Review: GoldPen Delta Mezzanotte Fountain Pen Review

A big thank you to Laura at GoldPen.it for sending this delectable pen (and nib) over for review!

ABOUT

Body Material: Resin
Trim: Rhodium-Plated, Silver
Cap: Threaded
Posts: Yes, friction
Length (capped): 141.8 mm/5.58''
Length (uncapped nib-end): 1302. mm/5.12''
Length (posted): 173.2 mm/6.81''
Barrel Diameter: 14.6 mm/0.57''
Section Diameter: 12.6 - 13.7 mm/0.49'' - 0.54''
Nib material: 14KT Rhodium-Plated Gold (fusion nib also available)
Weight (all): 40 g
Weight (cap): 10 g
Weight (body): 30 g
Fill type: Ratchet Piston-filler
Price: € 460,00
Where to buy: GoldPen

PACKAGING

The Mezzanotte was presented in a box that suits its classiness. The box is relatively large, but not bulky and huge. The outer black sleeve says "Mezzanotte Limited Edition"in a lovely silver script. The side has the Delta logo and markings, along with the GoldPen.it logo. Inside the sleeve, there is a plain but really nice black box - sometimes plain is best, right? It looks like it holds a fancy bespoke tie made from unicorn silk. Okay. Maybe not, but it is elegant in its simplicity. The lid lifts off to reveal two compartments. One contains a small bottle of an exclusive Delta Mezzanotte GoldPen.It ink. The left compartment contains another box.

This lightweight, slender box is sexy, sleek, and very cool. The top and bottom are a thin, very reflective piece of (obviously very polished) black plastic. The top is labelled with: Mezzanotte Limited Edition, GoldPen.It, and the Delta logo, in silver-grey. There are two screws on the sides with the Delta nib logo on top. After struggling like a moron to open the box, one will realize those screws must be removed. The lid comes off, and inside is a firm foam pad, shaped like a bow tie. Is that adorable or what?

I think this is a lovely box - it's very neat, and it's unusual, and who doesn't love a special bottle of ink? It looks interesting to display, it isn't too big, and it's pretty classy. There is also a small booklet that contains information about the pen collection, the warranty, and a proof of purchase page.

This packaging matches the midnight pen very well.

APPEARANCE

The Mezzanotte is not as large as Delta's oversize Dolcevita - it is actually the slightly smaller Stantuffo size. It is still a relatively beefy pen, with a round cap and barrel, and slightly rounded off ends. The finial has the Delta nib logo in brushed metal, set flush in the black resin.

The clip is attached externally by a metal band around the cap. The clip is somewhat plain - it starts wide at the top, and narrows to the small rolling wheel at the end. The back of the cap has Delta Italy on it. Near the center band, it has Mezzanotte 085/100 (yep, it's a limited edition). The central ring on the cap is really well done - it's solid sterling silver, portraying the laurel wreath and a "Saunion", the tip of the spear of the Samnite warrior. The ring is done by an ancient goldsmith technique known as "lost wax". Whatever it is, it looks darned cool, and I like it even more than the regular center bands on Delta's normal line up.

The section is smooth, round, and is on the thick side. It tapers slightly towards the nib, and ends in a flared lip. There are cap threads at the back of the section, right before a small, clear, double walled ink window. When the pen is capped, the ink window remains partially visible.

The cap, barrel, and section are all made from solid bars of black resin, turned by hand. The trim is rhodium-plated. The last piece of trim is in a band hear the end of the barrel, where the barrel thins a little to accommodate the posted cap. This is also the blind cap for Delta's ratchet piston-filling system. The knob has a metal inner sleeve, so it won't wear out as the threads on the barrel are also metal.

Overall, I think this pen looks beautiful. I enjoy bright, shiny, colorful, flashy pens, but I also really like elegant black pens. I also love the name of this pen: Mezzanotte is very romantic. The pen is also very well made. There are no sharp edges, unpolished pieces, or unnecessary gaps - such as any between the resin and trim. Spacing is tight, and parts do not wiggle around. It looks really good to the naked eye, and certainly passes a loupe test.

NIB & PERFORMANCE

This #6 nib is a 14KT gold, rhodium-plated nib, in a stub. Other nib sizes are available in both the 14KT gold and Fusion option. The nib is coupled to a plastic feed, which is probably the only thing missing when compared to the Oversize series, which have an ebonite feed. The nib is obviously a stub, as the tip has a generous amount of tipping in a squared off stub shape. It has a single slit and a heart-shaped breather hole. It is engraved with some flourishes, the Delta logo, Delta, 14K-585, and Stub on the right side.The left side has a hallmark, but I'm not certain what it indicates. It's funny that I feel like the nib is a bit small, only because I'm used to the #8 nib from the Dolcevita Oversize. I suspect that would be too big on this pen anyway. It's not that it's too small, my eyeball-brain has associated Delta with whopping huge nibs. This nib is very decent.

The pen was flushed before inking it up, and boy, is it ever a lovely writer. The stub nib is smooth, with a medium ink flow - pleasant and wet enough to enjoy the shading of inks, but not so wet that you're waiting around for a long time for your page to dry. Line variation is provided by the shape of the nib itself - wide down strokes and narrow cross strokes. Pressure applied to the nib does very little, as it is a fairly rigid writer, so it does really give.

The nib and feed keep up easily with fast writing, and does not skip or hard start so long as the nib is properly aligned with the page. In long writing sessions, I found ink flow gave out a little - that's it, it was not very wet, but it didn't dry out completely. Any pauses seemed to be sufficient to allow the feed to re-ink itself. I usually worry about a pen's ability to write through an extensive writing test, so although it did dry out a little, it didn't fail completely.

I really enjoy the shape of the stub nib. I think it's stubby enough to offer some interesting line variation and character to your writing, but not so stubby and wet that it's unreasonable to use daily.

IN HAND

This clip is more springy than I expected for one with a rolling ball on the end. Easy to use, and I did not struggle to remove it from an elastic strap pouch (my usual clip test). The rolling ball on clips is helpful if you put these in your shirts or something - no ripping.

The section of this pen is thick, but I like the shape. I do not find it too thick, like I do with the Dolcevita Oversize. This one has a nice indent and flare, which keeps my fingers right off the edge. It also helps that the nib is not huge, otherwise I would feel the need to grip lower to control the pen more - another advantage to this set up for me.

Unposted, I find the pen well balanced, a little wide but not too much so, and a comfortable length. I don't imagine many would really want to post this pen, but the cap can be posted. It sits on the blind cap, staying in place by friction. It doesn't sit very deep, so I find the pen far too long, top heavy, and unbalanced, so it's just unwieldy when posted for me. I also think it looks a little funny.


Delta's ratchet piston-filling mechanism is not a built-in converter, even though it looks like one. It sure as heck sounds like a ratcheting system - you can hear the clicking. I was alarmed at first time I ever used this system, but it works fine. Another advantage this pen has over something like the Dolcevita Oversize is an ink window!

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

This is a lovely pen, and a fine alternative to Delta's blazing orange celluloid if that's too flashy for you. The nib is very pleasant to use, the pen is well made, and the beautiful black Midnight pen is classy. Ink window, bottle of ink - doesn't get much better than that! I don't have any serious issues with this pen. I like it.

I received this pen free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion. There are no affiliate links in this review.