A solid gold pen, the cap encrusted with sapphires and diamonds. That may sound a little like one of those high-priced modern limited editions, jewel laden, opulent and tasteless. In fact, this pen isn’t like that at all. Its opulence is measured and it is a restrained thing of beauty.

It appears to have been made in the late thirties, most likely by Dunhill though that has still to be confirmed. Everything about the design, together with the Dunhill/Namiki nib, suggests that it came from that house.

I don’t buy expensive pens and I hardly ever envy those who do but this pen comes close to being an exception. Not only is it a thing of loveliness that you could spend ages admiring, the Namiki nib is as good as you would expect it to be, flexible and highly responsive. It would be sacrilege to imprison such a pen in a display case. It demands to be used and used often.

When it comes to such pens, discussion of cost is largely irrelevant but when one considers the combination of highly satisfying design and pleasurable utility the pen is clearly worth a lot of money and compared with the price demanded for anything remotely similar today, its lucky owner secured a bargain.

With thanks to Mario Kaouklis