Fountain Pen Review: Edison Collier Antique Marble

Edison pens are now in the Philippines! Woohoo! 

A few years ago, when I was still new to this hobby, I liked white fountain pens. I recall a time when I grew so fascinated with a white fountain pen that I saw on the internet. Google later revealed that the pen is a Mina from Edison Pen Co. I didn't take the pen, for a number of reasons, but an Edison fountain pen has always been on my list. When I found out that our beloved pen store Scribe Writing Essentials will be the official reseller of Edison pens in the country, I was more than excited to get one.

When Scribe posted the photos of Edison pens that will be available in their stores (read Edison's announcement here), the Collier in Antique Marble finish caught my eye. Its rounded form is very pleasing to look at, and the color is just irresistible. From the photos, the Collier looked like it's a big pen, and I thought it would be heavy, but the amber resin is simply unforgettable. I can't get it off my mind, and I counted the days before I could get one.

The Collier has been with me for more than a week now, and I am very happy I got it. Here's why.

The Edison Box. Having collected a few fountain pens myself, I have seen a number of pen boxes from different pen brands. I'm happy to see that Edison pens are carefully presented in the same elegant box covered in patterned maroon faux leather. While this well-made and elegant box contains a fountain pen, it could easily be mistaken for a jewelry box.

I like the Edison box because it is not oversized, yet the Collier, a long and fat pen, fits perfectly inside. While the box has no markings outside, opening it shows the Edison Pen Co. logo printed on the inside of the cover. Inside the box is the Collier, a wonderful work of artistry in a medley of warm and happy colors, lying on a bed of padded soft fabric held in place by a satin ribbon.

The Edison Collier. The Edison Collier is an award-winning pen. It's Goldspot's Pen of the Year in 2011. The Antique Marble is from Edison's Production Line of fountain pens (available only through resellers). It is made from translucent amber-colored acrylic resin, buffed and polished to a high gloss. At approximately 5.9 inches long (capped), the Collier is my longest (and probably the fattest) fountain pen. 

The Collier's resin is strikingly beautiful with rich swirls of black, brown, and in some parts, silver and pearlescent orange in amber. It's amazing! It's like seeing thin strips of satin suspended in lovely amber. Also notable is that the Collier's parts — barrel, section, and cap — are made from the same translucent resin. It's as if the pen came from a huge blob of real amber!

For such a long pen, the Collier is surprisingly light at 30 grams. Uncapped, the body is only ~5.2 inches long (barrel, section, converter), and lighter at 20 grams, which makes writing comfortable. The pen fits so well in my hand, and the contoured grip keeps my fingers in place as I write.

Like all the pens in Edison's Production Line, the Collier has a cartridge/converter (C/C) filling mechanism. Short and long international cartridges will fit in the Collier, but a standard international converter is included in the box. It can as well be used as an eyedropper pen because there are no metal parts inside the barrel.  

The Collier's screw on cap is ~2.8 inches long and weighs 10 grams. It was not designed to be posted on to the pen's barrel, but I don't usually post my pens, so I don't mind at all. The simple, unobtrusive gold-plated clip of the Collier is the perfect complement to its translucent amber. It feels just right: not too long, but not too short, and flexible enough to easily clip on to a shirt pocket, or to a notebook pen loop.

Here is another photo of the Collier's cap. The glossy rounded top of the cap is just lovely, free from any markings, and the translucent amber just seems to glow and change color according to the intensity of light.

The Collier is a big pen. Its cigar-shaped barrel has a diameter of 0.6 of an inch, almost equivalent to the barrel diameter of a Pelikan M1000! And again, that pattern in amber is just awesome. The other side of the barrel has swirls, while there are black and brown stripes on this side.

The slightly pointed (but still rounded) end of the Collier's barrel is equally beautiful, complementing the rounded top of the cap. 

Brian Gray, President and creator of pens at Edison Pen Co., has designed the branding of his pens carefully. The Collier's branding is so discreet that it took me a while to find it. The laser engraved words "Edison Pen Co. Collier" are so small and hard to see. I had to look very closely at the barrel with a pen light so I can see it. 

The Edison Nib. The Collier has an oversized #6 nib, and I chose a steel, two-toned B (broad, bold, big) nib for my pen, which would probably get a grind soon. It wrote smoothly out of the box, and I am very happy I selected a broad nib. Edison nibs are sourced from Germany, and Brian is known to personally check the nibs on his pens before they are sent.

In an homage to Thomas A. Edison, whom Edison Pen Co. shares birthplace with (Milan, Ohio, USA), Brian designed a logo that shows a light bulb and a fountain pen nib. Clever and ingenious. 

I'm a blue fountain pen ink addict, and I so badly wanted to fill my Collier with Eclat de Saphir, my favorite blue ink. But this pen is begging for a same-color ink, so I filled it Pelikan Edelstein Amber. 

Amber for amber. The Edelstein ink is a perfect match for my Collier's broad nib! 

I thought that a fountain pen size comparison would be useful, especially now that new pen brands are being introduced frequently in the country. I would like to show that the Collier is a large pen. Its length and girth are very prominent and imposing. The other pens are: Bexley Intrepid, TWSBI AL 580, Lamy Safari, Platinum 3776, and Pelikan M400. If you're planning to get an oversized pen any time soon, keep the Collier in mind. You definitely won't regret it. 

The Collier is also available in three other colors: Persimmon Swirl, Silver Marble, and Blue Steel. #6 nibs for the Collier are available in single tone or two tone steel, and in 18k solid gold. Steel nibs are available in EF, F, M, B, 1.1mm italic, and 1.5 italic. The 18k solid gold nibs are available in EF, F, M, and B.

Edison pens are sold by a number of official resellers worldwide. In the Philippines, they are available at Scribe Writing Essentials, a specialty store selling fountain pens, inks, paper products, and calligraphy supplies. Scribe has stores in Eastwood Mall, Shangrila Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, and SM Megamall. For their complete location/address, contact numbers, and store hours, click here.