Omas Ogiva Burkina Review

2015 marks the 90th Anniversary of Officina Meccanica Armando Simoni, or Omas, the name you’re probably more familiar with. And they’re celebrating in a big way.

Earlier this year Omas released the 90th Anniversary Paragon set featuring 3 of their lovely celluloids and now they’re bringing the Ogiva to the party all dressed up in a very special suit. This is the first time the Ogiva has been offered in the Burkina celluloid and boy does it look good! Since I’ve already done full reviews of the Ogiva in its resin and celluloid forms before, this will mostly just be an overview.

Previously, the Ogiva has been released in 6 other celluloids (above, from left to right): Lucens, Arco Verde, Wild, Saffron, Scarlet, and Bronze Arco. The Burkina is a stunning addition to the celluloid Ogiva lineup and would make for a small collection any fountain pen user could be proud of.

I really don’t even know where to begin to describe this material. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before. There’s lots of olive and gold tones that swirl together and are separated by solid and dotted streaks of black. This is the first time I’ve been able to inspect the Burkina celluloid and it’s not as one-dimensional as it looks in photos. I doubt my video will show it off, but there are several spots where the black dotted streaks appear to fall beneath the surface of the pen, back into the depths of the swirling gold tones. It adds a lovely, subtle depth and complexity to the pen’s appearance.

The Ogiva is a moderately large pen with a somewhat slim profile given its length. As seen below (from left to right) next to the Aurora Mar Adriatico, the Montegrappa Extra 1930, the Omas Ludovico Einaudi Paragon, the Omas London Smoke Milord, the Ogiva, the Pelikan M805, the Montblanc 149, the Lamy 2000M, and the Pilot Metropolitan, you can see it’s every bit as long as these oversize pens, but without the girth, which makes a huge difference in the hand.

Uncapped, the ranks don’t change a whole lot and when posted, it’s just a hair shorter than the Paragon.

In the hand, it feels really good. Since it doesn’t have the excess girth of the oversize pens like the Paragon or the 149, it should be more comfortable for many users and I wouldn’t be too concerned about its length since the celluloid keeps the pen nice and light. The cap does post well for those who insist on doing so, and while it doesn’t shift the balance too much, its length does look a bit comical.

The cap utilizes the vintage style clip with a black onyx roller wheel that compliments the black streaks in the celluloid. Instead of using the traditional Greek Key cap band, Omas has changed up the design for this edition by using three thin bands which are also mirrored on the grip section. A little further up the section, right before the transition to the barrel is where you would normally find the limited edition number out of 90 engraved into the section but, since this pen is the prototype, it doesn’t have a number.

There’s an interesting story behind the 90th Anniversary nib seen here. Omas had a batch of non-flexible,14k Extra Fine nibs and decided to have them stamped with this design for this pen. But, since it was only limited to the one size, they felt it would alienate too many users who prefer broader nibs. So, they decided not to use it, which means, unfortunately, that this nib design won’t actually be available on the Ogiva Burkina. The upside is that you’ll now have access to the myriad of sizes offered in the standard 18k nib (EF, F, M, B, BB, OMD, OBD, OBBD, OM, 52°, STUB, ITALICO) as well as the 14k gold Extra Flessibile version (EF, F, M, B).

Choosing a nib size is probably the most difficult decision, but next to that, it has to be selecting an ink. Omas has some lovely colors to choose from and I’ve decided to go with the turquoise for this writing sample.

The 14k, extra fine nib in this pen writes exceptionally well. It provides a soft feel with ample ink flow to allow the extra fine tip to glide across the page.

The Ogiva has been one of my favorite pens for a long time. I like its classic shape, its size, and when combined with the eye-catching Burkina celluloid, it makes for one outstanding package.

The Omas Ogiva Burkina will retail for $895, with most retailers discounting their typical 20%. Omas has sold all 90 pieces and I know Kenro, the US distributor, has sold out of their allotment as well. So, if you want one, make sure you pick it up right away when they’re released later this month from your favorite Omas retailer.