Monday, August 15, 2022

Newest Acquisitions (Virtual "Show & Tell") ~ part 417

A week or so ago, I reviewed a gorgeous ballpoint that's part of Cross' travel-inspired "Wanderlust" series - the "Everest". Today's featured acquisition is another pen from that line...

(please click on images to enlarge)

(yes, it's from one of my favourite online stores ;)


...and here it is - my Cross "Wanderlust' "Malta" fountain pen!

I got it for $90.80 CAD including free shipping from Amazon.ca's Warehouse Deals department where it was listed as being in "Used - Very Good" condition. Amazon.ca defines this as: "A well-cared-for item that has seen limited use but remains in great condition. The item and its instructions are complete and undamaged, but may show some signs of wear. The item works perfectly." I couldn't find any damage to it (and I did check) and the cheapest price I could find for a new one online is the equivalent of $135 CAD shipped, so I think I got a good deal.

This pen's design was, of course, inspired by the tiny island country of Malta, located just 80 km off the southern coast of Sicily. I looked up the size of Malta and was surprised to see that its total land area is exactly that of Surrey's. Wow, that's a lot of beauty packed into one small area! (I'm referring to Malta lol).

It's a beautiful, slender metal fountain pen that's modeled after the Cross 'Century II' line of writing instruments, which are slimmer than the Cross 'Townsend' line but girthier than the Cross 'Century' line.

The pen's finish is white lacquer with gold-plated engravings against a swirly dark and light blue background with caramel-coloured edges that evoke the shoreline and
beautiful waters of the Mediterranean Sea that surrounds Malta. Like the "Everest" ballpoint, this finish is made using "a patented design process (that) layers patterned elements and metallic engravings into white lacquer." (from Cross.com)

The pen is 13.5 cm long capped, 12.3 cm uncapped and 15.8 cm posted (my measurements). I find it well-balanced when posted, and I really like using the pen because of this and because....it's ...so.... pretty 🥰

It weighs 22.2 grams (empty), with the cap accounting for 9.3 grams of its total weight. It's a slim pen, with a maximum barrel diameter of 10 mm and a max. section diameter of 9 mm, but I don't find it too slim (possibly because it's so well-balanced and has a bit of heft to it).

The material reminds me of aerial photos of tropical islands, kind of like my Benu "Euphoria' "Bora Bora" fountain pen :)

The pen's shiny trim is gold-plated and complements the colours of the design beautifully. I like the simple elegance of the pen, from its gracefully-curved clip to the unfussy, dished finial which adorns the top of its cap.



Above: The cap finial is gently sloped and is topped with a small, shallow indentation with a black circle in the middle. Encircling the lower part of the finial is a black groove. A neat, clean design that's instantly recognizable.

The nib is a gold-plated steel nib in Fine with a lovely engraving of a lion's head above "1846" (the year Cross was founded), "USA", "F" and "CROSS".

I'm a big fan of Cross' steel nibs and this one did not disappoint. It lays down a smooth, wet, consistent line that's somewhere between a Fine and a Medium (actually, much closer to a Medium). When I saw the pen in the Warehouse Deals department, I was hoping that it had a Medium nib---my preferred nib width-- but the description said it was a Fine. I ordered it anyway because I was counting on my good track record with Cross steel nibs. I'm really pleased with the way the Fine nib writes, and I'm so glad I didn't wait for a bargain-priced version in Medium to come along!

The pen fills via Cross' proprietary ink converter or Cross' proprietary ink cartridges. The pen didn't come with a converter, but it did come with two Cross black ink cartridges inside a nice Cross envelope. As an aside, the packaging for this fountain pen is very classy; the only drawback I've found with Amazon Warehouse Deals is that they slap a big "Inspected" sticker on the packaging, and it can be difficult to remove without damaging the packaging if it's made of cardboard.

All in all, I'm very pleased with this gorgeous fountain pen --both in its appearance and its writing performance-- and I hope to add to my small Cross "Wanderlust" writing instrument collection in the near future!

(photos & review by Maja)

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