Author
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Topic: Omas' "One Small Step", "Moon 1969" pens
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Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-27-2009 06:22 PM
Italian pen designer Omas has introduced "One Small Step", a white gold $49,000 (35,000 euro) fine writing instrument in honor of the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11. According to ThinkLUX (translated from Italian): The body of the pen, made in white gold, is the Moon: a casting technique simulates the lunar surface by three-dimensional footprints of astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin. This particular texture requires a craft of many weeks of hard work for the workability of this material.The clip is a micro-sculpture that shows the trajectory of the flight of Apollo 11: the Earth is represented by the blue seas and white clouds, illuminated by the Sun painted with topazes and diamonds. The shape of the head to pen draws the shapes and space technology of the '60s and '70s. The limited edition "One Small Step" includes 21 fountain pens and 7 roller ball pens, in reference to the date of the historical achievement: 21 July 1969. In addition to "One Small Step", Omas has also a second model pen in silver, Moon 1969, limited to 1969 pieces. Photo credit: Omas
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AstroAutos Member Posts: 803 From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 06-27-2009 06:26 PM
Why would anyone pay $49,000 for a pen? |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-27-2009 06:32 PM
Why have others paid about the same (if not more) for astronaut-autographed and/or flown pieces? The answer is the same: they had the money, they felt it was worth it, and they desired the item for their collection. |
AstroAutos Member Posts: 803 From: Co. Monaghan, Republic of Ireland Registered: Mar 2009
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posted 06-27-2009 06:41 PM
True, true.. You'd have to be extremely rich though to buy a pen at that price! |
Rick Mulheirn Member Posts: 4167 From: England Registered: Feb 2001
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posted 06-27-2009 07:39 PM
I'll take two...!!! |
Robert Pearlman Editor Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-27-2009 08:55 PM
For those without a spare $49,000, there are alternatives from other companies: |
Leon Ford Member Posts: 309 From: Shreveport, LA, United States Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 06-27-2009 09:10 PM
Is there a photo of the Moon rock that MUST come with this pen for $49K? |
spaceflori Member Posts: 1499 From: Germany Registered: May 2000
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posted 06-27-2009 11:55 PM
While Montblanc didn't have an Apollo related pen yet, they use to incorporate things like meteorites in their pens such as the Copernicus special edition.Oh, and yes, there are pen collectors such as space collectors that are willing to pay that much for a special piece. |
spaced out Member Posts: 3110 From: Paris, France Registered: Aug 2003
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posted 06-28-2009 03:47 AM
Many high-end pens are effectively items of jewelry and this is no exception. Many of the world's mega-rich wouldn't think of buying a fountain pen costing less than 5 figures.That said, if had that kind of money to spend on pens I'd much rather have a few pens and pencils actually flown to the moon. |
Mike Z Member Posts: 451 From: Ellicott City, Maryland Registered: Dec 2005
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posted 06-29-2009 12:49 AM
I was thinking of ordering one for every day in the week! If I had that of money for a pen, first of all I would make sure my son would be set for life! Then I would buy all of the Apollo crew signed photos and a complete set of beta cloth patches, a set of all the models from Mercury to Aries 5, Soyuz and the Shenzhou all in 1/100 scale and signatures from Von Braun, Korolev and Astronauts like Elliott See, Clifton Williams, Charles Bassett, Theodore Freeman etc. It's nice to dream!! |
ejectr Member Posts: 1751 From: Killingly, CT Registered: Mar 2002
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posted 06-29-2009 05:52 AM
I have a bic made out of 100% plastic that I stepped on the other day and left a boot print on it. Yours for just $1,000,000.No...? How about a bridge in Brooklyn?! |
xlsteve Member Posts: 391 From: Holbrook MA, USA Registered: Jul 2008
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posted 06-29-2009 01:42 PM
I was going to pick up one of these, but then I remembered that I enjoy eating, and paying my mortgage. |
Mr Meek Member Posts: 353 From: Chattanooga, TN Registered: Dec 2007
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posted 06-29-2009 02:28 PM
I like it. I can't (nor would I) buy it, but it's a beautiful item. For a luxury space-related item to be both expensive and beautiful seems to be a rarity, so kudos to Omas for their design.I'm assuming that the "date of the historical achievement" being July 21 has to do with Armstrong's step technically falling on the 21st according to UTC. Otherwise, that's one remarkable typo. |