The Unknown Italian Pen

[Scarfman]

Heres an interesting little thing which I snagged on eBay, a Brevetto 599/600, possibly an OMAS pen although I cant be sure.

 

Perhaps it looks familiar? I doubt its a coincidence, whomever designed it seems to have drawn their inspiration from the iconic Parker 51, if it were an OMAS, it wouldnt be the first time theyve looked to a Parker pen for inspiration. There are subtle differences, such as the extent to which the feed protrudes beneath the nib, and less subtle ones, such as the section of transparent bands in the hood. Another notable difference is that the clutch ring has been reduced to

 

As somebody with a preference for hooded and integrated nibs, for both their form and function, this pen caught my eye at first glance. I was convinced that I knew of every pen which I wanted, that there was nothing left for me to see, yet there it was.

 

But it doesnt surprise me that I hadnt heard of the 599/600 before. Ive scoured the internet for any trace of its existence, and found nothing at all, absolutely nothing. Ive established that 599/600 should be a patent number, something which OMAS often engraved onto their pens, whilst brevetto, the Italian word for patent, followed by 599/600, is etched into a gold band around the plunger. The seller believed this to be the manufacturers name, and that the pen was number 599 of 600 produced.

 

Unfortunately, my example is well and truly buggered and may be beyond repair. Im certain that the nib has fractured, whilst I cannot see for the mass of dried ink which has accumulated beneath the hood, one of the tines moves freely and loosely. For a minute or two I was able to keep them together long enough to write with the pen, I found it to be remarkably smooth and a pleasure to write with. The tines have since parted whilst the pen was capped and I havent been able to coax them back together again. Whilst the cap posts smoothly and snugly, it is far to tight on the hood. So much so that it not only scratches, but that I dont feel comfortable forcing it into position. Lastly, the aperture though which the nib and feed protrude is strangely deformed, as though softened at some point.

 

I imagine the 599/600 was produced whilst the Parker 51 was in production, and probably nearer the beginning of this period than its end. I wonder whether the design entered mass production? Seemingly not for very long if it ever did. I was hoping that somebody might know more about it.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Scarfman

[alfredop]

From what do you infer that the pen is by Omas?

 

Alfredo

[Scarfman]

What I had feared is indeed the case, unfortunately, the nib is cracked.

 

The filling system is a screw type, it feels somewhat awkward compared to the Aerometric system. I wonder whether its the part of the pen which the patent applies to? Turning the cigar shaped end atop the ink barrel moves a plunger through the reservoir, its very easy to flush the pen, although ink has become trapped behind the plunger and so impossible to remove. The reason I say it feels awkward is that a significant amount of force is required, I dont know whether this is due to the design, or whether it simply hasnt aged well.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Scarfman

[Scarfman]

From what do you infer that the pen is by Omas?

 

Alfredo

Its marked in much the same way that several OMAS pens were, with the word brevetto and its patent number. From what Ive seen, transparency seems to be a hallmark of OMAS design, Ive seen another OMAS pen with transparent bands in its shell, as this one has. Furthermore, the outline of the nib, that which is visible, can be overlaid perfectly onto an OMAS Brevetti 990022 nib. Edited December 3, 2018 by Scarfman

[alfredop]

Well, it is an Omas I never saw in the past. However transparence in the barrel is not exclusive to Omas and the word brevetto appears in many italian pens. It is not clear to me if the brand Omas is written somewhere on the pen, if not I continue to have some doubts on the fact that this is an Omas pen.

 

Alfredo

[Scarfman]

I have my own doubts now that its clean. Since its not possible to know without removing the hood to expose the nib, Ill reword my post.

 

The nib is well and truly buggered, the crack is visible in this picture, in the left hand tine.

Edited December 3, 2018 by Scarfman