OMAS EXTRA LEVER FILLER SR. SIZE - ARCO GRAY WITH WARTIME FINISH

In 1932, Omas introduced the Extra lever filler model; it was available in three sizes both with a cylindrical and facetted design. The features of the model were the rich and elegant greek key cap band placed between two thin cap rings and a typical roller clip.

The rich greek key cap band was soon replaced by three thin rings and the metalware of the pens lost the gold filled color to become chrome coloured in wartime years, when the use of gold was prohibited by the Italian government.

At that time  pen makers had to adjust to the new regulations: gold nibs disappeared and were replaced by steel nibs. The biggest companies, such as Aurora, Omas and a few others, patented their own alloys to replace gold. Omas introduced Permanio nibs, actually steel nibs which were advertised as being as good a gold or even better.

Permanio nibs are actually very smooth and can be very flexible, too, but they were subjected to ink corrosion and this explains why perfect Permanio nibs are so rare today.

Among the many colors available, Arco was not one of the most successful at the time. For users of the 1930s and 1940s, arco gray and arco bronze were just one of the many variations with the main interest focussing on marbleised colors.

This is the reason why arco celluloid Omas pens are so scarce nowadays.

The pattern of the arches and the combination of light and dark lines in this type of celluloid varies remarkably from one pen to the other and the beauty of the pens is enhanced if the pattern is rich and very well-defined.

The rarity of the color and of the Permanio nib matching the wartime finish  of the pen, make this  Senior Omas Extra lever filler extremely desirable.

The cap shows the typical oval with the inscription Corrado Accossano - Roma ( it was one of the major Omas retailer shops in central Italy). The pen is in excellent condition with minimal signs of time and use.

The Permanio nib is smooth and has a generous M tip.