Only the quest for the impossible can lead to the achievable. By the merging of Visconti’s craftsmenship excellence and Pininfarina’s unique modern design a new writing tool was born, combining safety pens’ comfort and fountain pens’ elegance. Pininfarina Visconti, the ultimate safety pen, is now available at Giardino.it.
Safety pen
A safety pen is a fountain pen with a nib that can be retracted into the barrel permitting the cap’s inner surface to seal the ink chamber, just like a cork plugging a bottle. Unlike ball-point pens and roller pens, the creation of this mechanism in a fountain pen implies increased technical difficulties due to the ink reservoir air-tight to prevent leaking and the creation of a foldaway movement – usually rotating.
The concept of safety pen is not new, actually: fans and collectors will remember the popularity of the Waterman 422 1/2 filigree, the Moore Non-Leakable, or the Horton – put into production in the 1980s in the United States. This quickly became an object of cult in Europe, especially in countries like France, Germany and Italy.
The Italian passion for particular pens
Italy has been – since the very beginning – one of the countries most enthralled by safety pens, to the point that small local manufactures began to work on custom models, usually highly refined ones, applying different decorative styles enhanced by high-quality materials. Indeed, in Italy we can find the highest variety of these peculiar models, whose appeal remains unchanged even today. Modern safety pens are made in versatile materials, though, like hard rubber or celluloid.
Beyond the undoubted charm of security pens, problems arising from the making of this type of fountain pen are different, and translate into a single fault for the user: the safety seal, when worn by use, can be cause of ink leakage. Seldom safety seals replacements are available for all models of safety pens, provided that replacement effectively solves the leakage problem.
Pininfarina Visconti
Visconti solved the typical problems of safety pens: mechanisms, ink reservoir and the pen closure system have been completely revised, re-designed and patented. The result is a masterpiece in construction. Pininfarina added its unique style asking for a flexible clip with miniaturized components as an extra design feature.
Pininfarina Visconti is equipped with a cartridge/converter filling system, its nib made of the latest tubular nib in 18 chrome Smartouch, EF, F, M, B. Its particular shape – turned from a capillary tube in Chromium 18 that wraps closely around the feed – can delay the drying, granting a longer resistance to evaporation than traditional fountain pens with a cap.
Both the body of the pen and its packaging are layered in unidirectional carbon graphite, light yet strong, virtually indestructible. It’s the first time a pen is made of this material.
All is topped with a polished and modern design, summarizing the solid, practical and reliable temper of this wonderful work of art and engineering all the same. If you too have fallen for Pininfarina Visconti, go and place your order from Giardino.it.