Pen Boutique's Parisian Pen Brand

 A Closer Look at the Waterman Pen Brand

History

    The Waterman pen brand was started by Lewis Waterman after he noticed a lack of reliable fountain pens that held their own ink in the late 1800's. He began working on prototypes and designs of pens that would use capillary action in order to control ink flow and in turn, create a pen that could hold its own ink instead of being dipped. He filed his first patent in 1884 for a pen he called "The Regular" which was distributed out of the back of a cigar shop for the first year. Lewis died in 1901 and his nephew took over the business steadily increasing sales year after year. 

    Jif Waterman was the subsidiary of the American Waterman company that was in Europe and is widely credited for ensuring the continuation of the brand after 1936. Waterman is now recognized as the oldest manufacturer of fountain pens still in production today, over 135 years after the patent for "The Regular". Now that we know the origin of the Waterman pen company, let's take a look at the modern models available at Pen Boutique.

Hemisphere

    The most budget friendly and coincidentally the most brightly colored option from the Waterman pen brand is called the hemisphere. These pens have a nice small-midsize silhouette making them a great option for students or people with smaller hands. The primary construction is metal that has been anodized or powder coated to give it a nice splash of color. All hemisphere models have steel nibs which makes sense seeing as how the Hemisphere is a very competitively priced pen. You can purchase the Waterman hemisphere in varying finishes and colors from Pen Boutique in prices that range from $68-$144.94.

Expert

    The Expert is the next step in terms of not only price range but also quantity in terms of what you get for your dollar. I think of the Expert as the older sibling of the Hemisphere because the design is essentially a scaled up version which includes the nib. The Hemisphere sports around a #5 size nib while the Expert has a #6 but it is still a steel nib so we have not yet reached the gold nib pens. There are considerably less color options available but still a good core collection consisting of black, brushed metal, blue, red, bronze and gold. The Waterman Expert in the previously stated variety of colors can be purchased from Pen Boutique for between $138.14-$151.19.

Carene

    This where Waterman starts to get funky (in a good way) in terms of design and offering a bang for your buck. The Carene is made of metal which gives the pen a very solid feeling however it is offered in only three varieties: black with gold trim, black with silver trim, and a very interesting amber color. The most noticeable thing about this pens design is the curved 18k gold nib that gives this pen a very sleek and stealthy look. I must say that the Carene in the amber waves color really is my favorite modern Waterman model due to its loose resemblance of Arco celluloid material and the warm compliment of the gold trim. The Carene can be purchased from Pen Boutique in the 3 options listed above for $233.05.

Exception

    Finally we come to the top of the line, the Exception is no Exception to innovative design (see what I did there...). The most obvious draw to this pen is the unique square shaped barrel that continues to the grip section for a more ergonomic grip. These pens, much like the carene, also have a very satisfying weight that takes the writing experience and elevates it just a bit more. These pens also have wonderfully smooth gold nibs and are sure to look great signing important documents or writing in daily journals alike. The Exception is available in black with gold trim, black with silver trim and blue with silver trim and can be purchased for $356.79 from the Pen Boutique website.