Bexley Owner's Club March/April 2006 Stylophiles Online

How to define perfection in a fountain pen? It's a tough question, and at times it seems one that many modern manufacturers aren't even interested in trying to answer. Unless, that is, you define perfection as having more inlaid diamonds or a thicker solid-gold overlay.

If instead you seek a pen that allows you to write, then the question becomes one that requires more thought. A pen has to be balanced, not too heavy, not too light, have a good nib, hold enough ink... It's quite a laundry list of attributes, even before you get to aesthetics. It would be nice if it looked good as well as working properly.

With the new Bexley Owner's Club pen, you get it all. It's a pen brought down to the simplest set of definitions outlined above, yet still one that manages to fulfill even the strictest requirements for beauty.

The Owner's Club pen sprang from a desire for a limited-edition pen that would be a sort of reward for loyal Bexley customers. This pen is only available to those who have purchased a Bexley pen in the past -- and sent in the registration card. That may prove a problem for some, as many owners don't bother with this step for any manufacturer.

But those lucky owners who did received information on the new Owner's Club pen, and instructions on how to go about purchasing one. With an edition size limited to 113 pieces in each of two colors, these pens have been going fast. Popular limited editions are nothing new, but the Bexley Owner's Club pens seem to have sparked an uncommon level of interest among pen buyers worldwide.

Part of that lies with their design. It's not common these days to find a "real" vacumatic filling system in your new pen. In this regard, Bexley has managed an unusual marriage in using original vintage parts for the vacumatic filling system. That's about as authentic as you can get! It also has the advantage of holding a lot of ink.

The cap and barrel material is celluloid, not the usual acrylic of modern pens, and the overall look of the pen works with these two elements to leave you with a strong vintage feel. Much as the first Bexley pens did, the Owner's Club perfectly captures the look and feel of a vintage pen.

This attribute is so important because for the most part, vintage pens were designed and made with one purpose in mind: to write. And write well. If your product didn't perform, there were all too many other companies out there waiting to take your customers from you. The concept of "pocket jewelry" was a long way off. In terms of actual writing performance, the Owner's Club pens seem to come up with everything on the same list of important attributes used by those companies making pens back in the golden age of fountain pens.

This is a comfortable pen in the hand, the balance is excellent, even with the somewhat long cap posted, the pen doesn't feel top heavy. The lightweight celluloid also helps with the pen's balance. The section is just long enough to allow a comfortable grip for my fingers between the threaded portion and the ridge at the front.

This is what most people would call a mid-sized pen, roughly the same size as the Montblanc 146 or the Pelikan M800, which makes it just right for the large majority of people. (For the numbers-mad, it's about 5" long closed and 7" posted, and the section diameter is about 3/8" -- the typical diameter for a mid-sized pen.) You might find it a bit large if you're used to skinny pens, but the light weight keeps that from being as much trouble as it might be. Conversely, you might find it a bit on the slender side if you're used to writing with pens like the Montblanc 149 or the Delta Dolcevita OS, but it's sill large enough to allow for a comfortable grip. And that gorgeous celluloid makes up for a lot in the size department.

Speaking of which, the pen comes in two varieties: a luscious amber with gold trim and a luminous blue with silver trim. The clip is slender, with a nice, big roller (also a big vintage-style feature) at the end so it slips easily over the pocket and hold securely. As with all celluloid, the color and depth is just amazing in sunlight. The pen's outline, with a gentle curve to the barrel and a longish cap, has a kind of slinky 1920s feel to it.

Another nod to its vintage heritage is the clear ink-view window that allows you to see how much ink remains in the barrel, a la any number of models from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. The two-tone 18 K Bexley nibs, made by Bock in F, M, B and a smooth stub, offer the same fine writing experience as have all previous Bexley models.

There's more than enough ink on board to deliver to the paper as well. The vacumatic filling mechanism uses the entire barrel to hold the ink supply, so the barrel volume is the only restriction on the capacity. That large ink-view window shows you that, as well as your ink level. It's a very usable filling mechanism, all in all.

That one word -- usable -- might best describe the Bexley Owner's Club pen. It's a design that manages to feel as though from start to finish, every step of the process of making it involved the conscious decision to create a pen that would be as useful as it was beautiful. In both regards, we'd have to say that Bexley succeeded!

There's not much more to be said about the Bexley Owner's Club pen. The 226 lucky Bexley owners are going to be happy with theirs. The edition size is, in fact, the only quibble we could find with this pen. It's nice enough that we'd like to see it in regular production. The list price will be $475, which is in line with other celluloid pens of this size.

Given the cost of the material and the filling mechanism, this price point is actually pretty good. Price an OMAS Arco for comparison. Or, if you can find one for sale, a Nettuno Superba!

We're going to go out on a limb and predict that the Bexley Owner's Club pen is destined to become something of a legend. Given the combination of limited supply, great design, and that gorgeous celluloid, it's probably a safe bet!

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