Fountain Pen Review: Leonardo Officina Italiana Furore Arancio

This month, my blog features a selection of local brands, some of my favorites, and a new, exciting name that has been a pen chart-topper for quite some time. Here is the Furore fountain pen in the Arancio finish from Leonardo Officina Italiana, one of the most talked-about pen brands these days. My research about Leonardo Officina Italiana brought me to the scenic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Amalfi Coast, to the mesmerizing fjord and churches of Furore town, and the 45-year history of this family-run father-to-son pen brand.

Did you know that Leonardo's Furore collection is inspired by a magical place? And that these pens are all made by hand? The Furore derives its inspiration from a corner of the Amalfi Coast, a magical place where land, sea, and Leonardo's origins meet. The Furore and all the pens from Leonardo's collections are passionately hand-turned by expert craftsmen using old loading systems, giving their unique pens soul and warmth.

The outer box of the Furore is designed like colorful traditional Italian tiles. It also says "Fatto a mano in Italia nelle Officine Italiane Leonardo" which translates to "Handmade in Italy in Leonardo's Italian Workshops."

The Furore is Leonardo's second pen model launched in 2018 after the famous and outstanding Momento Zero line. Inspired by the form and design of vintage Italian pens, the Furore's rounded ends bring to mind the looks of the old classics. Leonardo Officina Italiana derived the Furore's incredible colors from the beautiful Amalfi Coast landscapes such as the reflections of the sea, the bright colors of the Ceramics that characterize the decorations of the coast, the intense red of berries, the bright sand, and the white sharp salt. 

The Furore Arancio in its presentation box. A certificate of authenticity and warranty card is included as Leonardo's product guarantee for life against any manufacturing defect.

The Furore Arancio has a beautiful vivid color that comes from a mix of iridescent shades of orange that reminds me of cat's eye gemstone. It is a full-sized fountain pen that was hand-turned from a single solid bar of high-quality resin with a vintage shape and tapered grip section designed for comfortable writing. A well-balanced fountain pen, it can be used for comfortable writing whether posted or unposted. 

The Furore is not a limited Leonardo production, but it is an open numbered series, with each pen number engraved on the barrel together with the Leonardo name. My Arancio is pen N°2837 and I feel it's a very unique pen with its own identification.

Leonardo Furore Arancio N°2837

The Furore lineup is available in these bright, beautiful colors: Blue Emerald (turquoise), Blue Galaxy (dark blue), Arancio (orange, featured in this review), Yellow Sun (yellow), Bronze (brown), Vulcano (gray), Red Passion (red), Deep Purple (purple), and White Salt (white).

The Leonardo Furore fountain pen has the following measurements and specifications:

• Length, capped: 5.75 in | 14.6 cm
• Length, uncapped: 5.2 in | 13.2 cm
• Length, cap posted: 6.5 in | 16.5 cm
• Length, barrel only: 3.6 in | 9.1 cm
• Length, section to nib: 1.6 in | 4 cm
• Length, cap: 2.5 inches | 6.35 cm 65
• Diameter: 0.6 in | 1.52 cm
• Full pen weight: 25 g | 0.9 oz
• Barrel only weight: 18.6 g | 0.65 oz
• Cap weight: 6.4 g | 0.2 oz
• Body material: Resin
• Trim: Rhodium or gold plated
• Cap: Screw on, postable
• Clip material: Stainless steel 
• Nib: Bock steel or gold  in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, or Stub (1.5mm)
• Filling mechanism: Cartridge or screw-on Leonardo converter (supplied with purchase)

Polished chrome and orange look so perfect together. The chrome trims in the Arancio complement the pen's orange color so well. The two slim cap rings are smooth and highly polished, as well as the two rings on the pen's barrel.

Leonardo Furore fountain pens can be filled with ink using international standard cartridges or the supplied customized screw-on Leonardo converter with a metal knob. Unlike most converters, Leonardo's converters screw to the pen's section for a secure fit and avoid ink spills. The screw-on converter also allows for a piston-like filling mechanism by removing the cap at the end of the barrel.

The Furore's three sections: barrel, section + converter, and cap. 

Removing the cap in Furore's barrel end allows piston-like ink filling. This is possible as the converter is screwed on to the section.

The Furore shares the same clip with the Momento Zero. It's a shiny polished chrome clip with a tiny roller at the end so it can be easily posted to a shirt pocket or pen loop.

Leonardo's screw-on ink converter ensures a tight fit to the section.

Leonardo's ink converter is very impressive. It is sturdy and well made, and the Leonardo logo engraved on the knob is a nice touch. 

The Furore barrel is engraved with "Leonardo Officina Italiana" and the pen's number. 

When I received the two pens from Leonardo, I marveled at their beautiful material and polished steel nibs. The Furore is available with either steel or 14k gold #6 nibs in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, Broad, or Stub (1.5mm) widths. My Arancio is fitted with a steel Bock nib engraved with the Leonardo logo and it looks elegant. It also wrote perfectly. I have been writing with fountain pens for the last thirteen years, and I have tried pens with excellent nibs, but the Furore Arancio's medium nib is one of a kind. It's one of the smoothest nibs that I have ever tried, and writing with it is a wonderful experience. 

The Furore's medium nib is one of the smoothest nibs that I've tried. Writing with it is an exceptional experience.

The Momento Zero is Leonardo's first pen series, shortly followed by the Furore. The two pens are so alike in their length, shape, and trims, although the Momento Zero has flat ends and the Furore has pointed ones, more like the classic cigar-shape. 

Be still my heart. Leonardo Momento Zero Positano Blue and Furore Arancio.

The Furore, a full-sized fountain pen, shares approximately the same length with a Tibaldi N°60 and TWSBI Diamond 540. The Bexley Intrepid and Edison Collier are longer pens when they are capped. Without their caps, the Furore is the same length as the N°60, Collier, and Diamond 540. 

The Furore is postable, but I love writing with it unposted. Posting makes this pen long and affects my writing speed and comfort. However, posting provides balance in writing to some people, so it helps that the Furore is a postable pen.

In good company. The Furore shares approximately the same length as the Tibaldi and TWSBI fountain pens while capped.

When they are uncapped, the Furore is now the same length as the Tibaldi, TWSBI, and Edison pens.

I like matching pens with inks, so I chose this bright red-orange Robert Oster ink for the Arancio. I ink my pens by filling the converter first before putting it back onto the section feed. Doing this, I noticed that ink flow to the feed was very fast and the medium nib wrote smoothly and very wet out of the box. The steel nib is springy and it performed so well without the need for any adjustments or tuning. It also matched Robert Oster Orange Zest ink so perfectly. 

Orange on orange. This pen's medium nib writes so smoothly.

The beautiful Arancio can do wonderful ink art, too! The medium nib is just perfect for intricate strokes and fine lines.

The Furore Arancio is an exceptional and eye-catching pen. It's my end-of-the-day-happiness pen, my make-me-smile pen. This orange pen is a delight to look at and even more wonderful to use. Get one for your collection!

These days, Leonardo Officina Italiana is one of the most active and talked about pen brands. Anyone into pens who is on Instagram knows this. Leonardo also has the fastest workshops with their current pen line up getting new additions almost every quarter. From the initial series of Momento Zero and Furore, they now have the Cuspide, Speranza, Messenger, and a number of limited edition pens in various materials in between. The Momento Zero and Furore have also gotten an upgrade: they now have their "Grande" versions with piston filling mechanism and ebonite feed. I'm really excited to see new pens coming from the Leonardo workshop.

Rants of The Archer thanks Leonardo Officina Italiana for providing the Furore Arancio fountain pen for review purposes. To learn more about these beautiful, colorful, well-crafted pens, follow Leonardo Officina Italiana on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/leonardopenss/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/leonardo_pens/).

In Europe, Leonardo pens are widely available from retailers such as Fontoplumo, Appelboom, and Fontanna Penna.

In the United States, Leonardo pens are available from Goldspot Pens, Truphae, and Pen Chalet.

In the Philippines, Leonardo pens are available exclusively at Pengrafik (https://www.facebook.com/PenGrafik).