David Oscarson - America the Beautiful - Fountain Pen Azure Blue

THE DESIGN

Created for the Semiquincentennial of the United States and inspired by Katharine Lee Bates' hymn. The cap carries the American bald eagle, wings outstretched in high and low relief over the Star-Spangled Banner, beneath rays of light and a sunburst guilloché under translucent hot enamel. The clip is an elongated scroll of the Constitution engraved "We the People" with the Liberty Bell; three clasping hands and three silver stars crown the cap under the words Annuit Coeptis. The barrel pictures amber waves of grain, the fruited plain and purple mountain majesties in translucent enamel over multi-level guilloché, with Novus Ordo Seclorum at its base and 1776 / 2026 on the endcap. The gripping section is engraved "America! America! God shed His grace on thee. From sea to shining sea!" This fountain pen is finished in Azure Blue with polished .925 sterling silver.

THE CRAFT

Hand-crafted from .925 sterling silver. Each component passes through multiple stages of precision engraving to create the guilloché pattern, then hard enamel — glass, water and metal oxides ground by hand with a mortar and pestle — is applied with a quill, kiln-fired at over 1,000 °F, filed back by hand with a diamond file and fired again until the enamel fills every valley of the engraving. The pieces are then polished and buffed to the velvet finish of true translucent hard enamel. A five-year apprenticeship is required to master the process.

THE COLLECTION

The America the Beautiful Collection is the 42nd in the David Oscarson series of Limited Edition writing instruments. Each colour variation is limited to 76 pieces, including fountain pen and roller ball styles, and every piece is numbered. Commemorates the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.

THE NIB

An 18-karat gold nib engineered in Heidelberg, Germany, plated with rhodium and tipped with iridium, on an ebonite feed — offered in Fine, Medium or Broad. The filling system accepts a cartridge, a converter or an eyedropper fill; a series of seals and O-rings keeps the ink in the chamber.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Maison: David Oscarson, St. Louis, Missouri — handmade limited editions since 2000 • Collection: America the Beautiful • Type: Fountain Pen • Colour: Azure Blue • Finish: Sterling silver • Body: .925 sterling silver, guilloché engraving, kiln-fired hard enamel • Nib: 18-karat gold, rhodium-plated, iridium-tipped — Fine (F), Medium (M) or Broad (B) • Filling: cartridge, converter or eyedropper • Edition: limited to 76 pieces per colour (fountain pen and roller ball combined), individually numbered • Reference: ABAS-F / -M / -B • Presented in: David Oscarson presentation box

WHO THIS IS FOR

• Collectors of numbered limited-edition writing instruments • Writers who prefer an 18-karat gold nib • Admirers of guilloché and hard-enamel work in the Fabergé tradition • Those marking a milestone with a piece made to be kept and handed down

AUTHENTICITY GUARANTEED

Supplied in Canada by El Laguito Cigars, authorized David Oscarson retailer, shipped from Mississauga, Ontario. Every piece is genuine David Oscarson, individually numbered and backed by authorized warranty.