A Wonderful Thing Arrived Today From Montegrappa

[MoriartyR]

Currently there are many excellent pens being made in Italy and modern Italian pens have captured my heart. I have been a fan of the beautiful Aurora pens for some time and lately the uniquely special offerings from Scrittura Bolognese have enthused me even more. I have a few Leonardos and even two (!) of the very first Radius 1934 pens. I have been delighted with them all because of their beauty, the quality of the nibs and overall manufacture, and most of all the pleasure of writing with them. I didn’t have a Montegrappa, however. Today I set that right and it is truly extraordinary and, I hope, worth sharing here.

 

I am not personally enamoured of sterling silver - the feel and weight of it or the tarnishing - and I hesitated for a long time over the brand, even though the celluloids are very beautiful and the styles of the Extra 1930 and Extra Otto appeal to me very much. And of course the prices for these pens are extremely high, so you have to be sure the pen is for you.

 

Finally I gave in to the temptation, but I ordered a custom design through their website in the Extra Otto model but with gold-plating and a celluloid section. It cost a little more but in my mind the changes to the pen would be more than worth it to me. It is an expensive pen anyway, so to pay a little more to have it exactly the way I prefer made sense rather than paying so much for a pen that may be great but with a few reservations.

 

I chose the zebra celluloid for my pen, which is my favourite of their materials - although I also find the butterfly, lapis, and shiny lines celluloids very compelling too. The custom configurator offered fewer options for the Extra Otto than for the Extra 1930, but the zebra celluloid was available for all parts of the pen and it looked like it would work nicely with gold-coloured trim.

 

Exactly ten days after I submitted the order (which was the quoted production time) I received an email saying that the pen was made and had shipped.

 

The shipping box is marked “handle with love” and the pen arrived in the Extra Otto wooden presentation box along with a nice letter from the CEO telling of his early experience receiving a one-off customised pen as a gift from his father. Montegrappa also supplied a gift, for which I selected a pair of onyx cufflinks. It all made for a nice and special experience to receive this pen. I normally do not care for such fanfare or presentation boxes, but in this case it felt really nice.

 

After such a preamble you want to see the pen, I assume...

 

 

 

 

I chose an extra-fine nib. The pen writes absolutely wonderfully out of the box. It is a true extra-fine line and nicely smooth with just the right touch of feedback to make it feel good in writing. It writes really effortlessly, with good ink flow. You know how sometimes you see the way a really well-tuned fountain pen can put down ink and you are reminded why you love them so much? It is like that.

 

The build quality appears to be perfect. The pen design and materials in real life are stunning to my eye and they surpass even my high hopes for this pen. The celluloid feels great - seriously high quality and unquestionably a premium material. Just as importantly the size of the pen, section width, weight and balance all absolutely match my preferences and it is superbly comfortable, natural and a true joy in-hand. It feels weighty and solid enough to feel special, but is still light enough to be nimble and effortless to control. Opting for a metal section would have front-weighted the pen and given a slightly different balance - but I like it very much the way it is and the slight back-weighting from the piston mechanism makes it rest on my hand very solidly as I write, and the pen is not long. I would not want to swap the feel of the celluloid section for metal and I think my choice was right for me. It is only my first day with the pen, of course, but everything augurs well so far.

 

I am so, so pleased with this pen. I think it may be the most beautiful pen I have and the fact that everything about it also fits my hand so well and it writes so wonderfully is not only a great relief but even a pleasant surprise. Even acknowledging the price I would definitely consider a custom Montegrappa again some day. As Sir Henry Royce famously said, “the quality will remain long after the price is forgotten”.

[kazoolaw]

Beautiful pen, refined pen design, excellent pictures.

If I claim to be your Polish cousin in the USA could I borrow your treasure for just a little while?

gary   --wicz

[gmax]

Congratulations - it's a beautiful pen! Thanks for sharing your experience of the custom ordering process 🙂

[MoriartyR]

  On 3/3/2021 at 6:50 PM, gmax said:

Congratulations - it's a beautiful pen! Thanks for sharing your experience of the custom ordering process 🙂

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Yeah, the custom ordering is very easy - perhaps too easy given how much you can spend if you click certain options like a mammoth ivory body. Ordering custom seems to add around Euro 50 to the Extra Otto price, plus any extra cost for pricier materials. The online simulation of the pen is extremely accurate and my pen looks exactly the way it did on the site. It seems you can customize three models - Zero, Extra and Extra Otto - and the Zero is a lot more affordable with around Euro 80 price increase.

 

Anyway, it’s nice to have the option and know that it works smoothly with just a ten day turnaround.

 

[fpupulin]

Dear pen pal: what a splendid treat for yourself!

 

From you words I can almost feel the pleasure of opening the box (it is a beautiful box, isn't it?) and finding inside such a terrific beauty!!

 

Maybe you know what I think about the Montegrappa Extra Otto: they were able to improve on a model, the Extra 1930, which they spent two decades in perfecting. The Extra Otto moves the game one step further, and it is a glorious statement of Italian style and taste.

 

Can one improve the Extra Otto? As difficult as it seems, one can try through Montegrappa's Configurator. Doing that just for play is absolutely fun, but configuring an Extra Otto to eventually buy it, as you have done, sounds a truly magical experience...

 

Your customized Extra Otto is splendid. When I bought my Extra Otto Shiny Lines I was very tempted by the Zebra too. Both materials are so unique! The celluloid grip is beautiful, in fact a revival of the first pens in the Extra lineage, the Classica in celluloid, which also had a celluloid section. And the golden trims are absolutely yours, absolutely unique, never seen before on an Extra Otto.

 

My warmest congratulations for your choice! 

 

P.S. Montegrappa extra-fine nibs are true finissimo! And they write with absolute precision...

[MoriartyR]

  On 3/3/2021 at 7:36 PM, fpupulin said:

Dear pen pal: what a splendid treat for yourself!

 

From you words I can almost feel the pleasure of opening the box (it is a beautiful box, isn't it?) and finding inside such a terrific beauty!!

 

Maybe you know what I think about the Montegrappa Extra Otto: they were able to improve on a model, the Extra 1930, which they spent two decades in perfecting. The Extra Otto moves the game one step further, and it is a glorious statement of Italian style and taste.

 

Can one improve the Extra Otto? As difficult as it seems, one can try through Montegrappa's Configurator. Doing that just for play is absolutely fun, but configuring an Extra Otto to eventually buy it, as you have done, sounds a truly magical experience...

 

Your customized Extra Otto is splendid. When I bought my Extra Otto Shiny Lines I was very tempted by the Zebra too. Both materials are so unique! The celluloid grip is beautiful, in fact a revival of the first pens in the Extra lineage, the Classica in celluloid, which also had a celluloid section. And the golden trims are absolutely yours, absolutely unique, never seen before on an Extra Otto.

 

My warmest congratulations for your choice! 

 

P.S. Montegrappa extra-fine nibs are true finissimo! And they write with absolute precision...

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Thank you, my friend. Yes, the excitement you read between the lines was absolutely the way you imagine. I never rushed to post about a pen on my first day before. I have read many times your photo threads about Montegrappa and have learned a lot about their history from you and others here. It is much appreciated and it all led me to this, which is something I will treasure.

 

 

 

 

[christam]

Congratulations on acquiring such a beautiful customised pen.  I looked at the configurator for the Extra 1930 a few weeks ago but in the end I found the model I wanted for a good price online so bought the "ready made" option, and it's probably my favourite of the pens I own.  That said, I'll be selling several watches during the next few months and might have to treat myself to another Extra, tailor made just for me.

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy your new pen for many years to come.

[dms525]

Beautiful, special pen! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy it in good health!

 

David

[Mr.Rene]

Impressive and gorgeous pen..It is in my list.

Enjoy it!

[TheDutchGuy]

Beautiful pen! Congrats! May it give you many many happy years of writing.

[Doug C]

  On 3/3/2021 at 6:35 PM, kazoolaw said:

Beautiful pen, refined pen design, excellent pictures.

If I claim to be your Polish cousin in the USA could I borrow your treasure for just a little while?

gary   --wicz

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I'm Gary's third cousin. I'm next on the list.

Gorgeous pen..

[MoriartyR]

  On 3/5/2021 at 5:48 PM, Doug C said:

I'm Gary's third cousin. I'm next on the list.

Gorgeous pen..

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Haha. You guys are definitely on the list.

 

[kaisede]

Congratulation ! What a beautiful pen !! How long did you wait ?

[zaddick]

That is a nice looking pen and the celluloid section is a big improvement over production.

 

Enjoy it for many fills to come!

[MoriartyR]

  On 3/8/2021 at 4:57 AM, kaisede said:

Congratulation ! What a beautiful pen !! How long did you wait ?

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It was ten days from submitting the order to shipping. Exactly what the configurator quoted. That’s pretty fast, and a lot quicker than ordering an out of stock pen from a retailer, even though my pen had to be manufactured.

 

 

[MoriartyR]

  On 3/8/2021 at 6:18 AM, zaddick said:

That is a nice looking pen and the celluloid section is a big improvement over production.

 

Enjoy it for many fills to come!

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Thanks, Zaddick. I notice that the configurator only offers their dark celluloids, black acrylic or metal for the section - presumably to avoid risk of staining.

 

[maclink]

I've been eyeing a 1930 Extra  for a long time.  Gorgeous pen you've got there.  Congrats and enjoy! 😃