20, I'd go for the classically simple, beautifully proportioned Tibaldi Iride ...

 

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9355/tibcapped.jpg

[Susanna]

Stipula is not listed, but I think it's one of the more elegant brands.

For example, this is a Brunelleschi Magnifica:

http://www.giardino.it/pens/stipula/IMMAGINI/BrunelleschiMagLig.jpg

 

And this is the Novecento in ebonite:

http://www.giardino.it/pens/stipula/IMMAGINI/NovecRossa.jpg

[Slush99]

Wow, such elegant pens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:ph34r:

[Half Sigma]

A lot of pens seem hideously ugly to me, and there seems to be an inverse correlation between elegance and price: the most elegant pens tend to cost LESS money.

 

I think the humble Waterman Hemisphere is a very elegant looking pen. Unfortunately mine doesn't write without skipping, but it LOOKS very elegant in its simplicity.

 

Pelikans are elegant in retro way.

 

I think the new Lamy Studio looks very elegant in a spartan and functional way, but some other Lamy pens look weird.

[Richard]

I just voted for Parker, of which the most elegant example is the "51". It's reliable, durable, technologically sophisticated, precision manufactured to extremely tight tolerances, attractive without trying to be eye candy.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/collection/zoomed/51_plum.jpg

 

As an engineer, I appreciate the straightforward simplicity of the design. (To an engineer, this, not bling, is what defines elegance.) My engineering philosophy, which seems to have been followed by the ''51'' engineering team, is, "A part that isn't there, can't break." With the sole exception of the tassie and jewel on the blind cap of a DJ model, there is nothing on the "51" that does not need to be there for the pen to accomplish its desired function. The aerometric "51" is the standard by which I judge the designs of all other pens.

 

http://www.richardspens.com/images/ref_info/anatomy/51.jpg

[JimStrutton]

I can't really add to what Richard B has said and shame on you Ruaidhri for half hearted support

 

But has there ever been a more elegant pen than a "51" and more than that the Flighter!

 

Picture is worth a 1,000 words, so my two candidates in the foreground and a "51" user in the background! I rest my case

 

Jim

 

http://www.strutton.free-online.co.uk/Pictures/Pens/flighter51gf.jpg

[Glenn-SC]

I would disagree with Richard.

 

I have several "51"s, including a DJ, and love the design.

I am also an rngineer.

 

By his definition a WWII Jeep would be the most elegant vehicle out there.

And the capilary 61 should trump the "51" in all criteria.

 

The slip cap, while simple, wobbles and scrapes too much to meet my definition of "elegant".

[Greg]

The 51s are clearly elegant, in looks and design (although I prefer an open nib). Surely the Duofolds (in almost all guises!) are similarly elegant.

 

For a currently produced pen, and if oversized pens are considered inelegant as they are oversized, then for me its the CS Duro. Simple, understated (in most finishes) and beautifully functional. The pic isn't necessarily my favourite pattern, I'd prefer the 'ebonite' but, to my mind, shows how a random finish will still look superb on an elegant pen.

 

 

Greg

[Ruaidhri]

Sorry Jim.

As I said I'm FIRMLY in the "51" camp but I stand over my claim that the Falcon has a sexier nib

Can't agree with Glenn - I've several "51"s and the caps don't wobble or scrape. If they did I'd have them fixed ! One of the joys of the "51" is the way the cap oozes on like silk - I'll be offering more mixed metaphors in the Marketplace for a small fee

I have a bunch of Duofolds too, from the Big Red to a CP5 Modern (yesterday in the post, Thanks Andreas) but the sheer simple elegance of the "51" is, to me, unbeatable.

Is that half-hearted enough Jim ?

[JimStrutton]

Sorry Jim.

As I said I'm FIRMLY in the "51" camp but I stand over my claim that the Falcon has a sexier nib

Can't agree with Glenn - I've several "51"s and the caps don't wobble or scrape. If they did I'd have them fixed ! One of the joys of the "51" is the way the cap oozes on like silk - I'll be offering more mixed metaphors in the Marketplace for a small fee

I have a bunch of Duofolds too, from the Big Red to a CP5 Modern (yesterday in the post, Thanks Andreas) but the sheer simple elegance of the "51" is, to me, unbeatable.

Is that half-hearted enough Jim ?

Ruaidhri,

 

You are forgiven!

 

Jim