Lamy Imporium - Black/gold

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

Good day to everyone!

I have noticed that there is not any reviews of the brand new LAMY Imporium yet on the forum and I decided to be the first to showcase this wonderful pen.

I never did own a Persona but those who did or do may notice the amazing similarities between that pen and this one. This review will not be focusing on comparing and contrasting the 2 however. Without further delay let's dive in!

PACKAGING

 

The pen comes packaged in this very "LAMY" box that would remind those of the Wild Rubin LE Studio that came out a while back. It is a very nice presentation, with the pen held in there under an elastic band type of holder under the fat ribbon on top. I'm not huge on packaging so I will not submit a score here, just thought I would showcase how it comes to anyone who buys one.

 

_DSC1195 by Arie Shier, on Flickr

 

 

APPEARANCE AND DESIGN 10/10

 

This pen is either going to be loved or hated it seems. LAMY's designs sometimes get a bad wrap because they are not classical in any way but completely new and modern. The fine ridges on the pen remind me of the OMAS Ogiva Alba, though a little deeper. They give a striking and streamlined appearance to the pen that I personally love. The smooth surface of the cap offers a great contrast to the lines on the body with the excellent gold clip blending in to the top of the cap and gradually exposing the full shape of itself along the sides of the cap. The gold clip offers an amazingly stark contrast to the matte black of the cap. The finial on the end of the barrel has a gold coin embedded in it that offers the same amazing contrast to the body that the clip does for the cap.

 

_DSC1187 by Arie Shier, on Flickr

 

 

Upon opening the cap, we are presented with a very uniquely designed section and nib. the ribs of the section are perpendicular to the ribs on the body and this angular difference gives the pen another great though controversial design aspect. The nib is where the pen all comes together for me. The black coated nib with the gold strip for contrast follows the rest of the design pattern for the pen and really offers a dare-I-say GROOVY finale to the appearance of the pen.

 

_DSC1190 by Arie Shier, on Flickr

 

 

CONSTRUCTION AND QUALITY 10/10

 

One of the reasons that I love LAMY as a company is that to me, the quality control is excellent, the materials are solid, and the build quality is outstanding. To me, this pen satisfies all those aspects and more. The finish is impeccable, the clip just right with spring tension, and the nib is great with awesome writing feel. Everything about the pen right down to the feeling of unthreading the cap is pure German quality. Very well done, no complaints here.

 

_DSC1189 by Arie Shier, on Flickr

 

 

WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS 9/10

 

The Imporium measures:

 

- 142 mm capped

- 123 mm un-capped

 

I do apologize as I have no scale to see the precise weight of this pen but it is a heavy pen due to its entirely metal construction. It is probably in the area of 40 grams if I had to guess, but don't quote me on that.

 

I find the balance to be excellent with this pen un-posted. the pen does not really post so I would not recommend it and the pen is fairly long un-capped anyhow. I do wish that the pen posted deeper and securely as attempting to do so does not yield a secure fit and the pen becomes very back-heavy. Not really an issue for me though.

 

Here is the pen next to some other LAMY pens!

 

_DSC1193 by Arie Shier, on Flickr

 

 

NIB AND PERFORMANCE 10/10

 

For those who are familiar with LAMY's gold nibs on the Studio, the Dialogue 3, and others you will be familiar with how this writes. I chose a medium as the LAMY mediums are my perfect nibs. This pen rivals my 2000 in smoothness and is just a joy to use. No skipping, no hard starting, it just writes every time. There is a slight springyness, though not much so do not try to flex this thing, but just writing with it as the weight of the pen touches the paper is pure bliss. The nib is not a gusher but puts down a nice wet line that I really like. Very much what I would call a "Goldilocks" nib; Just right.

 

_DSC1192 by Arie Shier, on Flickr

 

 

FILLING SYSTEM AND MAINTENANCE 7/10

 

The cartridge-converter system on this pen is just like other LAMY pens. The converter works well, does not leak on any of my LAMY pens, but doesn't hold a ton of ink. A piston filler might have been preferred like on the 2000 but the pen is already quite heavy and may have been hard to design. I don't know for sure but I am fine with the filling system as it is.

 

 

COST AND VALUE 8/10

 

This pen is expensive. The most expensive LAMY there is actually if I recall, but that does not mean it isn't a good value. This is an amazing pen and is the coolest thing out there in my opinion right now. The pen writes great, and the modern materials used on this pen give it a sort of "cool" status that I like. You may be paying a lot for the materials but the finished product more than satisfies me for what I payed. If you look around you can find this pen for less than 300 EUR if you are outside the EU and avoid VAT. If you are in Europe it may be hard as around 350-375 EUR is what I have seen.

 

 

CONCLUSION 9/10

 

This pen is excellent in almost every way, in my opinion. I love the nib, love the looks, and the overall quality of the pen is top notch as is every LAMY I own. I would definitely recommend this pen to anyone in the market for a cool pen. I look forward to writing with it more and I hope this was helpful to anyone looking to buy one of these.

 

 

 

SORRY FOR MY NOT SO GOOD PHOTOS AND THANKS FOR READING

Edited October 16, 2015 by Owner of a Lonely Heart

[Namo]

Thanks, I was looking forward to a review of this pen! The Persona seems to have (among other differences) better integrated but very sharp threads, which allow for the cap to unscew in half a turn. How is it with the Imporium?

Edited October 16, 2015 by Namo

[Xozzen]

This is beautiful, I never knew this existed. Thanks for showing me! The design somehow reminds me of the new Montblanc "M" which I really like aswell.

 

I hope they sell these black/gold nibs seperately, as I would love love love to have it on my new Lamy x LineFriends Safari Brown.

[Cyber6]

This looks so much like my Personna. I wish someone will compare the two of them.

 

 

C.

[Laura N]

Thanks for the review. I think it's a nice-looking pen. Alas, for me, it's too heavy. Supposedly it weighs 47 grams.

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

Thanks, I was looking forward to a review of this pen! The Persona seems to have (among other differences) better integrated but very sharp threads, which allow for the cap to unscew in half a turn. How is it with the Imporium?

Well it actually takes about 2 turns to remove the cap so quite a bit of turning actually.

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

This is beautiful, I never knew this existed. Thanks for showing me! The design somehow reminds me of the new Montblanc "M" which I really like aswell.

 

I hope they sell these black/gold nibs seperately, as I would love love love to have it on my new Lamy x LineFriends Safari Brown.

You're welcome! Edited October 17, 2015 by Owner of a Lonely Heart

[Algester]

Ahh the not Lamy persona... Looking at the clip I dont think its prone to rolling now eh?

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

Ahh the not Lamy persona... Looking at the clip I dont think its prone to rolling now eh?

Nope! It stays very well on desks

[TradArch]

Great to see this reviewed, thanks for sharing! I haven't seen them in stock anywhere, and a, looking forward to testing one out in the near future.

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

Great to see this reviewed, thanks for sharing! I haven't seen them in stock anywhere, and a, looking forward to testing one out in the near future.

No problem, figured it would help some people make their decision! I'm happy I got one

[Inked]

Great review, great looking pen. I love the nib / body colour combination.

 

I have the Persona Titanium.

 

Look forward to seeing one in person.

 

Thank you,

Inked

[Xozzen]

I went to my local pen shop and they said that unfortunately there aren't official Lamy spare parts for the imporium yet since it's so new.

 

So I will have to wait a bit longer to upgrade my safari with the lovely imporium nib.

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

Yea it seems to be so new a lot of places don't even know about it yet, hopefully spares are available in the future

[PAKMAN]

Good review, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! Pretty pen.

[hari317]

Thanks for sharing!

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

Glad you guys liked it, no problem

[Barkingpig]

Thank you for sharing this new pen with us. I can see why you are happy with it; it is indeed a very handsome pen!

[Owner of a Lonely Heart]

I think it's just very unique and something that you don't see every day. I'm just a fan of LAMY in general and I think they did something pretty cool here.

 

What do people think of the design?

[TradArch]

Overall, and from pictures, I like the design. There are details I am sure I need to refrain from commenting on until I see it in person. Definitely one I want to add the the collection tho, and one I would be happy to be seen with