Marlen L.E. Amerigo Vespuccio Fountain Pen

"The Amerigo Vespucci, designed by the Marine Engineer Major Francesco Rotundi, was launched in the naval shipyard of Castellammare di Stabia on February 22 1931, a date which marks the death of the great explorer from which the vessel takes her name. Since the beginning, Italian Navy Officers have been trained on sailing ships. In the early 1930s, “despite the technological turmoil and the fleet modernization program”, the Navy leaders decided to continue this noble training tradition. Nothing better than a personal relationship with the sea, wind, sails and ropes may exalt the spirit of the training ship, represented in the motto that has been accompanying the cadets since: NOT WHO STARTS BUT THE ONE WHO PERSEVERES. On July 5, 1931, the Vespucci reaches La Spezia, her home port. That summer, the flagship of the Training Ship Division, conducts her first training campaign. At the end of the campaign, on October 15, 1931, the Vespucci receives her Battle Ensign in Genoa, offered by the local Section of the National Union of Retired Officers. Since her entry into service, the ship has carried out training activities every year, with the only exception of the year 1940, due to Italy’s entry into the Second World War, and the years 1964, 1973, 1997, 2014 and 2015, when the ship underwent a major overhaul. Nearly all the Italian Navy Officers have made their first sailing experience onboard the Amerigo Vespucci, receiving their sea baptism and all the basic instructions to become real sailors and leaders. A tradition - that of training future Commanders onboard sailing ships - that the Navy has handed down since the Unification of Italy until today and that this tall ship is expected to continue in the future. Quoting Admiral Straulino, perhaps the most famous commanding officer of the Vespucci, “only those who do not sail the sea may wonder [...] about the usefulness of a nineteenth-century sailing vessel in training Navy Officers in the age of missiles and nuclear submarines [...] Even if modern ships are fitted with technical equipment and installations that once we could only dream of, the essential thing is not to lose the ability to navigate relying on your personal knowledge and skills [...] In the sea, in its waves and wind, you may always read something of what will happen in the future”. In 1960, the Amerigo Vespucci is the Italian “first torchbearer” in the Rome Olympics. The Italian Navy vessel has, in fact, the task of transporting the “sacred torch” from Athens - where it had come from Olympia through the classical overland relay race - up to Syracuse, from which it will continue its journey through a traditional relay race to Rome. The Olympic adventure of the Vespucci began on the night of August 13, when the torch was picked up by an Academy cadet and carried onboard the Italian training ship. The tripod burning fuel lit by the Olympic torch remained onboard, closely guarded day and night by the crew. In 1962, the US aircraft carrier USS Independence crosses the path of the Amerigo Vespucci in the Mediterranean Sea, and her shipboard signal lamp declares: “You are the most beautiful ship in the world”. The well-known episode is just one of the many tributes and testimonies of admiration rendered to the Italian Navy training ship during her years at sea, which have contributed to her role as “Queen of the Seas”, and make it possible to depart from the Law of the Sea right-of-the-way rules. Even a transatlantic liner, when crossing the path of the Amerigo Vespucci, gives way and blows its siren in salute".

THE COLLECTION:
For over 35 years Marlen has created writing instruments inspired by the world around them. The Amerigo Vespucci collection is another unique limited edition, available for only a select time. Dazzling to behold, the body of the pen is crafted from silver, on which is engraved the famous ships profile in high/low relief. Located along the body are wooden, silver, and white celluloid rings; the largest of the silver rings displaying an engraved rendering of the famous ship in high/low relief. The sweeping cap is made of rings of Italian resin, also displaying a variety of wood, silver and white celluloid to match the body, the silver rings specifically enriched with small brass portholes throughout. Located on both the ship as well as the cap of the pen, is a large silver ring that displays the writing “Amerigo Vespucci”, also in high/low relief. The clip, made of silver, is forged in the shape of the sail on which a canvas piece from the ship was set. As a final embellishment, the silver cap top is intricately decorated displaying the laurels of the Italian Navy. Amerigo Vespucci is a limited edition collection, with a selection of 188 pieces for the fountain pen and 88 for the rollerball. Fountain pen comes fitted with an 18kt gold nib and uses a piston filling system. Each pen comes encased in a special, limited edition wooden box to commemorate the occasion.