Collier | From the Pen Cup

I suspect you’re familiar with this internal (and ETERNAL) battle. See pretty pen. Want pretty pen.

Problem is, you only have two hands (and really, only one that can write anything), and way more pens than hands. Way more. Like, you’re on your way to becoming one of those people with goat paths that lead from one cluttered room to another. The pens, I’ve noticed, tend to pile up.

But, GAH, you want this pen. So the angel and devil both start whispering in opposite ears, each trying to outmaneuver the other.

“But it’s so pretty!”

“You have enough pens!”

“It will make my life complete!”

“Um, no.”

“But everybody’s getting one!”

“And if everybody jumped off a bridge, would you do that?!” [Funny how your brain digs up these little beauties from your childhood.]

The ping-ponging conversation continues until you’re exhausted by indecision. But, oh, how that pen speaks to you!

Such was the scenario when I saw this slightly used Edison Collier in Antique Marble on Gary Varner’s former Notegeist site.

I did my best to look away, but I couldn’t unsee that pen.

I appealed to my sense of reason. I already own an Edison Collier in Persimmon Swirl. (Talk about a looker!) AND, I already own an Edison Pearl in Antique Marble. So neither the model nor material were new to me.

I really DID do my best to ignore it, thinking that someone else would snap it up and make the decision moot. But no one did.

The price, I should mention, was excellent. A real steal. I stewed and rationalized and waffled in both the “buy” and “don’t buy” directions. I burned brain power and calories thinking about this, so strenuous was my thinking.

You’re smart. You know how this particular tale turns out. I bought the pen.

The price was too good. The pen, too gorgeous. The Antique Marble acrylic is slightly translucent and beautifully swirled. There’s chatoyancy and depth and glow. The colors are my colors.

The fine nib writes wonderfully. Upon receipt, I filled it with Montblanc JFK Blue Navy, and have been writing letters and journal entries with it often. I do not regret this purchase.

But sometimes I don’t buy the pen. And this year I’m going to do my best to do what I said I was going to do LAST year- to be happy with what I already have. To USE what I already have.

To buy or not to buy. That will always be the question.

Apologies to Sinead O’Connor for stealing the song title to title this post, but I am dopey swoony over this pen. Like I miss it when I’m not around it. It has completely stolen my pen-loving heart. It has spoiled me for all other pens. This is serious, folks.

Behold the Edison Collier in Persimmon Swirl. Oh, my. There I go, swooning again. (Did I faint? Did I get the vapors?)

Use with cartridge or converter OR as an eyedropper pen

By listening to the Fountain Pen Geeks podcasts, I’m learning a lot about the fountain pen players, including Brian Gray (Edison Pen Company, the maker of this pen) and Brian Goulet (The Goulet Pen Company, the seller of the pen). The Collier is one of Brian Gray’s production pens and is sold by The Goulet Pen Company, as well as a few other sellers. I love poking around on The Goulet’s website, and let me tell you, when I spotted this pen, my eyes popped out of my head, just like a cartoon critter’s.

Yes, like this.

This is the biggest pen I own, but it’s wonderfully comfortable and fun to hold. The section is perfectly shaped for my grip, so writing with it is a dream. A DREAM. The #6 two-tone steel nib (fine) writes smoothly and without hesitation. The looks are truly killer. Photos don’t really do justice to the sheen and depth of the persimmon swirl pattern. The branding is simple and subtle. There is not one misstep with this pen. Not a one.

I could blabber on like a fool all day long, but I think I’ll just let the photos do the talking.

Persimmon Swirl. (Reminds me of Nemo!)