Visconti Pens' Aesthetics

[freewheelingvagabond]

Does anyone else feel that the company's pens have degraded in terms of aesthetics and beauty? To me, its most beautiful models are/were Voyager, Wall Street and Ragtime, and the newer ones appear flashy, tacky and severely lacking in aesthetics. I know this is highly subjective, but would like to hear your opinions.

Edited October 2, 2014 by freewheelingvagabond

[gclyn]

I'm not sure...I think the Homo Sapiens both the lava bronze and crystal are great. I really love the Opera series, I have two of them. The Desert Springs and Divina Proporzione were very elegant and gorgeous and fits well in the hand.

 

I think this is too subjective and will never get a definitive answer.

[skippymyman]

Does anyone else feel that the company's pens have degraded in terms of aesthetics and beauty? To me, its most beautiful models are/were Voyager, Wall Street and Ragtime, and the newer ones appear flashy, tacky and severely lacking in aesthetics. I know this is highly subjective, but would like to hear your opinions.

They are modern in design. That exactly, and the style of finishing is different, not necessarily better or worse. I prefer the look and finish of Montegrappa (standard series), but to each their own.

[PAKMAN]

As with most pen manufacturers, there are some models that I don't care for but Visconti makes some pens that really stand out to me. I am a big fan of many of the Divina's, the Operas and the HS Lava models.

[zchen]

why did they discontinue most of the opera line?

[sarahfar]

Visconti is a great pen maker. I agree with others in that I don't like all their pens, but I do love many of the lines.....

[abstract49]

My Viscontis are all beautiful without being flashy. Even the Divine Proportion and Black Divina are less flashy than many other makers' offerings in the price range. I had some issues with my one Van Gogh, but it's all sorted out now, and all of my Viscontis write beautifully and smoothly, including the one F in my small collection, a Homo Sapiens Bronze Age.

 

As for the OP, re aesthetics and beauty, in my book, they are equal to any other brand I have.

 

If I had to choose one name to collect, I would have to think long and hard, but this would be a contender.

[georges zaslavsky]

The opera master and divina lines are pleasant

[kestrel]

Aesthetics are so personal that it is hard to say. The Kaleido Voyager was the first modern fountain pen I saw that screamed, "Buy Me!" The lines, the color, and the nice soft nib were too hard to resist. The Copernicus did almost the same thing as did the Art Nouveau. Since then, nothing in their product line has really compelled me to reach for the wallet. Part of it is the clip, the one false note on the Art Nouveau for me. Part is the general styling. Georges wrote that he found the opera master and divina lines pleasant. That is how I feel. Unfortunately, for that kind of money I want more than pleasant.

[jar]

Visconti has never made a clip that didn't look like an afterthought, something stuck on only because they got a deal on a passel of them. Some of the bodies are okay but then there is the Homo Sapiens range that comes across as just brain dead gimmicky. No Visconti pen I've seen yet seems like a unit, more just a jumble of unrelated parts, design by several committees that never met together. Finally the hype about nibs and materials just comes across as nonsense unrelated to reality.

[Joe in Seattle]

For me, their stable is too broad to make a generalization. . I love my Homo sapiens bronze, but that is the only one of theirs that I own.

[RMN]

Visconti has never made a clip that didn't look like an afterthought, something stuck on only because they got a deal on a passel of them. Some of the bodies are okay but then there is the Homo Sapiens range that comes across as just brain dead gimmicky. No Visconti pen I've seen yet seems like a unit, more just a jumble of unrelated parts, design by several committees that never met together. Finally the hype about nibs and materials just comes across as nonsense unrelated to reality.

Did you ever see the Titanic and it's clip? Matches the theme perfectly..

 

D.ick

[jar]

Did you ever see the Titanic and it's clip? Matches the theme perfectly..

 

D.ick

 

Yup, seen it and sorry but I see no connection with the theme if there is a theme.

[Namo]

Well, the Voyageur was design for the America Cup. Since the clip is a sail riding a wave... And this clip is surprisingly efficient! I am far from a Visconti's design fanboy (hate the banner clip and am very sceptical about the HS grip), but the Voyageur is really a success.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Namo

[jar]

Well, the Voyageur was design for the America Cup. Since the clip is a sail riding a wave... And this clip is surprisingly efficient! I am far from a Visconti's design fanboy (hate the banner clip and am very sceptical about the HS grip), but the Voyageur is really a success.

 

Well, even after you telling me what it is supposed to represent I cannot see any relation. But then I will admit I have the same problem with lots of modern minimalist sculpture.

[RMN]

Titanic clip has a ship-shape at one end, and a white marblish "jewel" representing the tip if the iceberg. The pen itself has a green/brownish shapes (seeweed) on a blue fond (the water)

 

You can like it, or not, but it is not an afterthought.

 

 

D.ick

[jar]

Titanic clip has a ship-shape at one end, and a white marblish "jewel" representing the tip if the iceberg. The pen itself has a green/brownish shapes (seeweed) on a blue fond (the water)

 

You can like it, or not, but it is not an afterthought.

 

 

D.ick

 

Thanks for your explanation. Sorry but I still don't see a ship shape or why a tiny round jewel would represent an iceberg. Sure seems like an after thought or as I said, a design by committees that never got together.

 

Lots of folk seem to like Visconti. I simply find any hint of aesthetics sense missing.

[PatientType]

My Visconti pens write well and I find them attractive - certainly more varied in color and design than Omas. That said, I have more Delta pens than Visconti. Were you to use what I've spend money on as a measure of my brand attraction, then Visconti represents a relatively small proportion of my overall pen collection.

[kazoolaw]

Visconti has never made a clip that didn't look like an afterthought, something stuck on only because they got a deal on a passel of them. Some of the bodies are okay but then there is the Homo Sapiens range that comes across as just brain dead gimmicky. No Visconti pen I've seen yet seems like a unit, more just a jumble of unrelated parts, design by several committees that never met together. Finally the hype about nibs and materials just comes across as nonsense unrelated to reality.

Well, there's the Ragtime, which seems to have a clip thoughtfully designed to advance the vintage theme.

 

The clip on the Millenium Arc series is coordinated with the crescent filler. Seems like forethought.

 

The Copernicus clip, used on number of pens, in this use also refers to the original Conklin Crescent clip.

 

It is difficult for me to fit the Manhattan series into your analysis.

 

May not be your style, but not all without thought.

 

gary

 

PS-Re the HS: preach it!

Edited October 4, 2014 by gary

[jar]

Well, there's the Ragtime, which seems to have a clip thoughtfully designed to advance the vintage theme.

 

The clip on the Millenium Arc series is coordinated with the crescent filler. Seems like forethought.

 

The Copernicus clip, used on number of pens, in this use also refers to the original Conklin Crescent clip.

 

It is difficult for me to fit the Manhattan series into your analysis.

 

May not be your style, but not all without thought.

 

gary

 

PS-Re the HS: preach it!

Maybe you can explain the connection between Copernicus and the Conklin clip? Or Millenium and crescent fillers? Or how the Ragtime clip reflects ragtime?

 

Copying other designs and innovations then claim originality doesn't make sense to me.