Waterman Philéas
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Waterman Philéas is a series of writing instruments including fountain pens, rollerballs, ballpoints and pencils produced by the Waterman pen company. It is well-known because of its good price-quality ratio and therefore it is often recommended for novice fountain pen users and collectors.
Inspired by the adventures of the worldly character Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days, penned by the French novelist Jules Verne, Waterman company designed this line of writing instruments naming them Philéas. The company designed mechanical pencils, ballpens and fountain pens using a number of materials. While the low end of the instruments are quite affordable (around US$30 each in 2005), the high end pens can cost over a thousand dollars. The design reflects an Art Deco look of the 1930s.
The best known of the Philéas writing instruments are the fountain pens as illustrated here. The fountain pens have a wide, two toned gold-plated and steel nib that fans out at the base and tapers to a fine point, decorated with an Art Deco styled engraving. The gold plated pen-clip carries the Waterman hexagon seal and flows from the top of the cap. The ebony black crown contrasts with the gold-plated rings around the barrel and cap which have been designed to resemble an engraved cigar band. In addition to the Philéas, Waterman produced the Kultur pen, which is a less expensive version whose fountain pens have plain steel nibs and less gilt, but with the same design and benefits as the Philéas. The Kultur is available in a number of transparent demonstrator colors.
The fountain pens are supplied with a convertible system for filling with either bottled ink or an ink cartridge. Nib can be fine or medium. Current color selection is: black, marble blue, marble green and marble red.
