Waterman's | 452½ V | Sterling Basketweave Overlay | #2 Flex

The nib patina on this one is sublime, a deep blue-bronze across the gold. 14k is only about 58 percent gold; the silver and copper that make up the rest are what take on color like this over a century, so what you're seeing is the alloy itself.

Basketweave is exactly what it sounds like, crossing straps engraved deep into the solid sterling, a woven look that catches light differently as you turn the pen. The engraving on this example is deep and detailed, with the silver's own patina darkening down in the recesses. The code on the barrel end starts with 4 for sterling full overlay, then lever, then the #2 nib, in the slender vest size.

The flex is fantastic and controlled: it swells super easily under moderate pressure, the variation comes out extremely consistent, and it stays firm enough for fast print writing between the flexed passages. Tipping was smoothed and aligned at the bench and the feed tuned to match; the writing sample shows how repeatable it is.

Tested on Tomoe River 68gsm White with Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Black.