It's been a year since I went back to regular blogging and reviewing. Since then, I have written 49 reviews of fountain pens, ink, paper products, and accessories from 15 countries. As the pandemic engulfed the world, I was forced to stay indoors and work within the confines of my home. To take my mind off the pandemic, I tested new products, met newfound friends, and learned so much about pen design, materials, and techniques. Now, I am celebrating a year's work with my 50th review since July 2020 with a special fountain pen from Kenro Industries, the limited edition celluloid Montegrappa Miya 450.
The Miya has been an iconic Montegrappa silhouette and staple for many years but was discontinued as new models were introduced. It's such a unique pen with a form that is so easy to identify as a Montegrappa. In 2019, Montegrappa rereleased the Miya in five bold colors as the Miya 450, using the remaining original materials from their factory. The Miya 450 is a limited edition line with 100 individually numbered pens in Black/White, Yellow, Orange, and Red, and 50 pens in the dark blue color.
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| The Montegrappa presentation box with a filigree design. |
As this is my first time to feature a Montegrappa fountain pen in Rants of The Archer, I am also including the presentation box in this review. The yellow Miya 450 is presented in an elegant deep blue box with a filigree design. The Montegrappa logo is printed on the center of the lid of the pen's outer box. The inner box has a different filigree design with a metal plaque etched with the Montegrappa logo. It opens to reveal the fountain pen in a soft fabric bed held in place by a blue ribbon printed with the Montegrappa logo. The bottom of the box contains ink cartridges and a care guide.
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| The outer box opens into a separate box with a bigger filigree design and a small medallion bearing the Montegrappa logo. |
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| The box opens to reveal the Miya 450 in yellow held in place by a blue ribbon. Also included in the box are two ink cartridges and a care guide. |
The first night I had the yellow Miya 450, I stared at it for hours. Everything about this pen is beautiful, amazing, and wonderful. That's because, for the Miya 450, Montegrappa used first-grade Mazzucchelli celluloid, 14K gold nib, and sterling silver for the trims including clip, finial, cap band, and barrel ring. This pen's yellow color shouts a happy tune with its red-orange swirls and exceptional gloss and shine.
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| Limited edition yellow Montegrappa Miya 450. |
I thought that the Miya 450 is smaller than most of the pens that I've been used to, but it is surprisingly perfect for my writing hand. The section joins the barrel almost seamlessly that I don't feel the threads when I write with it. It is comfortable to hold and I love the feel of celluloid in my hand.
The Montegrappa Miya 450 fountain pen has the following measurements and specifications:
- Length, capped: 5.3 in | 14.2 cm
- Length, uncapped: 4.8 in | 13.5 cm
- Length, cap posted: 6.1 in | 17.2 cm
- Weight: 36 g | 1.27 oz
- Body material: Celluloid
- Trims: Sterling silver
- Cap: Screw-on, postable
- Clip material: Sterling silver
- Nib: 14k Gold Montegrappa nib in Fine, Medium, Broad, Flex Extra Fine, and Flex Fine
- Filling mechanism: Montegrappa converter included in the box, or standard international cartridges
The Miya 450 can be filled with ink using standard international cartridges or a converter, and both are included in the box. The threaded Montegrappa converter screws onto the section for a secure fit. This also prevents ink spills if the converter is accidentally pulled out. The sterling silver section threads add to the durability and stability of this pen.
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| The Miya 450 has a threaded converter that screws onto the section for a secure fit. |
The Miya 450 has a screw-on postable cap. The sterling silver clip has Montegrappa's famous rolling ball at its end, and a secret detail that most owners are not aware of—the inside of the clip has a red lacquer finish. I wasn't aware of this feature until I noticed a red reflection when I took a photo of the cap's finial. It reminds me of the iconic red soles on Louboutin shoes! The stories engraved on the Miya 450's cap do not end with the clip, though. Let's go to the cap band.
The Miya 450's sterling silver cap band has the same Montegrappa filigree pattern and several markings. Right below the clip's rolling ball is the Montegrappa logo. The backside has three markings: ★2670VI inside a polygon, 925 inside an oval, and "Made in Italy". For a rookie, the second and third markings are easy to discern. 925 indicates the purity degree of silver, and the other marking states the pen's country of origin. I needed to do some research for the first marking, though. According to this site, the polygon and star are official marks that indicate Italy, as the polygon is a hallmark assigned to Italy. This page reveals "2670 VI" indicates the company and province, as 2670 is designated to the Aquilas, owners of Montegrappa, while VI refers to Vicenza, a city in the Veneto region where Bassano del Grappa is located, home to Montegrappa.
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| The Miya 450's sterling silver clip has the famous rolling ball at its end, and this clip's underside has red lacquer. Notice the red halo around the clip. |
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| The Miya 450 is an item of luxury, revealed by the markings on the cap band. |
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| The Miya 450's cap finial, also made of sterling silver has 1912 to indicate the year that Montegrappa—Italy's first fountain pen factory—opened. 1912 is surrounded by a crown on top and a wreath below. |
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| The red-orange swirls in this pen's barrel enhance the happy bright yellow color. The ring on the Miya's barrel also bears the ★2670VI and 925 markings. |
The Miya 450 fountain pens have 14K gold nibs. This pen has a soft Fine nib that writes like a dream. It's smooth, soft, and just writes so perfectly good! It wrote so well out of the box and has an excellent flow that's just right. It's not dry, and not overly wet, either.
Like the cap band, this beautiful Montegrappa nib has several markings including the Montegrappa filigree design, logo, and below that are the following: Italia, 14K, 585 inside a polygon, and ★2670VI inside another polygon. Italia (Italy) refers to the country of origin, 14K indicates that the material is made from 14k gold, 585 also refers to the purity of gold—here at 14K, and ★2670VI signifies the ownership and origin of the product from within Italy. Oh, I just love these markings! They are meaningful details that form a close bond between the pen's origin, its makers, and pen owners.
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| The Montegrappa nib on the Miya 450 is soft, smooth, and writes so well. |
The Miya 450 is smaller or shorter than most of the fountain pens that I am using, but it has the same section width as these pens. It also has the same section length as the Leonardo Furore and Tibaldi N60, and it's comfortable to use even for a longer period of writing.
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| From the top: Leonardo Furore, Bexley Intrepid, Montegrappa Miya 450, Tibaldi N60, and Lamy Lx. |
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| The Miya 450's section is as comfortable to hold and suitable for long periods of writing. |
To test how the 14K Montegrappa nib writes, I filled the Miya with Iroshizuku Asa-gao, one of my favorite and fuss-free blue inks. The soft medium nib wrote smoothly out of the box, without the need for any adjustments or tuning. I did not experience any hard starts or skipping. The pen wrote very well, and I had a unique and different experience writing with such a wonderful nib.
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| I filled the Miya with Iroshizuku Asa-gao, a fuss-free blue ink. Ink flow to the nib was fast and the pen wrote so well. |
In my fountain pen collecting and reviewing experience, I never imagined that I'd try a Montegrappa pen, or even own one. I have always dreamed of getting a Fortuna someday, but a Miya came along, and it's a wonderful, amazing pen. I am very happy with the yellow Miya 450 fountain pen, and I am recommending it to anyone who wants to explore the brand and its offerings. Montegrappa is an expert pen maker guided and inspired by tradition, history, and heritage. Get a Montegrappa fountain pen in your collection!
Rants of The Archer thanks Kenro Industries the U.S. distributor of Montegrappa, for providing the Miya 450 in this review. The Miya 450 is a limited edition pen and may not be available for long. Kenro offers the Miya 450 at US$795, and that's a great price for such an excellent pen!
To learn more about Kenro Industries and its brand offering, visit their website at https://www.kenroindustries.com/. For updates and promos, follow Kenro Industies on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kenro_official/.
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