What about this one? It’s a beautiful lapis lazuli and I haven’t had one of them recently. It has its faults – it’s missing a clip which is easily remedied, there is a little dark staining at the top of the cap and the nib has seen better days.

The pen has no name. In fact there’s nothing engraved on either cap or barrel. The plated steel nib is a Milevia Duro 4. I’ve come across these nibs before, used as replacements. The question is, is this pen to remain forever unidentified or is it a Milevia? The nib fits very closely to the feed which suggests to me that it is original. Milevia pens were made in the former Czechoslovakia and are well regarded and quite rare.

It would be nice if this pen is a Milevia but wishing won’t make it so and the evidence is thin. The nib is in a quite sorry state and will have to be replaced. I’ll hang on to the old nib and if I sell the pen I’ll include it. Regardless of who manufactured the pen it’s very well made and apart from the little bit at the top of the cap where ink has permeated the celluloid and darkened it, the colour has held up especially well. It’s a nice size at 13.4cm capped and the blue is wonderfully intense.