New OMAS Arco January 2007 Stylophiles Online

One of the all time most popular OMAS pens, the Arco celluloid always seems to be at or near the top of "my favorite pen" lists. For good reason.... That wonderful blend of light and dark gold brown celluloid, the classic design, light weight, and a nice choice of nib grades. Plenty of reasons to make this model a favorite.

Of course, with the recent complete redesign of the OMAS Paragon line, the big question was "what about the Arco?" Not to put too fine a point on it, but the general consensus seemed to be along the lines of "do whatever you want with the plain black ones, but please leave our Arco alone."

No such luck I'm afraid!

The new Arco takes the same design as their redesign of the Paragon, (as we covered here last year) but retains the stunning Arco celluloid material. This is a classic example of the "good news, bad news" scenario. There was a very real concern that OMAS was going to discontinue the use of the celluloid material all together for their regular line of pens. Given the high cost and difficulty in producing this material, that scenario didn't sound too implausible. So clearly, the "good news" part of the equation is that there is still an Arco!

The bad news comes along with the new design for the OMAS Arte Italiana series. The classic traditional design that had served OMAS since the 1930s is no more. The new Arte Italiana design results in a much larger pen, one with a distinctly modern look and feel.

I know that some folks love the new look for OMAS. And no doubt about it, it's not really a bad looking pen by any means. At the same time however, it's just not the same elegant simple classic that it's always been, either. Pen collectors are by nature rather more likely to be conservative in their tastes. After all, we're using fountain pens instead of disposable ballpens like everyone else in the office, right? It's probably only natural that we tend to prefer things that stay the same!

One thing that definitely hasn't stayed the same is the clip style of the new OMAS. For better or worse, OMAS has gone for a dramatic and modern look in the clip department. I think that this is the area that has most disappointed those who have always loved OMAS pens.

The classic OMAS clips, either the last roller ball style version, or the earlier plain metal style, were perfect models of understatement. Very much in keeping with the size and style of the older OMAS Arte Italiana models. The clip was the finishing touch on a pen that very clearly communicated a connection to the traditional past history of OMAS, a classic and elegant peek into the past.

With the new clip design, OMAS has stepped into the twenty first century in a big way! The sweeping lines and bold look of the new clip are a bit off putting for some collectors, who were looking for a more traditional approach. In actual use the new clip is very functional, in some ways being a bit more functional than the original clip design. It is a bit easier to use the new clip with thicker pockets, the larger roller wheel seems to move more freely than the older version. Love it or hate it, in either case, the new clip is the first thing that comes to the eye when examining the new Arco.

Once you get past the new clip, the Arco has quite a lot to recommend it. The larger size is a big improvement over the old model if you like a big pen. This model is more in line with the modern taste for "oversize" when it comes to pens. I always loved the old model Arco, but it was never really quite as large as I might have liked.

I find the new Arco to be much more comfortable in use thanks to the slight increase in girth. The use of celluloid makes for a very light weight overall. A large but light pen is just about perfect for me, and the new Arco manages that handily. This pen is one of those that you can sit down and write with for hours.

The section on the new Arco is made of celluloid matching the barrel, instead of the metal section used on the regular black Paragon model. In my opinion, this is a great improvement in terms of looks. I liked the balance of the pen with the metal section, it moved the center of balance lower in my hand, making writing for long periods a bit easier. The looks and feel of a celluloid section are worlds above that of a metal section however. The lower end of the section is set off with a thin gold band matching the rest of the trim on the pen.

The nib on this pen has the new style design for OMAS, with some nice, low key engraving. More importantly, the nib itself is pretty good, with a bit of softness, and a well finished chunk of tipping material. I couldn't find any hint of skipping or poor ink flow on the medium nib. This is in line with what we found last year in covering the new model Arte Italiana pens. You can't really call these "flexible" nibs in the traditional sense, but they are very nice writers, with enough softness to give you feedback from the paper and just a bit of line width change with pressure.

The piston fill mechanism works smoothly, and as with last year's review of the Arte Italiana, this is a big improvement over the older model celluloid Paragon pens. Filling this version is much easier on the fingers! There is no hesitation or tightness of the piston, and the slightly larger piston knob also helps out quite a bit in this department.

Will the new Arco be everyone's cup of tea? The answer to that is "probably not". It might be best to think of this as a whole different model, and approach it as a new experience. I think that if you go into it with expectations carried over from the old Arco, you are likely to end up as one of those people feeling disappointed with the new OMAS. It is really not the same Paragon that we've gotten used to over the years.

I would have loved to have seen OMAS continue their production of the celluloid versions of the Paragon in the older traditional design, as a separate model alongside the more modern look of the new Paragons. This would have allowed all of us traditionalists to carry on our love affair with the classic looks of the original Paragon design. As it is, if you like a larger pen, and don't mind a decided departure from the Paragon style, the new Arco still offers that gorgeous celluloid....

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