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Aurora Optima
Quick review
from the fountain pen of Giovanni Abrate

Aurora Optima 

A modern classic: Aurora Optima

by Giovanni Abrate

 

I must admit that I feel a special affection towards Aurora pens: I grew up in Turin, where Aurora has its Factory and all through my formative years Aurora provided me with pens: the Aurettas at school and the classic 88P many years later, when I got my start in business.

The modern Optima was introduced right after the "new 88", in 1992 and the pen was patterned after the classic Aurora Duplex of the 1920s and ‘30s.

The Optima is still in production

The pen I am evaluating is a special version of the Optima, known as the Mare, made in a beautiful blue marbled resin that Aurora calls Auroloide; it is a modern acrylic resin made to mimic the depth and color of classic celluloid. Other than the color and some decorative details, the Mare is an Optima, so my comments will apply to all modern Optimas, as well as to the Mare.

optima4

Let’s start with the looks of the pen:

This is a fairly short pen (125mm capped) with a constantly changing barrel diameter. The barrel is tapered following a gentle curve. This may seem like a small detail, but, in fact, requires a complex machining process, that clearly sets this pen apart from many others that adopt the easier route of having a cylindrical barrel. The curve adds to the vintage look of the pen and, in my opinion, makes the Optima one of the most elegant modern pens. The material is superb, as is the finish of the resin.

All gold plated furniture is flawless with first class imprints. You will not find the “laser etched” look of many lower quality pens in the Optima. The clip is a sturdy yet graceful curving shape, made in a very strong alloy. It ends in a smooth ball, that slides easily over a pocket edge and at the same time provides a very secure fastening of the pen to the cloth.

The top of the cap is fitted with a black hat that balances the black finial of the barrel.  I really like the looks of this pen: in fact, this is one of my favorite modern pens.

optima6

Ergonomics:

This is a lightweight pen, made for writing and not as a paperweight! Posted, it is 155mm long and it fits my smallish hand perfectly. The girth of the barrel makes this pen easy to handle for both small and larger hands. The balance, when posted, is perfect and the long section feels comfortable under the index finger, since the threads for the  cap are quite far from the nib and do not interfere with the grip of the writing hand. In fact, the threads are so fine and smooth that they can hardly be felt: surely a factor that was consciously considered by the designers of this pen.

optima1

 

Filling System:

The Optima, like its 88 sibling, uses a proven piston filling system. This operates smoothly and it incorporates the “Riserva Magica” feature first introduced by Aurora in their Aurora 98 pen back in the 1960s! This consists in a small receptacle embedded in the middle of the piston. This receptacle traps a drop of ink, when the pen is empty, the user can lower the piston until the drop of ink contacts the feed, thus providing an emergency ink supply good for an additional couple of pages.

The manual says, "When the pen stops writing, turn the end anticlockwise as far as it will go and the pen will write another page. You can leave the end turned to remind you to fill the pen with Aurora ink."

 Optima3

 

Nib:

Aurora is one of a handful of pen companies that manufactures its own nibs! On the Mare Special Edition Optima that I am evaluating, the nib is an 18K Gold M size, that writes almost as an F. The pen writes beautifully, ink flow is very well controlled. The nib is smooth, but not to the point of lacking control. It is essential to keep a very light touch: some people have commented that Aurora nibs have some “bite”: in my experience this is largely due to the fact that many writers still use too much pressure when using a fine fountain pen. The Optima nib is smooth and precise, it reminds me of fine nibs from Japanese companies like Pilot or Platinum, which I consider some of the best in the world.

 

Optima5


Conclusion: I make no secret of the fact that the Optima is one of my favorite pens!    I like the classic retro look of the pen, I love the filling mechanism and I enjoy writing with it!

On a list of my top ten pens, the Optima would be very near the top!

 

  2014 Giovanni Abrate - all rights reserved

 
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