on saleMontegrappa Elmo 01 Fountain Pen - Barrier Reef (Limited Edition)

Having purchased the Beach and it was my first experience with Montegrappa and I was blown away with the smooth writing experience, I had to purchase the Barrier Reef to add to my collection. Both pens are simply beautiful not only visually but also in writing experience. Great service and delivery from the team at Goulet. I just wish I had an unlimited budget!!!

I ordered this pen after drooling over it for a couple weeks, and it has become one of my favorite EDC pens (every day carry). The JaWo nib, is of course, top tier, and I love the etched nib. I have a medium nib, which is not overly thick, but does write a bit wet on this pen. I like that, as I use 100 gsm paper for writing. The pen is well-balanced when capped, and has a natural beauty to it with the colors of sand and sea - this is what drew me to the pen in the first place. It is made in Italy, and has the colors of Italy, including the Pompeii Red, the sun, sand, and blue sea. I highly recommend this pen, as it has exceeded my expectations. I have a collection of fountain pens, and this is one of my favorites now.

I've been watching the Montegrappa Elmos for a while now waiting for an acrylic I couldn't resist and trying to talk myself into dropping more than $150 for a SS nib. I almost caved to the beach colorway but the barrier reef acrylic is the one that did it. As a dedicated Pilot and Sailor fan, I don't expect (and am not claiming) this nib is that gold standard but it holds its own with SS nibs I've gotten on those lines. While not usually a fan of shimmer in pens, the subtle shimmer in the barrier reef evokes sand and abalone shell so it works on this model, I think. The barrel's just gorgeous (!!) and the build quality is fantastic. I've never had a converter that screwed into the grip before; they've all been friction fit. The converter also has a good capacity--probably double the Pilot con 40. The grip is well-designed and formed without any sharp ridges or angles to force an adaptive grip. Watching Brian's Montegrappa Elmo video will walk you through the strengths of this line as well. The only grump I have is the brass lining of the barrel does make it much heavier than my Pilots or Sailors so I haven't decided yet that it's a favorite for correspondence as this weight also directly effects the nib's performance. If you like the metal Falcons or other heavier barrels, though, this won't be an adaptation for your writing style.