Review: OMAS Arte Italiana Milord Fountain Pen - Broad @PenChalet @OMASsrl @OMASPensUK

Time to review this hypnotic beauty! I may have fallen madly in love with OMAS fountain pens... this is very dangerous.

ABOUT

Body Material: Celluloid
Trim: Gold
Length (capped): 146.35 mm/5.76"
Length (uncapped nib-end): 130.61 mm/5.14"
Length (posted): 177.5 mm/6.99"
Barrel Diameter: 10.8 - 14.4 mm/0.48" - 0.56"
Section Diameter: 10.72 - 12.29 mm/0.42" - 0.48"
Nib material: 18KT Gold
Weight (all): 30 g
Weight (cap): 10 g
Weight (body): 20 g
Fill type: Piston-filler
Price: $805.50USD
Where to buy: Pen Chalet

PACKAGING

I was eagerly waiting for this pen to arrive and I probably scared the parcel delivery gentleman when I tore the door open and yelped. Like the Ogiva Alba fountain pen, the Milord also has attractive packaging. The shimmery slate grey sleeve has the OMAS logo. Inside is a solid box with a removable lid. It has a light grey felt nest and a grey pen sleeve. The Milord was in plastic packaging inside the sleve, also complete with QC check.

The felt inside the box says:

ItalianCreativity,History,Craftsmanship,The Pleasure ofWriting

The packaging is beautiful and classy.

APPEARANCE

After recently reviewing the OMAS Ogiva Alba (with the 14KT rhodium-plated EF, extra flessible nib) and loving it, I was really looking forward to this pen. There's no doubt this pen is stunning. It's a large pen, widest at the center, tapering gradually towards the ends. The cap and barrel is 12-faceted, which really shows off the material. The end is slightly rounded into a point.

The finial is also slightly rounded off, also in celluloid, with a yellow gold ring set in it.

The yellow gold clip is internally attached, filling the width of the facet it sits on, arching away from the cap before touching down again. The end has the OMAS rolling ball. The center band is marked with OMAS and the Greek key design. The remaining trim is a gold ring at the piston-turning knob and a ring at the end of the section before the nib. The yellow gold trim is a beautiful, warm complement to the material - highlighting the rich warmth of the material. The section is straight, tapering slightly towards the nib. The threads are in the center of the section.

Now... the material! How to describe this stunning celluloid? Parts of the body are striated in a warm, rich brown. In between, there are shimmering, pearlescent, elongated rings of copper, bronze, gold, and what could only be burnt sienna (because describing it as brown would be too simple). It's so beautiful. This celluloid is breathtaking, and mesmerizing. Combined with the size and shape of the pen, and with the yellow gold trim, it's a winner.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

The nib is an 18KT yellow gold broad nib. The feed is ebonite and looked very well set prior to use. Like the rest of the body, the yellow gold nib complements the rich celluloid very well. The size of the nib matches the pen well. It has a single slit and breather hole and is marked with OMAS, the gold content, nib size, and there are some striations on it. It's an elegant, attractive nib. The broad tip is wonderful - it has a somewhat stubby shape that shows while writing.

I inked with Diamine Burnt Sienna and the pen wrote very well right away. The nib is soft, yielding slightly while writing. With pressure, some line variation is possible, but the feed will dry out. As such, that softness is ideally reserved for the pleasure of normal, soft writing.

The nib is smooth and well-polished, and not overpolished. It's a wet and juicy writer, appropriate for a generously-flowing broad nib. It brings out shading and sheens in inks very well. The nib and feed, overall, are excellent. I thoroughly enjoy the writing experience with this pen.

Just like with the Ogiva Alba, I caution you to apply pressure to this nib carefully. It's soft and responsive.

IN HAND

The clip ball is most useful - the clip is firm but the rolling ball allows the pen to easily slide on to papers (or shirts). It also slides off without snagging. It's very practical.

The section is comfortable, although not my preferred shape. I like the kind of section shape that indents for fingers and flares before nibs, somewhat of an hourglass shape). The threads in the middle of the section are smooth but if you do grip right there, you'll feel it. They are threads. I don't find them bothersome though. The ridge from the section to barrel is sharp, but it's so far back it shouldn't be an issue. Despite it not being my favorite section shape, I still find it very comfortable to use.

Unposted, the pen is a comfortable length, weight, and size. It is well-balanced for both large and small hands. The cap posts securely, although not deeply, however it makes the pen very long and unwieldy for me.

The celluloid is warm and comfortable in hand. It's a pleasant experience and it's one of the things that makes fountain pens so enjoyable! The piston operated smoothly (unlike my very first OMAS experience), so I was happy about that!

PROS & CONS

I spent awhile getting to know this pen well. What I did discover is it was very, very difficult to remove the nib and feed from the section. That also means it's very difficult to put it back in! Fortunately, the piston operates well, but I like being able to maintain my own pens.


OVERALL

This is an absolutely stunning pen and checks almost every box for me. It's not only beautiful, it writes very well - smooth, juicy, and soft. Delicious. It's certainly not inexpensive though. Ouch.