It's
hard to believe that Delta has been around for twenty years! But, believe
it or not, it's true, their twentieth birthday. Obviously, they would
be expected to come up with something a little special to celebrate this
occasion, and they haven't disappoint us.
The Delta 20th Anniversary is a unique pen, with some styling cues form one of their classic successes, presented in a whole new style. It manages to look new and exciting while at the same time keeping the classic Delta style. In case you can't tell, I'm impressed with the 20th Anniversary. For a lot of reasons, but admittedly most of them are visual. It's a good looking pen.
There are a lot of good looking pens out there, but I think that the 20th Anniversary will manage to stand out from the crowd. In fact, despite the fact that it was a late addition to the lineup, I think it's a strong contender for "pen of the year" for 2002. Considering the competition, this is a pretty strong showing for Delta and their 20th Anniversary.
The
20th Anniversary is being made in two versions. There is the lever filler
version, using the classic lever filler mechanism that has been Delta's
signature feature, and a cartridge converter version. The lever filler
is being made in an edition size of 982 pieces, the cartridge converter
version is limited to 1,982. There are also 1,982 capless rollerballs
made.
The cartridge converter version is made with sterling silver trim, while the lever filler version is graced with vermeil trim. At first look, I felt that the gold colour trim was clearly superior to the silver trim. After all, the gold went much better with the bright orange of the barrel. Right?
Well, after a bit, I began to shift my position a bit. I still think that the gold colour is a little bit better match, but the silver isn't all that bad, either. It's changed from a big deal to something that I hardly notice anymore. Since the trim is limited to two barrel rings, a cap ring, and the clip, it's not as though the metalwork is a large part of the pen. It's an important accent, but not overpowering.
OK, I forgot one aspect of the trim that comes across as important to the overall design.... That lever! The lever filler version has that nifty little lever on the barrel. I think this makes for a better pen, aside from the "advantages" of a lever filler over a cartridge converter design. The lever breaks up the large expanse of the barrel, giving the eye something to focus on when looking at the pen. It's not a huge deal, just a little detail that I like.
The
best part of the collection, as far as the consensus of everyone in the
office is concerned, will be the capless rollerball. This little pen is
likely to prove extremely popular with folks wanting a nice, easy to carry
pen that just happens to have a lot in the looks department.
It's a short pen, but with a nice wide barrel that makes it fit easily in the hand when writing. The short overall length makes for a pen that sits well down in even the skimpiest of shirt pockets. In other words, it's compact, comfortable, and good looking.... Sounds like the perfect pen! Of course, it is "only" a rollerball, but at least it's one that allows the use of gel refills, and the result is a very smooth writing rollerball.
As with the cartridge converter version of the fountain pen, the rollerball uses sterling silver trim.
The
Delta 20th Anniversary is a great looking pen. No doubt about that. I
like the way the barrel has a gentle curve that swells out a bit towards
the midsection. I like the deep relief design cast in the cap ring. I
like the way the barrel is threaded to allow the cap to be screwed securely
in place when posted. The threads are even cut so that the clip lines
up with the nib. I mean, what more could you ask for?
Well, OK, you could ask, "how does it write?" A good question. Obviously, we weren't able to ink these up, in fact we only managed to get them for a few days by the skin of our teeth. The good news, however, is that they use the standard Delta nib and feed assembly. The design engraved on the nib is different, but the unit itself looks to be identical to their usual large nib. So I would expect about the same performance from the 20th Anniversary.
The
Delta 20th Anniversary is a good looking pen. It should write well enough,
the Delta nib is smooth, if pretty rigid, and I've had pretty good luck
with cartridge converter Deltas. Great luck with lever fill Deltas, if
you decide to spring for the "top of the line" version. This
is going to be a limited edition that absolutely demands to be taken out
of the box, filled up with something bright, and used.
Heck, even the rollerball version is going to have a definite niche market!
Considering the edition size, the prices are fairly reasonable, the list price for the lever fill version is $550, the standard version weighs in at a hundred bucks less, and the rollerball is $235. Expect "street prices" to be around $450, $400, and $200 respectively.