So I won’t lie – one of my ‘grail pens’ was the Delta Dolce Vita. From the first time I got my grubby paws on a Fountain Pen Hospital catalog, I fell in love with that radiant orange, and the contrast with it and the black and silver cap & trim. From there began a quest for orange pens, since I could not afford a Delta. (Still really can’t afford the one I’d love, but there’s a lot of pens like that….)
Funny thing is, turns out that orange, black, and silver look is pretty easy to find. Below are (and I’m not telling you the order they’re in!) A Delta Dolce Vita, a Conklin ‘Orange Nights,’ a custom-made Atelier Lusso with sterling fittings, and a no-name Chinese (I’m assuming) pen that came to me in a batch lot, but I’m guessing could not have cost more than $10.00. Can you tell which it which?
Unless you know each pen intimately, it’s tough to tell, isn’t it? They all have clips and clip bands which sit below the top of the cap, they all have a silver trim ring at the end of the barrel, on what might or night not be a blind cap, and then there’s the lovely gleaming marbled orange resin! It’s not easy! OK, here’s the real order: