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News Release
For Further Information, Contact
James P. Stevenson
Telephone 301-788-9449
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media and Blogger Conference
Date January 22, 2010
Time 11:00 AM
Location Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel
17th and Race Streets, Philadelphia, PA
Liberty Rooms A and B
VISCONTI PENS INTRODUCES FOUNTAIN PEN MADE OF LAVA WITH VIRTUALLY PURE 23 KARAT DREAMTOUCH™ PALLADIUM NIB
January 22, 2010. PHILADELPHIA, PA, Visconti of Florence, Italy will introduce on the opening day of the Philadelphia Pen Show, its new fountain pen known as the Homo Sapiens, made of 50 percent lava with a 23 karat palladium nib.
“The Homo Sapiens has a feel unlike any other fountain pen,” said Dante Del Vecchio, founder of Visconti Pens. “It is virtually shatter proof. You can even boil it. The pen can withstand heat up to 300 Fº (150 Cº) without being melted as would be the case with regular resin or celluloid. Because the nib contains virtually no alloy, it is significantly less susceptible to corrosion from ink. As a result, you will feel like you are writing on a cloud. We call the experience of writing with our palladium nib, Dreamtouch™ because it’s like writing on air.”
Automobiles rely on a balance of suspension systems, tires, and tire treads to control how they handle on the road. In much the same way, a fountain pen relies on the interplay among the nib material, the tipping material, and the finish of the tipping material.
“Pure gold is too soft to use for nibs,” said Del Vecchio. “So other metals are added to stiffen the nib. Unfortunately, these added metals are subject to corrosion. We don’t have either problem with palladium. First, it is 200 to 300 percent more flexible than pure gold. Its mechanical features allow performance not available from an 18 karat gold nib. Secondly, the palladium is virtually pure, so there is no chance of corrosion.
As a result, fountain pen users will have the capability to add calligraphic flair to their writing with a soft dream touch and with no need to have any pressure while writing as required from other nibs and is unavailable from a ballpoint. The reason this has not been done in the past has been due to the difficulty of working with the high temperatures needed to add the tipping material to the 50 percent higher melting point of palladium.”
The lava for the Homo Sapiens collection of pens and pencil comes the largest active volcano in Europe, Mt. Etna, on the island of Sicily. The lava material is slightly hygroscopic, allowing it to adsorb sweat during use.
The Homo Sapiens pens were inspired by the Bronze Age, the period in which writing emerged, and accordingly the metallic parts of the pen are made of bronze as it was originally made. The filling system is a “ high vacuum power filler” that allows filling with a single hand.
The palladium nibs for the Homo Sapiens fountain pen come in the following nibs:
XF (extra fine),
F (fine),
M (medium),
B (broad),
BB (double broad), and
S (stub).
The pencil is available with 0.7 lead.
The prices for the Homo Sapiens collection:
Fountain Pen $595
Rollerball $395
Ballpoint $325
Pencil $345
Contacting dealers
The pens are available from Bertram's Inkwell (800) 782-7680, info@bertramsinkwell.com, Bertram's Inkwell and other fine writing stores worldwide. For a list of Visconti distributors, see Visconti distributors. For a list ofFor a list of fine writing stores in the U.S., contact Coles of London.
Homo Sapiens—Forged in the Volcano
More than five thousand years ago with the invention of writing the pre-history of human kind ceased and the Homo Sapiens marked the dawn of human history. During the same era metallurgy was discovered, thus allowing the metal age to mark the beginning of human evolution all the way to the invention of the wheel. The first great civilizations arose on the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates riverbanks and soon led to the development of sciences like algebra, geometry, astronomy, and engineering.
Visconti conceived the Homo Sapiens writing instruments line for real writers, for those to whom a fountain pen continues to represent a travelling mate, a daily friend to share the same civilization that writing has contributed to create.
The material in this pen is as ancient as the world: lava from Mount Etna. Nevertheless, it has several characteristics that make it unique in the writing instruments manufacturing. Visconti has successfully produced a material containing over 50% of pure basaltic lava, catalysed together with resin in a patented and obviously secret formula. This material becomes a special lava with extraordinary characteristics that practically make it perfectly fit for the writing instruments production.
Visconti Lava is:
Virtually unbreakable: It has a high degree of resilience, so it can easily absorb shocks.
Flameproof - Visconti lava has a resistance to over 100°C heat.
Slightly hygroscopic – it allows absorbing hand sweat during use.
Dense at touch - it allows the best possible finger-relaxing grip.
Unquestionably new, in the range of materials employed in fountain pens manufacturing.
For all metallic parts we were inspired by the Bronze Age. this was almost contemporary to the invention of writing, by marking the dawn of human civilization. The clip, the rings and the metal accessories - with the only exception of the piston - are all in natural bronze. Like the one of the ancient formula, that does not require plating or protection treatments. In this way its natural, almost pink colour, is not altered while the material can still be easily polished with special products.
The charging piston is made of titanium, the only material resistant to ink aggressiveness.
From The Bronze Age to The Cold Fusion
With Homo Sapiens, Visconti introduces the first ever made Dreamtouch 23 ct 950 palladium nib.
Dreamtouch is the term we coined to define a nib that requires no pressure whatsoever in order to write, it traces in a gentle way thoughts and words for a dream handwriting.
Palladium has interesting physical features for the fountain pen nibs production; its manufacturing is possible nowadays thanks to new metal-fusion technologies and to the welding of iridium tips. This metal has been the fundamental element in 1989’s Pons and Fleischmann cold fusion theory.
Palladium actually melts at much higher temperatures than gold: 1552°C against 1063°C. It is therefore obvious that this metal has better mechanical features; being more resistant than gold and that any manufacturing process involving palladium becomes a lot more challenging.
The international classification system lists only four precious metals and their related percentages of content: platinum, palladium, gold and silver.
Value: the 23 ct 950/1000 palladium nib is the nib with the highest content of palladium ever manufactured in the fountain pen history. In other words, it contains 95% of pure palladium against the 75% of pure gold in the 18 ct nib and the 58% of gold in the 14 ct nib.
Flexibility and Memory: best possible for any type of writing, enhanced of 30% compared to the same nib in 18 ct gold.
Resistance to ink corrosion: improved up to 100% thanks to the pureness of the material to an extent to which no protection treatment or plating is needed.
Originality: the palladium nib will make your Visconti even more exclusive, either as a collection piece or as a daily use instrument.
We think of Homo Sapiens as a fountain pen that can bring a specific time-frame to mind: its story starts from the lava as a generating material, passes through bronze, which recalls the beginning of the act of writing, and ends with palladium – the metal of the future and of the cold fusion.
Technical Characteristics:
Homo Sapiens Bronze
Collection: Dreamtouch 23 ct nib fountain pen; roller ball; ballpoint and pencil
Material: Basaltic Lava from Mount Etna
Nib: Dreamtouch in 23 ct 950 Palladium
Metallic parts: 100% bronze
Filling System: piston
Roller ball recommended refills: A 40
Ballpoint recommended refills: A 38, A49
Packaging: Visconti pen case with polishing cloth
Homo Sapiens Palladium 23 ct
Collection: Dreamtouch 23 ct nib fountain pen; roller ball; ballpoint and pencil
Material: Basaltic Lava from the Etna Volcano
Nib: Dreamtouch 23 ct 950 Palladium
Metallic parts: 23 ct 950 Palladium
Filling System: Double Reservoir Power Filler
Roller ball recommended refills: A 40
Ballpoint recommended refills: A 38, A49
Packaging: Visconti briar pen case
VISCONTI srl
Via dell’Osservatorio, 120 – 50141 Firenze
Tel. +39 055 45652.1 / Fax +39 055 4250342
E-mail: visconti@visconti.it
