David Oscarson - Les Quatre Couleurs - Fountain Pen Azure Blue, Ruby Red & Black

THE DESIGN

The Four Colours — and the four suits. Spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs, which originated in France about 1480, are portrayed on cap and barrel with a decorative filigree motif in high relief. The body is first cut to the level of the background, leaving the outer and inner lines of each suit raised, then finished in translucent and opaque hard enamel. This fountain pen is finished in Azure Blue, Ruby Red & Black 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 Les Quatre Couleurs Collection is the 17th in the David Oscarson series of Limited Edition writing instruments. Each colour variation is limited to 88 pieces, including fountain pen and roller ball styles, and every piece is numbered.

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: Les Quatre Couleurs • Type: Fountain Pen • Colour: Azure Blue, Ruby Red & Black • 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 88 pieces per colour (fountain pen and roller ball combined), individually numbered • Reference: QCA-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.