Capless Posh

By now, the Pilot family of Capless pens is well known. The three variations –Capless, Décimo, Fermo— have already been described on these Chronicles and we all are aware of the array of limited editions Pilot periodically releases trying to cash the success of the model. These limited editions are based on the regular Capless model and, a lot less often, on the slimmer Décimo, leaving the Fermo behind in this more restricted market. Or maybe not…

In 2014, luxury brand Hermès joined efforts with designer Marc Newson and Pilot to create a unique and exclusive pen: the Hermes Nautilus.

This Hermes/Pilot pen does indeed look brilliant and original, but deep inside it is just a Pilot Fermo. As such, the pen is operated by twisting the tail over the section. And further rotation unscrews both halves opening the pen. Inside, the very familiar rhodiated, 18 K gold nib common to all modern Pilot Capless models. Identical nib save for a small detail—it is engraved with an H, together with the usual dating codes of Pilot. In particular, this nib was manufactured at the Hiratsuka plant on May of 2014.

The Nautilus, made of aluminum and steel, is available in four colors: grey, blue, black and red. These are the dimensions:

Length closed: 145 mm
Length open: 154 mm
Diameter (or maximum width): 14 mm
Weight: 43.9 g (dry, empty cartridge)

All in all, an overweight and overpriced Fermo. Retail price of USD 1670 (according to the Hermès USA website) makes it a factor 10 more expensive than the regular Fermo (JPY 20000)—with the same nib!

Exclusivity has a price.


NOTE added on March 2018: The Hermes Nautilus comes with 6 different nib points: EF, F, FM, M, B, and Stub. The FM nib is the only example of this point in a rhodiated nib. The price of this pen in Japan is JPY 150000, plus tax.


My thanks to Mr. Sunami.


More information:
Hermes USA website (active on December 2015).
Ken KESSLER. Hermès Nautilus: so much more than a pen. The Telegraph. July 8, 2014.

Parker 51 demi, vacumatic – Private Reserve DC Supershow Blue

Bruno Taut
Madrid, December 3rd, 2015
etiquetas: Pilot, Capless, mercado