Pens of Note

OMAS Paragon, HT

 

The OMAS Art Italiana line dates back to 1930. Very much considered classic OMAS.  

In 2000, OMAS was acquired by LVMH and in the years that immediately followed that acquisition, OMAS initiated a redesign of its core lines. This included the Arte Italiana line, with its classic dodecagonal (12) faceted design in 2005.   

With the redesign, the Paragon changed from a mid-sized pen to a larger, what could be called, a statement pen. For some OMAS pen owners, a change that was not 100% welcomed. I remember talking to Chief Executive Officer, Christophe Artaux, about the redesign. Why make it? The answer was pens were changing, and to stay current, the line became larger with a more modern look. For some the metal grip section was a very significant change in style. From my perspective it looks in terms of the look of the pen and there less danger of the nib section showing ink stains when it is metal.

On my 2006 visit to Novelli Pen in Rome, Marco showed me the restyled Paragon. From the moment it was in my hand it was a given, this is a pen I needed in my collection.

I like the large feel of this pen. You certainly know you are holding a pen of significant size. I guess at the time, this was the OMAS answer to the very popular Montblanc 149. I have other Arte Italiana pens in the older traditional size, so I welcomed this larger pen.

A fountain pen is for writing, and in that area this pen is fantastic. It is fitted with an extremely smooth 18 kt gold nib in a Broad width. This is for big writing. OMAS broad nibs are cut to have a nib width of 1.20 mm. Many of my fountain pens are fitted with a 1.1 mm stub nib so I can certain feel and see the difference when I write this my Paragon. 

The clip is larger and like the graceful curve.  The small roller ball is a good linkage to the clips found in the line before the redesign. The large O on the end of the cap is a good way to mark this as an OMAS pen.

If you come across one of these pens, and you like a large pen, with the iconic OMAS nib performance, this is a pen to have.