Glenn's Pens

Pens of Note

OMAS 360 Vintage - Fumè (Smoke Black)

 

The 360 Vintage Collection glamorizes the famous triangular model in a modern and fashionable way. The elegant smoky version unveiled in 2013 wraps up the famous cotton resin semi-transparent series of the 360 Vintage Limited Edition.

In 2011 OMAS issued the first of the 360 Vintage Collection. The first was in a translucent blue. I did not get that pen, because I could not locate one with a Broad nib. In 2012 a pen in translucent red and later that year, the pen in Teal or Turquoise. After the difficulty of being able to find the transparent blue with a broad nib, I have gone directly to Marco at  Novelli Pen in Rome for the subsequent lines.

In 2013, OMAS announced it would end the series with the release of the final Limited Edition, Fumè, or Smoke - a translucent black.

We were in Rome, and at the end of the visit I decide to visit Marco once more and say goodbye. When I walked into the store he told me I may be interested in the pens that just arrived that morning. I was indeed. It was the 360 Vintage Fumè.

The 360 Vintage Fume came with two trims options. I selected the yellow gold as I felt it looked the best against the almost black colour of the pen. The option was a ruthenium trim, I think the best way to describe it is gun metal. It does given the pen an overall "cooler" look in terms of colour range. The nib, rather than the yellow gold, is also ruthenium, a gray tone. It was not a hard decision for me, the gold tone gold trim just looked like a classic and the gold and black is always such a good combination.

The body and the cap have an engraved diamond pattern that adds a very good look and fell to the pen. The pen is almost a true black pen. When the pen sits on the desk it looks like a black resin fountain pen. As light hits the pen the slight transparency become visible. Enough to know you can see it, but not as glaring as a fully clear body.

This is a limited edition limited to 360 pieces in each trim. I have pen number 67 of 360 with the gold trim. The pen is fitted with a great 18 kt gold broad nib. An ebonite feed delivers a smooth flow of ink to the nib.

The 360 Vintage is a big pen, with 150 mm (5.75") in length when the pen is capped. With the cap off the pen is still large, measuring just over 130 mm (5") from the tip of the nib to the end of the body. I must admit, having a number of the 360 models, I like the safe feelings that then the pen, with its triangular shape, is not going to roll off my desk. The pen is piston fill and it carries a good 1.20 ml of ink. The ebonite ink feed results in a very smooth ink flow.

The cap of the pen has a inner sleeve at the upper end of the cap and the sleeve is visible through the cap. The sleeve helps to protect ink that may be on the nib, from resting on the resin of the cap. That I feel is a very good design aspect that OMAS put in place for the pen.

It was a pleasure to write in my travel journal with the pen, and now at home, this pen joins my OMAS collection.

 


OMAS 360 Magnum

 

 OMAS 360