Waterman
Pens and Ephemera

Elegant enough for a night at the opera, our Waterman LeMan Opera rollerball pen borrows heavily from 1920s Waterman design sensibilities. We especially love the wavy chasing pattern around the cap and barrel. Our pen looks almost like new and comes with its original box. We would say the pen is mint, except for a rogue wear spot on the bottom ring around the tail of the barrel. Also included is a new Waterman refill. 14cm capped.

One of the advantages of a luxury pen by Waterman is its brass-barrel construction. Way more rugged than the "precious resin" of a Montblanc, the still-elegant Waterman Carene can remain true under a lot more stress and pressure. Click the headline for close-ups and see a couple of chips in the finish of the "amber-shimmer" lacquer coating. There also might be some seepage around the nib. In spite of these issues, this pen is ready for plenty more writing. You will write a nice fine line with its 18k gold nib. Included is a standard international converter. 14.5cm capped.

One of the most successful pens of modern Waterman is the Waterman Carene Deluxe. We love these preowned luxury pens. The dynamic styling and excellent writing characteristics make it a real winner. The "Deluxe" means it has a silver-plated cap. The cap combines handsomely with the blue barrel. The cap looks great without any dents or scratches, but the barrel shows some light wear. Included is a Schmidt standard international converter. You will write a very smooth fine line with its 18k gold nib. Great for dressing up and daily writing. 14.5cm capped.

Harkening back to 1920s black hard rubber with "chasing" designs, this Waterman LeMan Opera fountain pen is a stunningly handsome modern luxury pen. The cap and barrel are in nearly perfect condition. The gold-plated trim has just a little schmutz and wear on the tail end. Click the headline for close-ups. Its two-tone 18k gold nib writes a nice fine-medium line. It is a soft nib that responds to light pressure, but this is not a conventional semi-flex nib. The thin 18k gold is easily sprung. The pen includes a box and papers. 14.4cm capped.

Moxie the cat is helping to model this handsome Waterman Carene Deluxe rollerball pen. It has a bronze barrel and vermeil cap. In this case, vermeil is a silver plated cap that has been plated over in gold. It is one of the less common Carene models. There are no dents or long, deep scratches. There are a few very short shallow scratches and other marks of light wear. Happily enough, these preowned luxury pens take regular Waterman rollerball refills AND Pilot G2 gel refills. This one sports a blue G2! There is just enough weight in the pen to really make it write smoothly with some gentle momentum. These are among our favorite rollerball pens. Click the headline for close-ups. Meowy Christmas. 14.5cm capped.

The 1990s saw Waterman return to luxury pen making. One of their first hits was the Waterman Exclusive. This pen is made of solid brass and is decorated in a burgundy lacquer. It comes its original converter and its original boxes. You will write a smooth medium line with its 18k gold nib. Click the headline for close-ups. There is a little wear where the cap posted on the pen. The lacquer is a little bumpy near the clip of the cap. And you can see in the nib photo that the section trim is a little spotted and scratched. 14.2cm capped.

For as handsome as this moss green-grey vintage pen is, it features some of the weaknesses of 1940s Waterman manufacturing. Our Waterman 2 has a crack in the top of the cap and in the lip of the cap. Its pocket clip spins freely. We restored this pen with a new ink sac. You'll find nice Canadian Waterman imprints. Click the headline for a close-up of the 14k gold nib. When you find the sweet spot on the nib, you will write a smooth broad line. It gets a little scratchy when you lose the sweet spot. Oh, and its inkfeed is a modern replacement feed. 12.8cm capped.

Behold the mighty Sleeve-Filler! Honestly, some days we still have to pinch ourselves to make sure the dream we are living is really not just a dream. This Waterman 12SF in its original box creates a pinch-ourselves moment. Gary Lehrer's Waterman book says these were made between 1910 and 1915. The old hard rubber is fragile. As such, we did not force the section to open to restore this pen. This pen is in far too good a condition to accidentally destroy. It remains without a working ink sac. The sleeve on the barrel has a crisp imprint and can be gently coaxed and wiggled to reveal the squeeze bar filler. It is a little stiff in moving so don't force anything. No cracks! 14k gold nib is a stiff semi-flex. Original box a little faded and ink stained but still nice to have. Additional photos available upon request.