S.T. Dupont Medici L.E. Fountain Pen

[Shalori]

(Marketing release Photo)

 

PEN SPECIFICATIONS

 

MANUFACTURER: S.T. Dupont

MODEL NUMBER 481471

MODEL NAME: Olympio (Orpheo) Medici Limited Edition Fountain Pen

MARKETING DESCRIPTION: The Medici features precise side-by-side application of dark green and white marble Chinese lacquers, and the spectacular use of guilloche and platinum. The incrusted red jasper pieces on the cap and band brings this masterpiece to life. Only 2,420 pieces of the writing instruments are available worldwide.

CLOSED LENGTH: 146.4mm

POSTED LENGTH: 146.0mm

UNPOSTED LENGTH: 131.7mm

DIAMETER: 14.0mm

CLOSED WEIGHT: 62.0g

UNPOSTED WEIGHT: 38.5g

 

 

THE REVIEW

Caveat Lector: I am a big fan of ST Dupont.

 

 

I must admit that the first time I saw pictures of the Medici I was not overly impressed. After my first trip to Florence, however, and accidentally stumbling upon the "Duomo" (pictured above), I immediately understood the pen's design and I knew I would be purchasing it to commemorate the trip. The pen beautifully captures the spirit of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) and with it the Renaissance and the Medici family.

 

 

The pen arrived in the typical ST Dupont ornate packaging used for most of their Limited Editions. It was impressive enough to make me wonder how much I would have saved if it was supplied with a normal gift box like my favorite, the ST Dupont Shaman.

 

 

The build quality of the pen, as with all Dupont pens, is far superior to most and second to none. It is obviously engineered to unbelievably tight tolerances and very generous coatings of platinum and Chinese lacquer have been applied. The white, marble-finish Chinese lacquer is particularly amazing as it actually looks like real marble. (Although my wife says that it just looks like white that got dirty. She seems unimpressed by anything after the ST Dupont Shaman). The base construction of the pen is brass so it is a heavy pen. It is well balanced and can be used posted or unposted but for long writing sessions I prefer to use it posted because I seem to have more control over the pen (see explanation below). Of course, it also has the requisite "Dupont Click" when closed.

 

 

The nib is where Dupont really excels. It is big, beautiful and typical of the Olympio line. After all is said and done performance is what counts and Duponts always deliver. The nib is 18K gold with Rhodium plating. It was originally delivered with a Medium but I had it exchanged for Fine. Unfortunately, the Limited Editions are only available in Fine, Medium and Broad so no Extra Fine or Stub options like the normal Olympio line (as a side note the Obliques are now no longer manufactured). The nib, like all Duponts, is very smooth but this one has just a little bit of flex. I usually use my Duponts posted because I tend to lose control of the pen when it is unposted due to the extreme smoothness of the nib but they can be used either way. A lot has been said about Duponts, both good and bad, but what I appreciate most is that all I need to do is decide if I like how the pen looks because I can bank on the fact that the pen will be a great writer straight out of the box.

 

One of the major complaints most pen aficionados have with the Duponts is that they do not have piston fillers. The Medici Fountain Pen is the same and uses either cartridges or converter (universal). I personally prefer this method because I hate to get my nibs covered in ink so I fill the converter from the bottle and then insert it into the pen.

 

The retail price of the Medici is usually around USD$1,500 and I believe that it is worth that price given the generous use of platinum. Fortunately however, Duponts do not enjoy the popularity of the other major brands here in the US and there are usually good deals to be had. I purchased mine at less than half the retail price at an authorized dealer. At that price, it is excellent value for money.

 

 

This pen far exceeded my expectations, it was much more visually stunning than the pictures suggested, I got great value for money and it came with the unexpected surprise of a little flex in the nib. I can, without hesitation, recommend this pen.

 

Hope you enjoy this review as much as I enjoy my pen.

 

Best regards,

 

Neil

Edited June 9, 2009 by MYU

[Shalori]

This is my first review so please go easy.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

 

[kaisede]

Nice review Neil, the photo came out pretty nice. I see you capture the marble effect on the barrel. It would be awesome if you can do the Pharaoh review. That pen is beautiful.

 

Andy

[Shalori]

Nice review Neil, the photo came out pretty nice. I see you capture the marble effect on the barrel. It would be awesome if you can do the Pharaoh review. That pen is beautiful.

 

Andy

 

Andy.

 

Thanks very much. The photos don't accurately capture the effect but it does at least show it. I will try to get a review for the Pharaoh posted but I will probably have to work on it next weekend, sorry.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

[kaisede]

No Rush I will be looking forward for the review.

 

 

[greencobra]

Neil, that is a beautiful pen, no doubt. Honestly, I can't think of anything better to have to commemorate that trip. Absolutly stunning. And your review was a good read too. I don't care what anyone says, no one does lacquer like Dupont. It's always, I guess the word is, deep. Their blue goes on forever, doesn't it? Very nice, Neil.

[Shalori]

Neil, that is a beautiful pen, no doubt. Honestly, I can't think of anything better to have to commemorate that trip. Absolutly stunning. And your review was a good read too. I don't care what anyone says, no one does lacquer like Dupont. It's always, I guess the word is, deep. Their blue goes on forever, doesn't it? Very nice, Neil.

 

 

Greencobra.

 

Thank you very much. I definitely agree with you about Dupont's Chinese lacquer; deep, rich, lustrous, it is very difficult to find the right adjectives to describe it, it definitely needs to be seen to be appreciated. My only regret is that Dupont no longer seems to use the Lacquer on their nib sections. Although it tends to be a bit slippery, it is much more enjoyable to hold a lacquer section than a metal one, especially after it warms to your touch.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

 

 

[alvarez57]

This is my first review so please go easy.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

 

 

Neil! I would never criticize your review for a couple of reasons:

 

1. it takes time to write one plus photograph it

2. even if the photos are not "professional" (no light tent involved here) they are pretty and well set-up

3. nobody belongs here to the Inquisition

4. it is YOUR appreciation of the pen and you did a very neat work

 

Soooo, thanks for the review and it is a gorgeous pen which well captures the style of Il Duomo.... wanna see Medici? go to Florence for this family owned the city for many years and you'll see their name in almost ANY monument/building/plaza!

 

 

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

Thank you for posting this -- you have a fantastic pen there.

[jbn10161]

Beautiful pen. The pen's design is wonderfully evocative of the Duomo, and is carefully fancy without IMO being too busy (how French). Thanks for an excellent review.

[Shalori]

Thank you for posting this -- you have a fantastic pen there.

 

Peter.

 

You are welcome -- and thank you.

 

Neil

[Shalori]

Beautiful pen. The pen's design is wonderfully evocative of the Duomo, and is carefully fancy without IMO being too busy (how French). Thanks for an excellent review.

 

Thanks. It is amazing how the pen immediately calls to mind the Duomo. When we visited Florence, I had never seen any pictures of the Duomo but as soon as I saw it, it immediately clicked, "That is what that Dupont pen was about!". I was planning on buying a Visconti to commemorate the trip but that moment changed my mind.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

 

[Ghost Plane]

Excellent review!

[Shalori]

Excellent review!

 

Thank you.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

[Shalori]

This is my first review so please go easy.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

 

 

Neil! I would never criticize your review for a couple of reasons:

 

1. it takes time to write one plus photograph it

2. even if the photos are not "professional" (no light tent involved here) they are pretty and well set-up

3. nobody belongs here to the Inquisition

4. it is YOUR appreciation of the pen and you did a very neat work

 

Soooo, thanks for the review and it is a gorgeous pen which well captures the style of Il Duomo.... wanna see Medici? go to Florence for this family owned the city for many years and you'll see their name in almost ANY monument/building/plaza!

 

Sonia.

 

Thank you very much for the kind words.

 

Regards,

 

Neil

 

P.S. Wouldn't know what a "light tent" was if it fell on me. Of course, I guess it is used to reduce all the shadows and reflections. I'll have to go look it up.

Edited June 8, 2009 by Shalori

[alvarez57]

Here!

Light tents

 

 

[SincerelySpicy]

 

I must admit that the first time I saw pictures of the Medici I was not overly impressed. After my first trip to Florence, however, and accidentally stumbling upon the "Duomo" (pictured above), I immediately understood the pen's design and I knew I would be purchasing it to commemorate the trip. The pen beautifully captures the spirit of The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo) and with it the Renaissance and the Medici family.

 

Sorry... that's not il duomo. The front of la Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore looks like this:

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Firenze.Duomo01.JPG/450px-Firenze.Duomo01.JPG

 

 

The picture above is of la Basilica di Santa Croce (the church of the holy cross):

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8d/Santa_Croce,_Florence.jpg/439px-Santa_Croce,_Florence.jpg

 

 

Pardon the correction....

 

 

EDIT: Original photo was replaced, but I'll leave the correction photos here as reference to other views of the Cathedral

Edited June 9, 2009 by MYU
correction to original post made

[SincerelySpicy]

To be honest, i think the pen resembles more Santa Croce, Santa Maria del Fiore is a quite a bit busier in its detailing than the pen, and the clean white panels bordered by green on the pen is very reminiscent of the same panels on Santa Croce. In any case, I don't think that it really matters which Florentine church the pen was inspired by, because the Medici's had influence in pretty much all of them, and there are several churches in Florence with that distinctive white green and pink stone

 

Comunque, è una bella penna e spero che ti è piaciuto Firenze!

(Anyway, it's a beautiful pen and i hope you liked Florence)

 

Ciao,

Ern.

[Miranda]

Beautiful pen, and a very nice review, Thank you, Neil.

 

I am now in the process of acquiring a [surely I only need one?] Dupont pen thanks to you revealing their beauty and the excellent craftsmanship.

[Shalori]

Here!

Light tents

 

 

Sonia.

 

Thanks for the illumination (sorry, couldn't be helped ).

 

Neil