Conway Stewart Lustrous Burgundy Pearl Fountain Pen with a Fine Semi-flex Nib: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I reviewed a beautiful Peppered White Conway Stewart Churchill awhile back for Pen Addict. Because I was so impressed with that pen I’ve kept an eye out for another Churchill in a different color scheme with a more interesting nib. I constantly monitor Fountain Pen Hospital’s “The Back Room,” and I’ve gotten some really great pens at terrific prices from them. When I saw this Conway Stewart, I snapped it up.

My first Conway Stewart came in a rather simple box, so I was quite surprised when I received an enormous package from FPH. Inside was a large, green, hinged box with clasps.

A tiny book about Winston Churchill, a cigar (!), the pen, and a bottle of Conway Stewart orange ink were tucked inside the white sateen interior. I wasn’t expecting such a fine tribute to Winston Churchill! However, I’m not quite sure what to do with these items other than store them in the box. I guess I have a cigar handy for some special occasion . . . when people smoke cigars . . . which is basically never?

The pen is exquisite. Lustrous Burgundy is a good name for this acrylic with deep burgundy and lighter pink swirls exhibiting lots of chatoyance. The luminescent color only appears in two vertical swaths down the barrel. The other sides of the pen are dark burgundy. I’d prefer more consistent color over the entire surface, but the dark and light contrast is beautiful, nonetheless.

The barrel is engraved with “Conway Stewart ‘Churchill’ Made in England” along with the limited edition number out of 500.

The Churchill model is distinctive with its slightly rounded top finial, bold lines, and tapered bottom finial. It’s definitely a large pen, measuring 5.71 inches/145mm capped, 5.4 inches/137mm uncapped, and 7.1 inches/180mm posted (as if!).

Deep grooves encircle the cap finial, and the 18K gold clip is engraved with the Conway Stewart logo.

A total of five 18K gold rings adorn the pen: two on the cap and three on the body. This is one classy looking pen.

I wish a pen of this size and price was a piston filler, but it’s a cartridge/converter. That’s not the end of the world, because a converter is a bit easier to clean than a piston filler. However, a pen this large could do with greater ink capacity.

The 18 karat fine, semi-flex nib is adorned with the Conway Stewart logo and name. I prefer this nib design to the more recent version that has the British flag on it--not that I have any problems with the British flag, mind you! I just prefer this simpler design.

When I first started to write with the nib, I was quite pleased with how smooth and bouncy it was. As a fine semi-flex, it doesn’t have a huge amount of line variation, but there’s enough to enhance my writing. I inked the pen with Iroshizuku Yama-Budo, which is a well-behaved ink and a good match for this pen.

Unfortunately, the more I wrote, the more frustrated I became. The nib writes beautifully for about one page, and then it exhibits skipping and hard starts. I have to unscrew the barrel and push more ink down into the converter, which is unpleasant and interrupts my writing. I don’t know if this is a converter problem or an issue with the feed, but it’s disappointing.

This limited edition Conway Stewart was produced in 2007 and is not readily available for purchase. In fact, my Google search resulted in one hit--an eBay listing for this pen (without the ink) for $1,800! “Holy &##@!” said I. I’m happy to report that I did not pay anywhere near that much, thank goodness. I realized that I got a Churchill Burgundy Pearl at a super price from FPH! Now I just need a nibmeister to work some wonders with the ink flow.

(I purchased this pen with my own funds.)

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Conway Stewart Churchill Peppered White Bespoke Fountain Pen: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Conway Stewart Churchill Peppered White is a bespoke pen--only eighteen were made. Vanness Pen Shop had one of the eighteen, and Brad purchased it (at a discount) for me to review on The Pen Addict.

Packaging is, of course, not the most important factor when reviewing a pen. But, when you’ve purchased a special pen, presentation can make it feel even more extraordinary. Conway Stewart definitely knows how to present a pen. The Churchill comes in a handsome leatherette box with a black velvet interior. Included are a certificate of authenticity, a user guide, cartridges, and a pen cloth to remove tarnish from the silver fittings.

The Churchill is an oversized pen, measuring 5.7 inches/146mm capped; 5.4 inches/138mm uncapped; and 7.1 inches/181mm posted. Unposted, the pen feels wonderful in the hand with excellent balance. Posted, the pen is ridiculously long and feels more like a wizard’s wand than a fountain pen. Actually, my Professor McGonagall wand is better balanced than this Conway Stewart pen is posted! The pen weighs 35gm total.

Although the barrel and cap are made of acrylic, both have brass fittings which gives them heft. The barrel screws onto brass threads, and the finial is attached to a brass piece in the cap. I like the fact that there is added weight near the grip because it makes the pen more comfortable.

The cap has a large, engraved black finial. The clip and cap ring are solid sterling silver. I love the shape of the clip which ends in a diamond, and the raised Conway Stewart logo looks classy. The cap ring has no branding, but the silver content is engraved in small letters.

The body of the pen is acrylic with a black grip and black finial at the bottom. Both ends are adorned with silver rings (two near the grip and one near the bottom).

The acrylic is called “Peppered White,” which is an apt name. It has white, gray, and black flecks and an occasional blue fleck.

My pen is fitted with an 18k gold two-tone fine nib. It has a simple design without any scrollwork. There’s a tiny British flag engraved underneath the breather hole, and the gold content and nib size are engraved near the base of the nib.

I’ve found the nib to be smooth and wet and unyielding. It’s definitely a Western fine with no flex or bounce. Although it writes well most of the time, occasionally it skips on downstrokes. Nevertheless, I really enjoy writing with this pen.

The Churchill is a cartridge/converter pen. I’m a little disappointed that a pen of this size and price point isn’t a piston filler, but the converter works well and supplies an adequate amount of ink to the nib. I definitely prefer a cartridge/converter over a lever filler (some modern Conway Stewarts are lever fillers), because lever fillers can be difficult to clean.

I am really pleased with my Conway Stewart. It’s a gorgeous pen with presence. The size and weight are perfect for me, but if you prefer small, light pens you won’t want this model.

Vanness only had one Peppered White in stock (and I now own it), but you can purchase this bespoke pen directly from Conway Stewart for $478.80.

(This pen was purchased at Vanness Pens with a reviewers discount.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!