Update: The Fpn 2015 Le Blue Pearl Celebration Fountain Pen

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Dearest Members and Visitors of our little Fountain Pen Nut house on the digital prairie,

 

Updates

 

1. Additional Payment Option

We have now updated, on request, our Store to reflect two payment options for buying our gorgeous FPN Blue Pearl Celebration pen.

There now is both a USD Order option, which follows the usual process, with immediate payment, in USD ($) via PayPal, and a second option, the EURO Order option.

 

The latter option is a bit more complex, but it offers savings of 8% to 10%, depending on change rate and where you are.

Essentially, this is a manual PayPal payment option. The ordering process though the store effectively is a manual option, and when you get to the "Finished" screen, it displays a final amount to pay.

It will still say $ in front of the amount number. This currency sign, due to the limitations of our store, is wrong, however! It is the actual amount number that counts, and the number is literally a Euro amount.

 

What you need to do next is visit PayPal, login to your account and pay, or do a direct payment, to our FPN PayPal account as indicated on the "Finished" screen. The amount to be paid is the amount number indicated by the "Finished" screen, but you have to make sure you select Euro as a currency to pay in! This is the only currency we will accept these payments in, as it is the only way we will be able to provide this additional discount. And the amount number has to be equal to the amount number calculated and displayed in the "Finished" screen!

 

Do note that if a non-Euro currency is used for these payments, we will, out of necessity, refund the payment made immediately, minus an admin fee, as we do incur transaction costs regardless. So please make doubly sure you pay in Euros!

 

2. Shipping

Shipping costs have been added to the Euro Order amount as well. We may well add a third shipping option; we are still negotiating with another shipping company.

These costs are VAT exempt, so even those who order from the EU, will not have to pay VAT on shipping costs, and shipping options are automatically excluded from VAT calculations.

Because the pens are shipped from our HQ in the Netherlands, EU members will not have to pay any additional custom charges. That effectively is taken care of by the fact that VAT will have been paid on these pens.

 

3. Nib Options

We found a way to permanently display nib options to be selected, and therefore combined the 3 different nib options in a single store item, one for the USD Order option, and one for the Euro order option.

IOW, no worries about nib selections running out. We are allowed to order any number of F, M or B nibs.

 

4. Nib Customization

We also added a number of Nib Customization options, to both ordering options, from duo-points (nibs writing both normally and in reverse), to extremely fine points (XF to 4XF), a variety of italics, and left- or rightfooted obliques.

The different options are linked to nib sizes, so please choose carefully. Nib modifications with our FPN LE pens do get preferential treatment, they are moved to the top of the queue, so that there is no delay in shipping the pen(s) to you.

 

If you have a special customization request, please contact us, and we will likely be able to provide you with pricing on other modifications.

 

If you'd like to add Nib Customizations at a later stage, that is possible, but please do ask first prior to ordering these, just in case your pen is very close to shipping, or has been shipped already. In these cases it is no longer possible to create a customized nib for your pen. Just contact us backchannel.

 

5. The pen we're talking about

Not really an update, but we like it so much that we repeat the info here

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Our first pen to celebrate 11 years of FPN is available for purchase, as a Group Buy.

This pen, appropriately called the FPN Blue Pearl Celebration LE, is the most extravagant we have ever created. As 11 years is the crazy number, we thought we'd do something a little crazy, hence this rather magnificent, extravagant fountain pen.

 

This pen is made by CONID in Antwerp, Belgium, in their first rate factory, and designed by our own fountainbel, engineer by profession and pen lover at heart.

It is a King Size Bulkfiller, truly an outstanding piece, from an engineering, design and materials point of view.

 

 

Starting with the material, it is a stunning very high quality, unstressed acrylic, in a mix of colours resembling some of the best celluloids out there, but obviously a lot less flammable . Anybody who has ever seen the celluloid Tibaldis with blue and slightly green-yellow cream coloured layers of material, will be drawn to this pen immediately. The colours are even more intense than that particular celluloid, en have even more depth. You have to see it to believe it. It is a truly incredible material. Cap, section, barrel and bulkfiller button are all created from this magnificent material. There is only enough material to just create a limited edition of these pens, and it will not be used therefore for any other pen.

 

 

It obviously is a pen made to the extremely high and very exacting standards of CONID and fountainbel. It is engineered from the best materials only, trim and threading turned out of titanium, and all seals in this pen are created purely by screw threads and/or rubber seals - no glue is used in this pen whatsoever. Just one place has some shellac applied, and that is the ink view window. As this ink view window is fixed and sealed with shellac, it is easily removable as well if need be. The pen comes with a single small tool, which is all that is required to take this pen apart into all of its parts, making it easily cleanable, and the parts easily replaceable. Well thought out engineering and planning clearly lay at the base of this design.

 

 

The filling system of this pen is the by now famous, patented (patent pending) design of fountainbel, the bulkfiller. It is elegant and beautiful at the same time, and it also is the system which allows one to fill a pen with the highest fill rate possible, as the system allows one to fill the barrel completely with ink, up to a stunning 3 millilitre, or 3 cc! That is an awesome amount of ink. Imagine, 16 fills from a standard 50 ml ink bottle only! Of course it was designed with a shut-off mechanism too, one wouldn't expect anything less from such a pen. The beauty of the shut-off design makes it possible to still write a page, and probably two or even more (depending on nib type of course), with the shut-off enabled. It also makes it leak proof, so this pen can be taken along anywhere, without having to worry about ink escaping at all, in the wrong places or at the wrong moment.

 

 

We still haven't mentioned the nib yet. Well, this is a monstrous, gigantic, 14K #8 gold nib, made by Bock, especially for CONID. And yes, you read that right: an enormous, 8 mm nib! These nibs are available in F, M and B. However, they can be modified to an italic or oblique, or extra fine if you so like, at additional cost. These nib modifications are done with respect to the nib, not by removing almost all tipping material. This work is done lovingly, and completely manually, by an expert nib enhancer (aka nibmeister).

 

Even the box of this fountain pen is a master piece. It is made from a single piece of aluminium, with a large foam insert to hold the pen, its servicing tool, and potentially other pieces you might want to store with it. This box s made especially for the FPN Blue Pearl Celebration, in a colour unique again for this production only.

 

 

This is obviously not going to be a cheap pen. We will only make a maximum of 132 of this particular model, there isn't enough material for more, and we may even have to settle for a smaller number, due to the very limited availability of this material.

 

Last year, CONID made another LE, also a King Size Bulkfiller, made entirely from a single material, including the section, with a #8 nib as well. That sold for about 1420 euros excluding VAT and excluding shipping, a whopping 1700+ euros including VAT. And that Limited Edition, although smaller in number than the FPN Blue Pearl Celebration, sold out in just a couple of weeks time, such is the trust in the products of this company and its designer/engineer!

 

As we have been able to strike a very good deal with CONID, as we do not have any large overhead costs being a volunteer run organization, and as we are doing this as a Group Buy with prepayments for this pen, we are able to initially offer this exquisite and stunning piece for the extremely discounted price of 929.75 euros excluding VAT, 1125 euros including VAT, or US $ 1125 (incurs high currency exchange costs) for those living outside the European Union, excluding shipping costs and any nib work if so required.

 

As mentioned, this is a Group Buy, so how does this work?

We need an initial order of 20 pens to be able to start production, and we would like to have at least 20 sold the latest towards the middle of September (2015 ). That would allow for production to start towards the end of September, and with an estimated processing time of 6 to 8 weeks, that would mean that these pens will be in your hands before Christmas this year.

 

Once the pens are manufactured, assembled and QA tested, and the nibs mounted and tuned to perfection as well, they are sent on the FPN HQ in Europe. Here they will undergo a final QA inspection and test, any nib work will be carried out if so required. Once inspected, tested, and any nib modifications carried out, the pens will be shipped to the respective new owners.

 

Because of the high value of these pens, shipping will only be done express, by courier, or fully insured. I am sure you will forgive us for doing so . Yes ,it will add to the cost, but we think it is absolutely worth the extra trouble.

 

To order one of these these fantastic pens, check out our FPN Store

If there Is demand for other shipping methods, beyond the two we currently offer, we will add them - we are currently negotiating with UPS for fully insured express shipping. Do note that the express shipping we offer currently, is only insured up to a value of 500 euros, which will therefore all we will be able to refund in case of damage or loss during shipping or transport. The fully insured shipping is a bit slower, it is priority shipping worldwide.

 

Warm regards, Wim

On behalf of the FPN Moderator and Admin team

 

 

 

 

EDIT: BEWARE, the ink window in this prototype is yellow, in the finished product it is clear translucent.

Edited December 5, 2015 by RMN

[kookatsoon]

Hi Wim..

 

I am trying to order this pen...when I put in my user name...kookatsoon, and my email address...it tells me that these are both already taken and will not let me proceed further. I am trying for a broad with a round 1 mm stub { which I hope is the easiest to write with} as well as a medium under/upside down underwriter.

 

Please email me PM...as to how I can proceed with my order, due to these clitches in the process.

thanks

 

Janis

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Hi Janis,

 

Did you actually log in when trying to order the pen? All your information is already there, so you should have no need to re-enter all when you are logged in.

 

If you are logged in, when this happens, first try pressing Ctrl-F5. If this does not help, try clearing your browser cache, temp files, cookies and history, completely and utterly, after logging out from FPN, and then signing in again.

 

HTH, warm regards, Wim

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Update:

9 sold as of yesterday! And most with custom nib modifications too:).

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Tojusi]

Why oh why did I need to find this just before going to bed, now I cannot sleep...

 

I will need to take a long hard look at this tomorrow, and then to order. But then I also like the "cappuccino" Conid kingsize bulkfiller Francis posted in The Mall section at the beginning of July... And the CAISO system...

 

Can I end up owning three Conids? Serious thinking required.

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Oh yes, you could <ROFL>.

 

Anyway, we're up to 11 pens now!

 

I spoke with CONID today, and the minimum number requires is still 20, although they do prefer 50.

Considering we are close to the end of the month, y'all need to start ordering asap!

We do want to start manufacturing early in September after all!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[Tojusi]

If the first 20 (or 50) pens will be manufactured and delivered before the full 132 have been ordered, what will be engraved on the clip? Will it still be "XXX / 132" i.e. will it always be nominally a run of 132 pens, even though it might take a long time to come up to 132?

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Yes, that is the general idea.

We keep track of all the numbers produced.

 

132 was chosen because it is a celebration of 11 years of FPN. 11 * 12 months. IOW, the number 132 has a very special meaning.

 

Warm regards, Wim

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Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board, FPN that is

 

We are now at 13 pre-ordered and paid for pens. IOW, a minimum of 7 more to go before our first production run.

Those of you who'd want to receive one before Christmas, please do order right away!

 

Not only will you gift someone, yourself or someone else, a most fantastic, world class pen, but you will also help FPN, as any profits will go towards funding the out-of-pockets costs for hosting, license costs, etc.!

 

Thank you very much in advance!

 

Warm regards, Wim

On behalf of the FPN Admin Team

[brattpitt]

I'd like to buy one now, but I just started work at my new job. Will only be able to afford one at the end of the year... I guess i'll keep my fingers crossed and hope everything goes well for this group buy.

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Congratulations with the new job!

 

We do expect things to go well. It is ooking ok, although it would be great if it went a little faster

We are now at 14, so 6 to go for our first production run .

 

Warm regards, Wim

[brattpitt]

Thanks Wim! Looking forward to seeing the pen pics of the first batch of pens.

[Adamseto]

Dear Mr. Wim

 

i ordered

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Yes, you did! Thank you!

 

15 now, 5 to go for our first production run!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[youstruckgold]

I would love to be with you all on this - it's a beautiful looking pen - but the Aussie$ just makes this beyond reach. Good luck to all!

[basterma]

I would likely have to work a summer for Conid in exchange for a pen...

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I know the feeling.

Regardless, we are up to 16 now .

 

Warm regards, Wim

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We're at 17 now, only 3 more to go!

 

Warm regards, Wim

[mongrelnomad]

Come on ladies and gentlemen! As the owner of two kingsize Bulkfillers (one celluloid LE, and another regular run), who has also placed an order for the FPN Anniversary, and a CAISO - and who further owns two more regular size models - I can safely say with full confidence that you cannot possibly purchase a better pen. Conid Bulkfillers are quite simply the best pens ever manufactured. As other threads will attest, they have saved me in numerous situations where any other fountain pen would have come up short.

 

While Conid specialise in dull and worthy materials (for the most part), this acrylic truly pops. Do yourself a favour - order one today!

Edited September 8, 2015 by mongrelnomad

[FOUR X FOUR]

Lately I have been very interested in the Conid pen line. For some reason I find it alittle difficult to navigate the Conid website.

I'm managing. The hardest part is deciding on the one I like. Could some one tell me which of the Conid pens is considered the flagship pen or which one is the most expensive?