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The Taccia line of pens has been making waves for the past year with some interesting new designs, most of which are marketed at what is becoming an ever more important part of the writing instrument market, the "under $100" price point. Their Portuguese line was a great hit among those looking for something in an affordable, sturdy, and above all compact fountain pen that still offered a "full size" writing experience.
The first impression from this pen is going to be the mother of pearl. To be expected, considering that the collection is named just that! Most pens using this material will show weakness at one particular point, namely the joints between the slabs of pearl material. It's not an easy material with which to work, and it can be tricky to get the pieces cut, lined up, fitted, and glued into place without a bit of error creeping in. This example was literally perfect in that regard. I was impressed by the fact that the fit and finish was so good on a $300 pen!
The trim is a heavy plated silver color material. The clip has a sort of gently rounded shape that fits with the overall look of the pen. The remainder of the trim is limited to a simple cap band, and a thin ring at the barrel end. The nib itself is available in both steel and gold versions according to the manufacturer's website. It looks as though the steel nibs are a single tone stainless steel, and come in fine and medium size, while the 18K gold nibs are two tone and are available in fine, medium, or broad. The sample we have is equipped with the 18K nib, in broad size. It's not what you would call a flexible nib by any means, but it is very nice nonetheless. The tipping material is well rounded, making it a smooth writer, but without the line width variation that might be seen with an "edgier" tip. The bold line produced is definitely in keeping with the looks of the pen though! The pen does feel very substantial in the hand, thanks to what I assume is a brass or other metal liner, it's not a lightweight pen, but doesn't feel so heavy as to be unusable. The rounded shape does leave it balancing well in the hand, despite the weight. I've heard differing reports about posting the cap on this model. There may be some slight variations in barrel diameter from example to example, this could be due to the manufacture of the pearl overlay. In any case, it seems that some designs may post better or more securely than others. The sample we had posted fine, with the cap fitting to the barrel end securely. Others have said that the cap remained loose on the barrel end. This is probably not a serious issue, as given the weight and balance of this design, it's probably likely that most will end up being used without the cap posted. If posting the cap is of vital import to you, it might be a good idea to check the individual pen you are buying first. Of course, that's a good idea no matter what pen you're buying, if a bit impractical in today's "order online" world. Filling is via a cartridge converter, as you might expect. The only downside to this is that with such a full sized pen, the capacity of a mere international converter seems small! On the other hand, even with the broad nib, ink capacity in terms of actual writing proved to be more than adequate. With a medium or fine nib, you should have even more pages between fill-ups. In fact, you're far more likely to have trouble choosing an appropriate ink color to match this pen than you are with how much of that ink it holds. In the end, this one ended with basic black, Aurora Black to be specific. Boring, maybe, but easy! The Mother of Pearl collection is an impressive selection of pens. Not only big and bold in terms of looks, but also very well made, good writers, and affordable as well.
They may not be the pen for everyone, being not only
large and somewhat heavy pens, but also very flamboyant in looks, but
it would be very difficult to see them as anything but a very good value
for the money. It's nice to see that there are more and more options
coming onto the market for those of us facing collecting on a budget!
copyright 2005 William Riepl |
Their
premier line, the Mother of Pearl collection, is offered in several
versions, with differing patterns of the mother of pearl adorning the
cap and barrel. These pens have been garnering quite a bit of interest,
not only for their looks, but as with other Taccia product lines, for
their reasonable price point. We got hold of a sample of the Mother
of Pearl in the Fantasy pattern, and gave it a good look.
The
pearl material used is very lustrous, with colors ranging from deep
green through highlights of shimmering white. The Fantasy pattern consists
of strips of pearl material in rectangular shapes running lengthwise
along the cap and barrel of the pen. Both the cap top and barrel end
are black acrylic, as is the cap lip. 
That's
quite a lot of accomplishment in just one pen. In terms of fit, finish,
and general quality, the Taccia Mother of Pearl collection delivers
in abundance.