Edison Collier & Lamy Orange

Simon Chooses a Fountain Pen

Sunday night, I'm a day late on another fascinating episode of Simon Chooses a Fountain Pen.

This week it's the Edison Collier in Oblique Double Broad paired with Lamy Orange.

First the ink. A few years ago orange-coloured ink became briefly popular for its novelty value. It was really expensive though, as the high-end manufacturers such as Montblanc released small consignments of orange inks as limited editions. A year or so later Lamy brought out their orange after the market had pretty much moved on. I'm one of few who still uses it.

The thing about Lamy is their dedication to the design principles of the Bauhaus, particularly concerning function over form. When Lamy says an ink is orange what they mean is it is really orange, like the very definition of that part of the electromagnetic spectrum in physics. I imagine a group of Germans wearing lab coats in Heidelberg experimenting until this ink was precisely #FFA500 on the page and #FF8C00 when blotted.

A 50ml bottle of this ink will set you back about $15.

Now the pen. Edison is a boutique manufacturer based in Ohio owned by Brian Gray. They have a great business model, releasing mass-produced versions of their pens that are relatively generic. Mid-range pens with cartridge/converter filling mechanisms and steel nibs for around $250. I definitely recommend owning one of their pens at this price.

And I suspect these are almost a loss-leader. Edison are artisans, their true business is working with customers to construct bespoke pens to their exact specifications.

Which is what happened with me. The design process took about 6-8 months of liaising back-and-forth. I loved the finish of the Collier (it's called Persimmon Swirl) that my photograph doesn't do justice to: this pen is really striking, it's so eye-catching it's almost like holding a light sabre in meetings with the IT department.

Mine has an 18 carat gold nib and a draw-filler mechanism underneath a blind cap. What I don't like about this pen is... nothing. What's not to love? It was built for my hand and it is the only one of its kind in existence because of it.

Which is the advantage of owning a custom-made pen from a boutique manufacturer. For the rest of your life you will have an objet d'art that is uniquely you, transcribing your soul onto the page.

The Collier is the only pen I never allow anyone else use.

-SRA. Auckland, 30/vi 2024.