My Favorite Style of Pen: A Second Look at the Aurora Optima Fountain Pen

November 2, 2022

Since this coming Friday is Fountain Pen Day, it’s only appropriate that both of my main posts this week be devoted to, well, fountain pens! Today’s post is less a full review than a further observation based on several years of heavy use. Back in 2016 I reviewed the Aurora Optima, on loan from my friend Thomas. While I enjoyed that pen, it was a bit out of my price range at the moment and I didn’t end up picking one up until a couple of years later, when I added the green Auroloide version pictured here. I wanted to take a moment today to remark not only on how much I have enjoyed the Optima, but in particular the shape.

Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black (left) compared against the Aurora Optima. These two share a similar profile.

If you’ve followed the blog over the years, you likely know that I have several pen models that are personal favorites, including the Lamy 2000 and the Sailor Pro Gear. If you add the Aurora Optima and the Opus 88 Minty (a recent addition) into that mix, you’ll also notice a trend: I apparently favor a streamlined flat-top design, mostly in pens that post.

Why do I like this shape so much? As with all things fountain pens, it’s largely a matter of personal preference. “Postability” plays a huge role: Most days I’m running between meetings in different offices and conference rooms, writing perched on different chairs and sometimes even on a bench in the back of a courtroom or leaning against the wall in a crowded conference room. I can’t really worry about what I’m going to do with the cap of my fountain pen.

But a lot of what I enjoy about this pen design is personal in the sense that the shape fits my hand better than nearly every other style. With both the Lamy 2000 and the Pro Gear, the pen fits my hand best posted; the Optima sits in the midrange size-wise, at a point where I can generally use it either posted or unposted; and the Opus 88 is more on the upper end of the range, where I can post it if necessary (it’s very light), but when I’m at a desk or at home I find the size perfect unposted.

The Opus 88 Minty (left) and the Aurora Optima (right)

Takeaways and Where to Buy

If I found myself in a position where I had to choose a single model of fountain pen to use forever, never purchasing another pen ever again, chances are that it would likely be one of the pens pictured here. A primary goal of my writing here at T.G.S. has been to encourage people, when making a purchasing decision, to look beyond the aesthetics of a pen or piece of stationery to how well it will work for them in everyday use. While pens like the stock Aurora Optima or Lamy 2000 may not be the most visually exciting from the perspective of today’s FOMO, limited-edition driven market, they have staying power among fountain pen aficionados for a reason: they’re well-built workhorses that will let you write comfortably, for long periods of time.

An overhead comparison of four pens with a similar classic shape.

You can purchase the Aurora Optima pictured here from most Aurora dealers, as it’s the standard green model with gold trim. I picked this one up from Dan at The Nibsmith, who doesn’t appear to have this particular color in stock at the moment, but our friends at Dromgoole’s do have it priced at $476. The Lamy 2000 and Sailor Pro Gears are also widely available at retail, generally priced at around $200 and $300-$350, respectively. For a similar look in a larger pen, you might consider the Opus 88 Minty (which we do sell directly), a Japanese-style eyedropper that not only holds a LOT of ink, but sits in at the $125 price point. I plan to review the Minty separately at a later date.

Pen Review: Aurora Optima Rollerball

November 3, 2018

I’ve been on a rollerball kick lately, especially at work. Rollerball pens are among the most versatile and practical pens out there for many reasons: they’re smooth writers, refills are easy to come by, and the ink is typically permanent. Rollerball cartridges use writing technology similar to a ballpoint (i.e., the ink flows from the cartridge to a metal ball, which “rolls” the ink onto the paper), but instead of oil-based ballpoint ink, Rollerballs use a liquid ink formulation. This assists with the “smoothness” factor, giving rollerball pens a feel closer to a fountain pen, but not as close as a fineliner or a felt-tip pen.

My “go-anywhere” rollerball pen: the Aurora Optima, shown here on top of my Nanami Paper Cafe Note B6 in Gfeller natural leather cover, which is starting to show some wear!

The other thing I appreciate about rollerball pens is the price - a “nice” rollerball pen will run you much less than the same model of fountain pen. Take, for example, the Aurora Optima. I’ve previously reviewed the Aurora Optima fountain pen, which sports a price $200 north of the rollerball version. (I’ve not managed to add a fountain pen version to my permanent collection yet, but perhaps that’s coming?) In the meantime, I found myself in the market for one or two understated, business-appropriate rollerball pens that I could take to business meetings, depositions, and even to court, so I could have a reliable writing instrument that is much less distracting than a fountain pen. The Optima ticks all of these boxes:

It’s understated. No non-pen-person is going to look twice at the black-with-gold-trim design, or feel that it’s overly showing or ostentatious (often an issue when you want to “blend in” at the back of a courtroom or board meeting). At the same time, you’ll notice that I used the term “understated,” and not “boring.” The Optima rollerball sports Aurora’s signature “Greek Key” design around the cap band that lends the pen character.
It features a solid refill. I enjoyed using the Aurora-branded refill that shipped with the pen, but I did end up swapping in a finer-tip Schneider Topball 850 .5mm refill, which doesn’t get nearly the amount of attention that it should. Because rollerball pens feature a sharper point which can dig down into the paper fibers, the liquid ink in the cartridges has a tendency to feather and bleed through the page, even on fountain pen-friendly stock such as Tomoe River and Rhodia. The stock Aurora refill and the Topball 850 both perform well in this regard - you might have a bit of showthrough but I experienced less bleeding than with Schmidt refills.
It’s comfortable and well-balanced. Here’s where I think the Aurora Optima truly shines as a rollerball. Many companies make their rollerball pens slimmer and lighter, presumably to mimic consumer preferences in the disposable pen market. The Optima, on the other hand, sticks to the same dimensions as the fountain pen, which strikes me as a larger version of my beloved Sailor Pro Gear. It’s an amazingly comfortable pen to write with - if you need to use a rollerball pen for longer writing sessions, consider splurging on an Aurora Optima.

The vintage-style barrel engraving adds a touch of class to this pen, imho.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

The Aurora Optima rollerball has served as a solid addition to my daily rotation alongside my Montblanc Classique Le Petit Prince rollerball, which I’ve been using as a fineliner. While the Optima doesn’t necessarily have the visual “wow” factor that turns heads, I wasn’t looking for that in this pen, which was intended to meet a specific need in my kit.

I purchased the pen pictured here from our site sponsor Pen Chalet. This black pen with gold trim is the “base model,” with prices starting at $265. The “Auroloide” versions are more expensive, starting at $445, and of course there are limited edition versions running as high as $800. Pen Chalet also carries the fountain pen versions of the Optima, with prices starting at $445 and running all the way north of $1200.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I purchased this pen using affiliate store credit, which is one of the ways I manage to keep this blog going. Many thanks for your support!

The Aurora Optima Nero Perla, in Aurora's simple, yet gorgeous, presentation box. The Italian pen companies always seem to do packaging well.

Pen Review: The Aurora Optima Nero Perla

July 30, 2016

Aurora is one of the three remaining major Italian pen companies, now that Omas is out of business. It's also a company with which I have relatively little experience, at least with respect to their fountain pens. I'm a huge fan of Aurora's inks: they make two colors, black and blue, and both are among my go-tos for safe, standard colors. I've owned an Aurora Ipsilon Quadra in Sterling Silver, and while the pen was nice, it didn't stick in my collection.

Recently, my friend Thomas decided to unload a few pens in his collection, and asked whether or not I would be interested in reviewing one of Aurora's flagship pens, the Aurora Optima, before he sold it. I've always wanted to test drive one of these pens, so I jumped at the chance.

"Auroloide" material and Build

The Aurora Optima Nero Perla is a visually stunning pen. The material (which the company refers to as "Auroloide") is cellulose acetate: an acrylic variant intended to reproduce the depths of color and warmth found in vintage celluloid, but without the long curing period and manufacturing difficulties. Indeed, the Optima feels like a celluloid pen in hand. The material is slightly translucent, allowing you to see the ink level once the pen is filled. This particular color scheme is called "Nero Perla" ("Black Pearl"). Trim appears to be a combination of sterling silver and Rhodium plating, and the piston-filling system gives the pen heft.

This pen feels solid, like it will stand up to heavy use. The one critique I have on the build, however, is how difficult the pen is to clean. Aurora's piston fillers have a "hidden reservoir" of ink behind the piston, which they pitch as a feature that allows you to write for a full page after the main ink chamber is empty. I can see this feature being useful if you carry one pen, and take a lot of notes in meetings, etc. where you wouldn't want to run out, but it also means that it takes a LOT of flushing to get rid of all the ink. If I had kept this pen, it would've ended up as a "one-ink pen" just to avoid having to deal with the cleaning.

Writing Experience

The Aurora Optima features a 18k nib. This one started life as a medium but has been ground to a cursive italic.

The nib on this Optima was tuned and ground to a smooth .4mm cursive italic by either Mike Masuyama or Shawn Newton - Thomas couldn't remember. (Hey, that happens when you have so many pens!) It's an excellent writer, though I can't speak to how the pen wrote straight out of the box. Other Aurora pens I have tried have been nice writers, though the nibs tend to have feedback. They're not scratchy, but they're not glassy smooth either, which isn't an issue for me but can drive some people crazy.

This .4mm cursive italic (formerly a medium nib) writes perfectly for me.  Ink is Aurora blue. — This .4mm cursive italic (formerly a medium nib) writes perfectly for me. Ink is Aurora blue.

The Optima's 18k nib is a better writer than the nib on my old Aurora Ipsilon Quadra. The nib is stiff, without much give or flex. If you like firm nibs, you'll like this pen.

Takeaways

A close-up of the Optima in its box.  You can get a sense of the translucency of the material if you look just below the cap, where you can tell the pen has been filled with blue ink. — A close-up of the Optima in its box. You can get a sense of the translucency of the material if you look just below the cap, where you can tell the pen has been filled with blue ink.

The Aurora Optima Nero Perla is a gorgeous Italian fountain pen. As a fan of celluloid (and celluloid-like material), I appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into making a pen look this good. At the same time, the price point is very high, even taking into account the recent price drop That's not to say I think the pen is unreasonably priced - it's not, given the quality of the craftsmanship and the materials used - but Sailor's Professional Gear series has a similar shape and fits my hand better at $200 or so less. I do know, however, that there are people out there who find the Pro Gear too small and light, especially when writing with the pen unposted.

Where to Buy

Fortunately, if you're interested in the Optima, Aurora recently dropped the price. Both Pen Chalet and Anderson Pens carry Aurora, and both currently have the Optima listed at $445. Aurora issues annual "special edition" versions of the Optima, so if you're a fan of gold trim, you'll want to check out the "Abissi" Optima 365 Limited Edition.

If you're a fan of cursive italic nibs, and you'd like to purchase a barely-used Aurora, Thomas is offering the pen featured in this review for sale. As of the time of writing, the pen is up on my "For Sale" page and priced to move (especially once you take into account the custom nib, which otherwise would add $40-50 to the price, not to mention the wait time for nib work).

DISCLAIMER: The pen featured in this review was loaned to me at no cost for review purposes. This post contains affiliate links, through which I may be compensated a small amount if you purchase an item from any of the sites linked to in this article. While I'd greatly appreciate it if you use these links to purchase something you are interested in, you are, of course, under no obligation to do so. Many thanks!

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Further Reading on the Aurora Optima

Takeaways and Where to Buy

"Auroloide" material and Build

Writing Experience

Takeaways

Where to Buy

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