Pens of Note

Momento Zero Grande Sand

The Momento Zero, is the flagship pen for Leonardo Officina Italiana. I was fortunate to own the prototype, produced in a beautiful blue celluloid - the Abyss. It is such an important pen in my collection. Since its original release, the Momento Zero has been created in a variety of materials. I have the Momento Zero from its first release, the celluloid, Abbys, and now numerous models in resin in both that include the classic looking Horn Grey and the Vintage Brown. All three are beautiful pens. (Update: and now even so many more.)

The Momento Zero is special to me, as it is to Salvatore Matrone. Salvatore talked to me about how the Momento Zero, represents starting and moving forward. What a success the line and indeed the company has achieved.

The next evolution of the Momento Zero line was to create the Momento Zero Grande in a more dramatic and larger size pen. Simply put, the user gets more of a great pen. I really like the size of the Grande. The reflects refined presented in a well crafted fountain pen.

The Options

Having an option sound like such a positive experience, but in essence you are faced with a very difficult decision. The Momento Zero Grande was released in five options, each a beautiful pen hand-turned from a solid rod of resin. The colours are very pleasing. Caribe, Coffee, Cooper, Dark Hawaii and Sand.

I liked all the colours, and as I looked at photos of the pens would change my preference from one colour to another. The coffee is such a rich colour, it was high on my nlist but I had to admit that I have a number of brown toned pens I have. To that statement now I saw, so what! Then the cooper colour was rich and I must admit that was almost my choice. In the end it was the Sand resin that I had to have. It reminded me so much of Italy. Not because of sand which is associated with beaches, but because of the beautiful architecture of Italy. I see the brown tones and soft lines of the Momento Zero Grande Sand in the stone work of so many fountains in Italy. The stunning fountains of the Piazza Navona or the impressive Fontana del Nettuno in Napoli come to mind.

The Sand Resin

Attractive useable elegance. This is how I describe the resin that is used for this pen. Of course, this is a quality pen, hand turned from a solid rod of resin. The resin is finished to a beautiful smooth shine. The colours play with light. The stripes of tone give the pen a beautiful long look. Even to this day, I prefer the struture of lines, found in the Spaghetti Resin, preferrable to the swirls of the "manipulation" resins that have been more recently introduced.

The Body & Cap

The pen is light to hold. It is of sufficient size that I have written with it in both a posted and non-posted format. I generally like to post my pen for a little extra length and also safety. Safety? A round pen is too easy to roll off the desktop. The cap very nicely posts onto the body of the pen. The internal captured piston mechanism is accessible through a cap at the end of the body, or by unscrewing the nib section. The mechanism is permanently attached inside the pen and can not be removed. Subsequent models would use a traditional piston, one that is manufactured in-house of Leonardo. The clip of the pen is slightly narrower than that of the regular Momento Zero. The slight curve to the thinner main section provides a good line for the eye to follow.

The Writing Experience

Well this is what the pen is all about. My pen is fitted with an red ebonite feed and the ink flow is exceptional. The pen has a steel 1.1 Stub Nib, and writes very smooth. I am pleased Leonardo came out with the 1.1 stub nib as the 1.5 stub is perfect for signatures, however, the 1.1 is more versatile when your writing has to be a bit smaller and contained.