The object’s design, halfway between a work of art and a writing implement, borrows the material, colours, and signature elements of the timepieces inspired by that maritime masterpiece, the Titanic. In the detailed form of the famous vessel’s ventilator cowls, and topped with a cap whose clip is shaped like a staircase handrail, its opening is covered with a sapphire crystal, revealing an 18-carat-gold fountain pen nib, artfully engraved with the image of the Titanic.
The barrel of the object bears a ring of oxidized steel, born of the fusion between rusted steel from the wreck of the Titanic and steel supplied by the Harland & Wolff shipyards, where the great ship was built almost a century ago. Additional unusual features add to the mystique of this unique instrument, including:
– A propeller resembling the secondary propeller of the Titanic
– An ink reservoir fitted with a piston discernable through a porthole
– A miniature replica of the ship’s wheelhouse mechanism at the object’s base
– Steel and/or diamond rivets gracing the instrument’s remarkable lines
The ensemble, with its Belle Époque aura, comes with a blown-glass inkpot filled with cuttlefish ink, formulated using a classic recipe of eras past.
And the way in which this fountain pen functions is equally astonishing!
The wheelhouse steering gear at the object’s base is engaged by a toothed wheel which, in turn, rotates the propeller, which moves the piston upwards, thus letting the ink be drawn into the pen nib.
Yvan Arpa, in artistic collaboration with Jean-Pierre Lépine and his son, Benjamin Lépine, brought this most uncommon writing instrument into being, interpreting the fountain pen much more as an objet d’art than a simple tool.
The Titanic-DNA writing implement series is available in six styles, combining a variety of materials including brass, PVD, stainless steel, palladium, and gold. Each comes in a limited edition of just 88 units.
These works of art are made exclusively for RJ by Benjamin and Jean-Pierre Lépine.
