Delta - Dolcevita
A relatively young pen company, Delta, founded in 1982, they have produced a line of pens that are iconic in terms of the classic Italian fountain pen - the Dolcevita.
It seems I almost live in Italy, so I guess it is only fitting that I have the Delta Dolcevita fountain pen. I have always viewed this an iconic fountain pen.
La Dolcevita means the sweet life.
The Dolcevita pens are turned from solid bars of orange and black resin. There are various versions depending on the sizes and styles. There are about 60 different versions. The solid black cap with the rich orange marbled resin makes for a stunning pen.
This is no flash in the pan colour combination. I have been admiring this pen for years. Always saying I will have to get one of those, and now I have.
The cap is black for a very solid look, and hand turned from solid bars of resin.
Near the bottom of the cap, the ring, and it typically solid sterling silver, and the style that I have is a Vermeil. The pattern on the ring is said to be a pattern found in old paintings from Pompei. The ring is engraved by hand. I like the look of the gold plate on sterling silver with the orange body.
The oversized model comes with a gold plated sterling silver clip. Compared to the sterling silver clip, again, I like the colour combination as the gold is a warm colour that nicely goes with the rich warm orange of the barrel.
The pen is a regular production model, that is it is not produced in limited production. Nevertheless, Delta imprints the name: Delta Dolcevita on the back of the pen as well as its production number. Nice touch.
So with mine, I know they have made more than 5,282 pens! Things like this go to support the value of ownership and I think a good move on the part of a pen manufacturer.
The body is again, which Delta refers to as a terra cotta orange, is turned from a solid bar of resin. The oversized pen has a large body.
I think of terra cotta as being a duller orange. The body colour is very rich and it certainly makes the pen standout, and not in a cheap way. This is one good looking pen.
There are four basic body sizes in the Dolcevita series: Mini, Mid-Sized, Oversized and Stout.
The Dolcevita series come in either a piston or cartridge/converter ink fill mechanism. Mine is a converter and I find it pulls enough ink into the pen to be quite functional. I have a variety of piston or converter fill pens, and the value of the converter is it is very easy to check and see how much ink you have left. The piston filled Dolcevita typically have a window area above the nib section, but the converter really tells you the whole story in terms of how much ink you have left.
And finally, the most important part of the pen, the nib.
On my pen this is a beautiful 14 kt gold, solid tone nib. Many of the pens I see have two tones, but mine is single.
I was able to get an oblique medium, like a stub, so this pen seems to be made just for me.
The nib creates a very solid line of ink and the oblique style gives the shaping of letters that extra personal touch as its responds so well to the nature of each person's writing.
An Exclusive, the Dolcevita with the Fusion Nib
In June 2012, I had the pleasure of visiting Delta Pen at the headquarters located just outside of Naples, Italy.
My write-up of the visit and the tour of their factory is included on the site.
Left: The Dolcevita, Mid-Size, with the Fusion Nib.
During the visit we talked about the exciting new nib the Delta as designed, the Fusion Nib. I was presented with a Delta Dolcevita pen fitted with the new fusion nib that I describe in the write-up. The Fusion nib is new technology fusing the qualities of steel and gold to create a new new with its own writing qualities.
I was presented with a Delta Dolcevita pen fitted with the new fusion nib that I describe in the write-up. The pen is the medium-sized Dolcevita and has a converter-cartridge ink fill system. It is a great addition to my collection of Delta pens.
Being on a month long holiday in Italy at the time, I used the new fusion nib extensively for writing in my travel journal.
Right: the new Fusion nib by Delta.
I found the nib to be very smooth and the ink flow very consistent and responsive. The nib is a medium, as I was told the first production of the new fusion nib would be first for fine and medium nibs. Despite being a medium, I found the pen a pleasure to write with.
Even with being a mid-size pen, the pen has a good overall size for me. With the cap posted, or not posted, the pen is the same length as the Pelikan M800 - which has always been a good size for my hand. The body is wider and there is where for my hand, the real comfort comes to play.
Right: I am enjoying this pen!