Become an Explorer with Aurora's New Collection

 Aurora Ambienti Glacier & Tundra

Specs (same for both colors):

• Description- Two new special editions from Aurora based on the natural world, similar to the ocean series that they did a little while back.

• Nib- 18k solid gold with ebonite feed

• Material- Sterling Silver and Auroloide 

• Filling Mechanism- Piston

• Weight- 42g total, 28g body, 14g cap

• Measurements- 5.1" closed, 6.1" posted

• Ink Capacity- 1.4ml

History & Origin

    The Aurora pen brand was founded in Turin Italy in the year of 1919 by Isaia Levi and was originally known as "Fabbrica Italiana di Penne a Serbatoio - Aurora " but has since been shortened to Aurora. Despite the current catalog of colorful pen models that the brand has become known for, they originally only produced pens in black but a few years after their founding they began branching out with different colors. In 1929 the brand began to branch out to other European countries which led to an increase in production. A little later during WW2 due to the scarcity of gold, the brand was forced to change to a more economic alloy called Platiridio and a little later into the war the companies factory actually fell victim to a bomb attack which forced them to relocate and start from scratch. 

    However just a few years after the war in 1947, the 88 came out and went on to be one of the brands most well loved models alongside the Optima. Now that we've gotten the history lesson out of the way, let's take a closer look at these two new special editions from Aurora.

Packaging & Appearance

    Aurora has been around for over 100 years and this shows with the care they take when presenting your new pen, in fact, they have one of my favorite pen boxes that just really make it feel like a quality, luxury, writing instrument. The packaging for this special edition is a little different than usual and you'll see that a bottle of matching ink is provided with the pen but on regular editions of Aurora pens, ink is not provided. The box is made of a faux leather material that continues to the inside of the box to keep the pen scratch free in transit along with elastic that keeps the pen and ink in place. But the real star of the show is the pen of course and this one really stands out among Aurora's special editions and sports something rather cool and unique on the sterling silver grip section. 

    The sterling silver sections sport a small engraving that represents an ice glacier on the glacier model or a tree branch on the tundra model which is a really cool feature that sets this apart from their previous special editions like the ocean series which are in the same model but don't have any engravings. I really enjoy all the sterling silver on this pen and how it will tarnish over time and take on some personality, of course you can polish that away if you don't enjoy the look of tarnished silver. 

    The ink window in the Aurora pens is my personal favorite one because it is so crystal clear unlike a lot of ink windows and can reliably show you how much ink you have left. Lets take a closer look at this nib and how it actually writes!

Nib & Performance

    Another great aspect of this pen that sets it apart from the competition in this price bracket is the 18k gold nib featured on this pen along with the specially crafted ebonite feed. Aurora makes all of their nibs in house which is pretty uncommon now with most brands opting for either Jowo or bock but the benefit of making their own nibs is that they can control the exact specifications and quality control that makes the pen that much more special. The other aspect that makes these nibs so special is that they have custom fit ebonite feeds which some people say are superior to the more modern plastic feed because of how they handle ink.

    The ebonite is a more porous rubber material that acts sort of like a sponge so it can saturate with ink a lot better and keep the nib wetter more than plastic would, it is also a more traditional material that is seen on almost all vintage pens. Another nice thing about their ebonite feeds is that it has the nib grade right on the feed so that it doesn't clutter up the nib design and makes the nibs appear a little more uniform which may seem small but its nice to see even the smallest details taken into account. I find that Aurora nibs tend to be on the finer side despite being a European brand and I would suggest following the rules for the Japanese nib sizes and assume that they are actually one size down so an Aurora fine could be considered a western EF.

Pros

• Great nibs made in house
• Ebonite feed
• Sterling silver hardware
• great filling mechanism and clear ink window
• cool engravings on the section
• Great selection of nib options

Cons

• May be a bit heavy for some people
• Small limited edition so it will be hard to get in the future

Conclusion

    Aurora is a great brand with a rich history in manufacturing writing instruments for over 100 years and has kept up their attention to detail and quality standard well into the modern era. I'm quite confident that anyone that writes with an Aurora pen will understand why they are considered one of the top Italian pen makers but especially with the Glacier and Tundra special editions which are limited to 580 pieces each worldwide. Both of these pens can be purchased from Pen Boutique in a multitude of nib sizes for the price of $1,165, feel free to check it out on our website or stop by the store to see one in person but act quick because these will go out of stock in a heartbeat!