This was an expensive pen but I’m happy with the price I paid, as I had refund and a discount. I think it’s a beautiful looking pen, which is of course subjective. The Auroloide acrylic is beautifully marbled with excellent chatoyance, which comes to life in good lighting conditions.

The piston filling mechanism is the smoothest I have experienced, and there’s a decent ink reservoir. The 14 k rose gold nib is very well tuned. Mine is wet but not inconveniently so. It’s smooth and has that famed Aurora feedback. I found it not as pronounced as expected and nowhere near that on my Sailor Pro Gear.

The nib is not soft, has no flex, very little bounce and offers almost no line variation. But it’s smooth, without being glassy. Hard, but not a nail. And I’ve mentioned the feedback. The nib's scrollwork is very pleasant and I really like it’s shape with the wide wings. The ebonite feed is chunky and provides excellent flow. I’ve had no skipping, dry outs or hard starts.

It has a useable ink window - that’s a rare treat in my collection and it obviates the need for... the "hidden reservoir" on the piston, which is a gimmick and makes cleaning the barrel a bit of a pain by all accounts. I plan to use Aurora blue / black in it for a while, so as yet this has not been an issue.

The grip section is the most comfortable pen I have. It seems to meld your hand and index finger, into the nib for responsive, controlled writing. The lip prevents your fingers slipping onto the nib or feed. The cap threads on the grip are flattened and you can barely feel them. Just another mark of the pen’s high quality. The cap is very nice. It posts well and takes about 1.25 turns to remove. The clip is elegant and solid, although I don’t use it myself.

Every review says the Optima is a smaller pen. It is when capped but uncapped it’s the same size as a Lamy 2000 and so can be used posted or unposted. It is very light. When you first take it in hand, it almost feels too light. However, its lightness means it’s well balanced, comfortable and can be used for long writing sessions.

The boxes and packaging are large and impressive, useful if you were buying to gift.

I am delighted and very pleased with my Optima. It’s beautiful and a great joy to write with. It won’t be for everyone in terms of size, weight or aesthetics. I like to buy from companies like Aurora that make everything in-house and produce quality products. It’s highly comfortable, and putting down a wet line of ink with this pen is a fantastic feeling - and you can easily keep on doing that for hours.

A wonderful pen and my second Optima. Aurora makes fantastic pens that write as nicely as the look.
I can highly recommend Iguana Sell.

La pluma es preciosa y de gran suavidad. La atención perfecta. Seguiré con vosotros.