Conway Stewart's latest Limited Edition is quite a departure for them. They have produced pens in solid gold prior to this, but this is the first time they have ventured into the production of a filigree overlay. The results would seem to prove that the attempt has been successful! One of several special pens being launched by Conway Stewart to celebrate the company's 100 year anniversary, the Centenary Overlay is a very striking pen, both in looks and "in the hand" presence.

The Centenary Overlay is being offered in three versions. Solid gold in ten pieces, and sterling silver and vermeil in one hundred pieces each. The pen itself is about the same size and shape as their popular Duro model. A bit longer at 5 7/8 inches long, while the Duro comes in at 5 3/8 inches long.

The contour of the cap and barrel is changed slightly from the Duro as well, giving the Overlay a straight cap and barrel, without the Duro's slight taper.

The Centenary Overlay is, as you might imagine, also quite a bit heavier than the Duro! Weighing in at two ounces for the gold version, and an ounce and a half for the silver and vermeil models, this pen is without a doubt substantial.

Even the silver version feels weighty, although without the same feel of mass as the solid gold. While heavy, both pens actually don't feel out of balance in the hand, as long as the cap isn't posted.

Although the cap does post securely on the barrel, it sits very high up on the barrel end, leaving the posted pen far too long to balance, a full seven and a half inches long.

If it sounds like I'm spending a lot of time going over the feel of the pen as it relates to it's possible use... Well, it's because these are actually very usable pens. The overlay is not so heavy, or so thick as to render the pen unwieldy, and I can easily see these pens being used on a daily basis.

The nib is the same two tone version used on Conway Stewart's sterling silver pens, and is available in the same wide choice of nib widths. Everything from Extra Fine through a Broad Italic. Enough choice for anyone there! You end up with a very striking looking pen, with a great weighty feel in the hand, and a nib to suit. Hard to go wrong with a combination like that.

The overlay design itself is clean but florid, consisting of swirling lines in a complicated pattern. The overlay is being created individually for Conway Stewart by Henry Simpole of London, a craftsman well known for his custom overlay work on fountain pens.

The fit and finish of the metal was excellent on our samples, the overlay fits tightly to the plastic of the cap and barrel. The design of the overlay is neat, it's an interpretation of the beautiful overlays of the early twentieth century, but with a slightly modern flair. As I mentioned earlier, the overlay itself is not unduly heavy or raised far enough to be a distraction. The edges of the cut out portions are nicely smoothed down to meet flush with the plastic of the barrel. As long as I refrained from trying to post the cap, writing was a very pleasant experience.

As an added touch, hidden away in the design on the cap you will find the date "1905", and on the barrel, the letters "CS". In the photo to the right, you can see all but the "5" of the date. With a bit of searching, that is!

The Centenary Overlay is obviously not an "inexpensive" pen, but in the world of precious metal overlays, it's certainly not unreasonably priced, either. The solid gold version listed at $3,000. For a solid 18K gold overlay, that's very reasonable. You can judge how the market took that price, the solid gold edition of ten pieces sold out in just under a week from the announcement and first showing of this new model at the Atlanta pen show! The sterling silver lists at $1,400, while the vermeil is $1,800.

As you might have gathered, I like the Centenary Overlay. It's a gorgeous pen of course, but that's not enough in my opinion. To be truly exciting to me, a pen has to be actually usable. So many limited editions, especially overlay pieces, fall short in this regard. Whether from excessive weight, shape, or design, they end up being more jewelry than a writing instrument. The Centenary Overlay manages to get past these hurdles and emerges as an actual pen. Everything from the weight and balance (remember not to post that cap, though!) to the clip, taken straight from their regular edition model, that allows the pen to be carried in a "real world" pocket. Taken as a work of art, the Centenary Overlay is a great pen. Better yet, taken as a pen, it's still a great pen!

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