I hardly ever "re-review" pens, and I won't really do that here, but I did want to take the opportunity to talk about Lamy's absolutely gorgeous new special edition Studio, in Racing Green.
Everything that I wrote about in my previous review of the Lamy Studio remains true: It's a sleek, modern, nicely balanced pen with a metal section that offsets the weight of the cap when the pen is posted. The pen caps and posts securely, using a clutch mechanism that has an audible "click" or "snick" (choose your adjective). Lamy has chosen not to sell the Racing Green Studio with the 14K nib, opting instead to travel at a lower price point using the same stainless nib featured on the Safari, AL-Star, and Studio.
The sub-$80 Lamy Studio features the same stainless steel nib as on the Safari, AL-Star, LX, etc. For another $90, you can separately purchase one of Lamy's 14kt nibs, which are outstanding, but the price is pretty steep.
I previously reviewed another special edition Studio (the Ruby/Royal Red), which I regrettably sold off a couple years back. (Regrettable because I can't find another one.) Lamy seems to make fewer special edition Studio pens than they do special edition Safaris or AL-Stars. You can typically still find the latter in stock at retailers up to a year later, but the Studios tend to sell out relatively quickly. I imagine this is due to the higher price point and the lower profile of the Studio translating into lower demand; Lamy likely has an easier time selling the less-expensive Safaris and AL-Stars than the $70-plus Studio. Thus, it's also more difficult to find special edition Lamy Studios on the secondary market.
I touched up this photo a bit to try to bring out some of the iridescence. It's not noticeable at first, but when the light hits this pen in a certain way....
The Racing Green studio is an incredibly attractive pen, coated in an almost iridescent dark green matte finish. It remains to be seen how the matte finish on this pen will hold up over time. My red Studio looked pretty beat after a while, with the powdered coating wearing off underneath the clip and around the edges of the cap, which ultimately frustrated me and led me to sell the pen despite the excellent nib. I will say that the coating on the Racing Green feels thicker, and I haven't seen any dings or scratches yet despite carrying this pen in a bag for a week.
Takeaways and Where to Buy
I stand by my previous review of the Lamy Studio as a great option in the sparsely populated "great pens under $100 category" that TWSBI typically dominates. The Studio is also widely available and relatively easy to find, and with a coupon code you can get some colors for as low as $65. To me, that's a no-brainer (provided you can live with the metal section).
As I mentioned, the "Racing Green" Lamy Studio pictured here is a special edition, meaning that they will be made for a short time. Currently available from Pen Chalet at $79 retail (less with a coupon code), these may not last long, given how quickly past special edition Studios have sold out. Pen Chalet currently only has medium nibs in stock, but fines are still available on special order.