Friday, June 28, 2013

Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy Set


Occasionally, I will fool myself into thinking I will take the time to learn calligraphy. This is not one of those moments.  I purchased this set because I love Rembrandt pens and it was too good of a deal to pass up. As I am writing this, I think the set can still be found for $160.00 or less.  I purchased my set from Goldspot, who provides excellent customer service.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX.

One Rembrandt pen body and cap of one of the following colors: ivory, black, red, orange, blue or purple; Three palladium steel nibs: .5 italic, 1.5 italic and standard medium (Note: not all sets include the medium nib); A pad of blotting papers; A booklet on calligraphy; A bottle of black ink; And two converters.  The box itself includes a couple of built in nib holders, so that you can alternate between two nibs without removing the converters.

OBSERVATIONS.

The italic nibs are housed in plastic sections, rather than the steel housing of the standard pen.  This reduces the weight of the pen considerably. I found the lighter weight to be so comfortable that I've been using the .5 Italic nib as a daily writer.

The calligraphy booklet is written in Italian, English and German. It is a brief 24 pages long, four of which are taken by the cleaning, filling and warranty information. The booklet includes samples and instructions for the following alphabets: Italic, Gothic, Uncial, Foundational, Rotunda and English Script.

I find it difficult choosing a pen color online, because I don't trust the accuracy of the colors on the photographs. I already had the black pen and none of the other colors appealed to me.  I prefer dark colors for pens, so that left only the purple pen, which is not a color I'd normally choose. I was pleasantly surprised by the deep rich color and the hint of red in the swirls.  Had I been able to see the pens in person, I might have chosen the red or the blue, but they appeared too light online.

THE BOTTOM LINE.

Whether you are a calligrapher, artist, or writer, this is an excellent pen for a reasonable price with a lot of options.

For a thorough review of the standard Rembrandt pen, read my post here from June 28, 2011.