Namiki
Namiki Emperor Coral Limited Edition
Namiki Emperor Coral Limited Edition
The Namiki Emperor Coral Limited Edition has been produced in just 99 numbered pieces worldwide. A masterwork of Maki-e technique from renowned artist Seiki Chida of the Kokkokai Collective in Kanagawa, this is a writing instrument to be treasured for generations to come.
While we offer our usual nib tuning and customizations on this pen, we can also leave it uninked for collectors - just let us know in the notes while completing your order. We are an authorized Namiki dealer.
The choice of a coral motif for this year's Namiki Emperor limited edition has a double significance - coral is a traditional symbol of life, luck, and protection in Japanese art and culture, while the dangers faced by coral reefs due to environmental damage and climate change makes them emblematic of the fate and health of the entire planet.
A variety of the most advanced Maki-e techniques have been used in the realized of the motif, including the extensive use of raden and of chinkin technique with gold and silver inlay. Each completed pen is the result of months of painstaking craftsmanship.
More than just a beautiful work of art in its own right, the Emperor Coral Limited Edition can also be a superb everyday writing instrument. Outer layers of clear urushi lacquer provide a durable surface that protects the detailed Maki-e work, and the high capacity eyedropper fill system allows the use of any bottled fountain pen ink.
Each pen ships in a special jet black presentation box with blue silk lining. A serial number plate, leaflet with certificate card, artisan card, and a use and care guide are also included, along with a maroon polishing cloth and specially packaged limited edition ink bottle.
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Customization Guide
Stub
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Above is the same size nib after a regrind to Stub. A regrind to Stub is often a good place to start for your first customization. A Stub nib provides broad down-strokes and narrow cross-strokes while writing, and is less position-sensitive on the paper than the crisper and slightly more demanding cursive italic.
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Cursive Italic
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More demanding, but also providing crisper edges and more line-width variation, is the very popular customization to Cursive Italic. This also provides broad down-strokes and narrow cross-strokes, but is also more position-sensitive in terms of how the pen is held and requires more skill on the part of the user. This is a common customization for artists and calligraphers, but is still smooth enough to make for a good everyday writer.
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Formal Italic
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Formal Italic is an even crisper and more demanding customization than either cursive italic or left oblique, and is usually utilized for calligraphy and by the most experienced users. This provides broad down-strokes and narrow cross-strokes, with even crisper corners and edges than a cursive italic - this is an extremely position-sensitive customization.
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Left Oblique
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Commonly used for signatures and correspondence, the Left Oblique customization provides broad diagonal strokes and narrow cross-strokes, and like a cursive italic, is more position-sensitive and demanding than a stub. The whole pen must be rotated to the left in order to write smoothly, without skipping. The "Left" in Left Oblique refers to the cut of the nib itself, and does not refer to the handedness of the writer. |
Architect's Point (Also for Arabic and Hebraic writing)
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A more exotic regrind is that to Architect’s Point. Named after the style of writing used by Frank Lloyd Wright, this regrind is the opposite of cursive italic, and provides for broad cross-strokes and narrow down-strokes. This also tends to be a particularly useful customization for those practicing Arabic or Hebraic calligraphy. |
Spencerian
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Perhaps our most popular customization, but also one of the most advanced, the Mottishaw Spencerian Customization has gained special attention from being featured in a customer's YouTube video which has now received over twelve million views! The Spencerian starts from a semi-soft 14k nib and adds additional flex and a regrind to needlepoint to create a specialized writing point used for copperplate calligraphy. For more details, visit our special Spencerian page.. |