Saturday, September 2, 2017

Exception-al

A few weeks ago I received a windfall in the mail---a government refund cheque that was completely unexpected (but definitely appreciated). I'd been looking at some of the bargains in Amazon's "Warehouse" and found this beautiful fountain pen at 70% off the retail price. Now, normally I don't spend that much on a single pen (the lovely VPC Delta Dolcevita Caruso Limited Edition excepted), but it was too good a bargain to pass up on a fine writing instrument I'd admired for a long, long time...

Meet my newest fountain pen---the Waterman 'Exception' in the gorgeous "Night & Day" Gold pattern:
(click on photos to enlarge images)

It was a real challenge to photograph the pen---it's so darned shiny!---so I apologize for the iffy quality of the shots...but make no mistake, this is a stunning pen when you see it in person (single-pen leather case by Aston purchased separately).
The manufacturer describes the pen thusly on their official website : "Exception is a phenomenon of technical ingenuity. Conceiving a prestigious pen of this shape to not only look good, work brilliantly, but also feel sublime in the hand, took immense skill. Today, when you write with an Exception, you can feel the inspiration flowing from its charismatic lines." and "A Waterman masterpiece that echoes the magic of inspiration. An intense blend of unique guilloche-chiselled gold, gold-plated trims and opulent, shiny black lacquer delivers truly inspirational beauty."
As well as being a real looker, the Exception's two-tone rhodium-plated 18K solid gold Fine nib writes beautifully... and the fountain pen feels wonderful in the hand.

Interestingly enough, I cannot find a single flaw, even though the pen was described as being in "Used" condition (I bought it from Waterman, via Amazon). I thought it might have been returned by its previous owner because of the bayonet system (designed to ensure the cap always realigns squarely when capped) to which some users might not be accustomed...
In any case, I got a beautiful fountain pen that I will treasure and use for many years at a great price, so I'm not complaining :)