What Visconti Fountain Pen Do You Find Is Your Favorite?

[mmg122]

My favorite Visconti's came to me via Bryant at Chatterly Luxuries.

 

Visconti Divine Elegance BB

Visconti Opera Demonstrator Crimson Tide Stub

 

Both are excellent writers.

[j1020]

+1 for the Homo Sapiens Bronze, an awesome pen to use and to hold.

[Keyless Works]

Did anyone have a Pericle? Man I loved this pen...such a sweet nib. I traded up to the original Van Gogh with the 14kt gold nib and ended up regretting it.

(Not my picture)

[stephanos]

My favourite is the Van Gogh maxi, with old 14k nib - it's the first Visconti I bought (used) and it's a fabulous writer.

 

I also really like the 1999 Voyager in Lapis - very beautiful and writes well.

[stacybean]

Red Wall Street with stub nib

Van Gogh Maxi with medium gold nib

Van Gogh Room in Arles M nib

 

All purchased within the last 2 months or so in a Visconti fever.

I yearn for a Homo Sapiens and Opera Master but cannot keep going with acquisitions just now.

I'll enjoy these for the time being.

[LuisAAbrilRomero]

What Visconti pen is my favourite?

 

None.

 

Made the stupid mistake of buying two of their at the same time. Result: the former had, among a couple of minor but very visible cosmetic faults, an unusable nib, the latter leaked ink through the feed. So bad QC.

 

Then I made the second mistake: I sent the pens back to Visconti in order to allow their Customer Service do their magic. Granted, both came back relatively quickly. But while the cosmetic problems of the former pen had indeed been addressed, nothing had been done about the nib; and the later pen leaked ink as merrily as ever. So back they went.

 

After they came back in EXACTLY the same condition, and me complaining to Visconti about them, they came back to me saying that I just don't know how to handle the Stub (I own a couple of stubs and cursives, and use them with no problems whatsoever), while they somehow forgot to mention the still-leaking Opera altogether.

 

After some further back and forth, the pens went back once again. The result: again, no change whatsoever, the pens remained as unusable as ever. And that's where we stand right now.

 

Needless to say, I won't spend my money on one of their pens again, they don't seem to need it.

Edited March 23, 2016 by LuisAAbrilRomero

[aderoy]

Did anyone have a Pericle? Man I loved this pen...such a sweet nib. I traded up to the original Van Gogh with the 14kt gold nib and ended up regretting it.

(Not my picture)

I have the exact same - purchased from pens.it back in the late 90's iirc.

Steel nib, fine line not too wet. The size and weight makes it is good pen for me. First pen with a metal section that did not slip.

 

Last rotation was Feb of this year.

[jkingrph]

I only have two, having received a M tipped Homo Sapiens today, the other being a special edition for Rebecca Moss with a BB nib. The RM model is a burgundy cracked ice with silver accents and is quite pretty, and with that nib writes very well if I pay attention and keep my letters large, the new Homo Sapiens is also quite smooth, and a bit classier looking and will probably see a lot of use as an everyday pen. I like the way the cap locks on to prevent coming loose in my shirt pocket, as I have had that happen a couple of times and ruined some nice shirts.

[Inkheart]

Tough one... the Michelangelo in black and rose gold is a "Dream" to write with and perfectly sized and balanced for my hands. (The pens in the Van Gogh collection are similarly sized and shaped with nibs that write remarkably well for steel.) But oh the two Voyager Kaleidos I have - that truly must be the best nib ever conceived of by man. Love love love; precision and flex and smoothness all at the same time. But in general, my Michelangelo is my favorite owing to certain sentimental attachments, and should I be forced to sell my pen collection in desperate times, it'll be the last one to leave my grubby little hands.

[KTNJ]

I absolutely loved my Homo Sapiens Bronze Maxi until the clip started to patina/tarnish to a very orangey color that did not match the rest of the trims. I really wish they would have matched. I will likely pick another one up someday. I do miss the feel of that pen in hand though.

 

I've sold (or am trying to sell) every Visconti I've ever owned. I had a Michelangelo with a 14K nib and the bronzed trim, but never really bonded with the nib.

 

I have a Millionaire with a butter smooth nib, albeit with a little baby's bottom, that I would like to sell as it is a bit too heavy. I've sold others

 

I have a steel nibbed Van Gogh that I will probably always hold on to. The magnetic cap and it being a reliable writer make it very practical for taking notes at work and writing down memos and such.

 

After every Visconti that I find something wrong with, I swear to never buy another Visconti...but some of their designs are so appealing!

[jameswatts]

I have four Visconti pens. In order of purchase:

 

Pericles roller ball

 

VanGogh medium nib

 

Opera Honey Vanilla fine nib

 

Homo Sapiens extra fine nib.

 

Favorite: HomoSapiens. I wrote a great deal of a novel with this pen.

 

Second -- Opera

 

Third -- and a close third -- the Van Gogh

 

Haven't used the Pericles in years because it is a roller ball. Not that there is anything WRONG with that..

[jkingrph]

I agree about the Rebecca Moss Visconti fountain pens. I wound up with a handful of the semi-translucent red ones with the color name "chianti." I think they were called the "Hampton" model -- a smattering of nibs: BB, B, and M. They are breathtakingly beautiful and magnificently made, one of the most beautiful pens Visconti has made over the years, I believe. The only drawback is that they are double reservoir fillers, which hold a ton of ink but are operationally cumbersome. They are great pens, nonetheless, and that BB nib is pretty luscious.

 

I did a little low level research here on the internet and I think the Hampton model is stacked celluloid. If I could describe mine better it is cracked celluloid in burgundy and blue, with silver accents and is a New York limited edition. Mine is number 2 of 365. I got it on ebay a couple of years ago on a whim and had no idea of what I really have. it has the double reservoir or power filler and holds a lot of ink, writes forever before running dry.

 

I just got one of the Homo Sapiens about a week ago, and this RM model holds much more ink, writes about the same though. I do like the clip on the RM model much better, as it is much easier to clip into my shirt pocet.

Edited April 3, 2016 by jkingrph

[Moruk]

Opera Master: big, heavy, a very smooth and effortless writer

Florentine Hills: very handsome and smooth as well (as a second choice)

[Drcollector]

My first Viscontis included a Rembrandt, a Michelangelo, and several Van Goghs. As pretty as the pens looked, they just felt a little "cheap" to me being C/C and made of resin. The first Visconti that really stood out was the bronze Homo Sapiens. Unfortunately, it was plagued with a sweaty section among other QC issues. After a hiatus from collecting, I bought a standard edition Wall Street and the rest is history. I do look forward to trying out a Divina and Opera Master.

[Ceelo]

It's not perfect but it is definitely my favourite.

 

http://i.imgur.com/iO3enXj.jpg

[ArchiMark]

It's not perfect but it is definitely my favourite.

 

Love that Vac-like celluloid!.....

[sexauerw]

My favorite is my Opera Club. It's beautiful and the C/C filling system is reliable. I don't have any complaints about this pen. I really want to like the Black Divina, but I dislike the balky filling system. It's too darned stiff and the tiny knob is hard on my fingers. And my Wall Street LE has spent almost more time back with Visconti for repairs than with me and it still isn't right.

 

Here is the Opera Club that I like

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/zMMkWllYjwTzNN/12306268.0/800/p/VI02_Visconti_Opera_Club%2C_Typhoon_Blue.jpg

 

And the Divina. It's a great writer, but a real pain in the rear to clean. That little filling knob is really hard on the fingers with that little rim on the end.

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/NzN20NNNOTDR2U/3623279.0/800/p/Visconti_Divina_Black_Open.jpg

 

Another great writer, but prone to leak all over the place out the back end while filling. I don't dare use the Visconti Ink Pot with this pen.

http://bulk-share.slickpic.com/album/share/NzN20NNNOTDR2U/3623291.0/800/p/Visconti_Wall_Street%2C_closed.jpg

[welcmhm]

So far, the Homo Sapiens limited editions are my favorite (as might be obvious from the picture). I also like the Divina and the Wall Street limited editions, but have not purchased either. I'd like to try Visconti's 1.3mm stub nib, so I may go for the Visconti 90 (a special edition of the Homo Sapiens done for Stilograph Corsani which uses the stacked celluloid of the grey Wall Street on a Homo Sapiens body) with that nib. I've seen the upcoming London Fog and so far the pictures just don't do it for me.

 

 

[Babangita]

Did anyone have a Pericle? Man I loved this pen...such a sweet nib. I traded up to the original Van Gogh with the 14kt gold nib and ended up regretting it.

(Not my picture)

Beautiful pen and a great writer, had it for a while but couldn't get used to the strange clip. Always seemed somewhat strange... Just a matter of taste off course.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Babangita

[Babangita]

When discussing FP brands, besides the obvious practical value that every single pen model has, for me is about many things.

First there is the genius of innovation.

Secondly there is the attention to details and QC.

Then unavoidably comes design.

 

LE aside, in some of the Viscontis models you can find all of these attributes.

We can talk about the clip, some like it, some may hate it, but it is of perfect use and everyone can adjust its stiffness.

Talking of design, firstly the celluloid materials and their commitment to their popularization.

But speaking of models two are incomparable with any other from this company: the Divina in its variations and the one regular Homo Sapiens in lava.

They just have it all.