Pens of Note

Visconti Divina

 

The Visconti Black Divina has a spiral-shaped body and perfect proportion based on the golden number of 1.618. This is the ratio between the length of the cap and the pen in both open and closed conditions. This is known as the golden or divine proportion. I remember visiting with Dante Del Vecchio, the President of Visconti at the time, and the designed of the Divina pen. He showed me his sketched and addressed the challenges of the pen.

The pen has a jet black lucite barrel and cap each trimmed in 925 sterling silver for a look that is striking and bold. I bought the oversized fountain pen, and this pen, while large, nicely fits in the hand.

The Divina has a 14K gold nib. The nibs are available in Fine, Medium and Broad and mine is a Broad. So smooth, great line of ink.

The Visconti nibs have a small cresent-shaped hole on the top, part of the exclusive design of the company.

The pen uses a Push & Pull Touchdown filling system. Pull the filling piston out of the pen, turn counter clockwise to expel ink out, and turn the piston clockwise to draw up in. Then put the piston back into the pen. This addressed one of the key challenges of the pen. Dante wanted the silver bands that circle the pen to match where the cap and body join. Of course they should! Well that means a screw on cap with not work. Not a push method. The owner would spend so much time aligning the silver bands. Dante designed a bayonet system so that the cap clicks into the exact setting each time it is put on the pen.

The Divina comes in a regular size and over-sized fountain pen. I purchased the over-sized pen and although big, it fits nicely in the hand and has great balance.

The Divina can use the My Pen System. This is a set of top buttons that can be switched to change the look of the pen. The small end, in this case I have used a black gem-stone, is held to the pen by a magnet. The My Pen System comes with end pieces and a small tool to make adding and lifting the end piece.