Waterman Carène Marine Amber Ballpoint Pen | Gloss Brown & Black with 23k Gold Clip | Medium Point with Blue Ink Cartridge | Gift Box

I own lots of high class pens including lots of lovely ones bought from Amazon, but if I had to choose one word to describe this one it would be 'Classy.' The pen just looks right in every way. It's the perfect size and feels just right whether posted or not, and the colour (the amber one) is wonderful. As for the nib, it not only looks great but it writes great as well - fine, but not too fine. The ink flow is just right as well. I buy lots of high end pens because it's my hobby - I like them - but if I wanted to create a good impression for some reason I wouldn't choose my Mont Blanc, I'd choose the Waterman Carene.

I like fountain pens. It's my guilty pleasure. I like collecting new, old, cheap and expensive. I just like how they are superior to every other writing medium, well that's how I see it. I have found some cheap gems and some very expensive stinkers (that's you Mont Blanc <insert any model they make here>). This pen sits comfortably in the affordable end, but still be a considerable amount to spend and therefore needs to be good at what it does. This *is* good at what it does. It has a kind of pleasant sexy (hmm yes I just said that..) feel and look about it, but doesn't trade off writing ability. The nib is really first class for this price and it will serve you well for years to come. Unfussy ink converter size that has the ability to take standard cartridges also, so no need to buy bottled ink if you don't want to (but go on... just try it... once you do you will never go back to cartridges). Oops, doing my stationary pushing thing again. Sorry. A lovely pen that would make a generous statement gift, or better still present for yourself. Enjoy!

It is beautiful. Solid lacquer, nice gold trim, nib placement is unique for nowadays. Grease from hand is visible on it, so you end up wiping it a lot. Writing with it is a joy, smooth and wet. High capacity cartridges last surprisingly long. One criticism is that the cap collar can come off. When that happens you will feel pain, so I returned one and am babying it's replacement. Do not take to school and certainly never give to heathens with no understanding of fountain pens.

The pen is great and writes beautifully. I have no issue with it at all. I gave it 4 stars because I found traces of ink when I was flushing the pen before I use. New pens have no traces of ink!! Apart from this I used the pen and it is beautiful.

This pen really has the 'wow' factor. From the box to the opening up revealing the pen, to picking it and using it. Even my Dad, the most perpetually 'unimpressed' man in the world went 'oooooh' when he held it. The weight, the balance, the look of it and the attention to detail is something else. I could wax lyrical about how it looks and feels for a thousand words if I let myself. So I'll stop there and comment about the use of it! Before you even insert a cartridge or fill up the enclosed ink converter I STRONGLY advise you to flush the nib through with luke warm water (filtered and previously boiled) and leave to dry in the usual manner before use. I read a review from another site prior to this arriving where the journalist jumped straight in and experienced lots of hard starts and stalling. Leading to frustration and disappointment. But I just couldn't wait and ignored the advise to flush before use. And what happened? All of the above. I was crestfallen and it was compounded by the nib been much thicker than any 'M' I'd used before. My writing was a MESS! So what was it like once I'd followed the advice? Beautiful. Silky smooth and fluid lines, even strokes, a nice dark ink line without been overly wet and it is making me WANT to pick it up and write for no reason at all! I've tried it on everything from cheap to expensive paper and it is gorgeous on all. If only a little impractical on some due to feathering, but that is a fault of the paper not the pen. I refuse to criticise the pen because the 'M' nib is far thicker than any I have used because I broke the golden rule of fountain buying by doing so without trying it first. So buyer beware on that one if you're considering it. Is it worth the money and will you REALLY notice the difference in experience than say with a £40 or £50 pen? Yes, 100% yes. I have a range of pens up to about £80 and it was a big leap to buy one this expensive (although cheaper on Amazon at the time when I got it), so I feel qualified to make the recommendation here. The only issue is that I think, having discovered the beauty and joy of very nice fountain pens, I'm going to bankrupt myself! Buy this. You won't regret it. **Update April 2015** The inside of the cap had slowly scored the nib barrel over the course of a few months. I'd written it off as a wear thing as I used the pen daily and didn't want to be too 'precious' about things. I could feel the cap rubbing against the barrel but thought nothing of the damage it may be doing beyond a little bit of annoyance at the marks on the pen housing. Much to my horror as I began to write one morning the lower section sheared in two. Fortunately there was so little ink left in the reservoir I ruined nothing more than a few pages of a notebook. All credit to Waterman though, they assessed the pen under warranty, shipping it to France from the UK repair centre as it was felt to be unusual enough to warrant the manufacturer to examine it individually. It took a while but the pen was returned with a new barrel, new nib, and a repaired cap to ensure it didn't happen again. It wouldn't put me off buying a Waterman again and I include it purely as a note of caution if you start to see the same happening to your carene. Whilst a very unusual failure and resulting outcome I did find a few other instances of this happening to others. I can't fault the way Waterman handled the matter and my only downside is that having used the pen every day for nearly a year the new nib doesn't feel quite the same having not being 'broken in'.

I read this is many other reviews but had to try for myself... The pen has been used before, and not even washed before resale.

It was a visit from the Area Dean (which probably isn't a common opening comment for an Amazon review) that inspired me to buy one of these. He was using a fountain pen on a standard piece of paper and it was obviously the pen he used on a daily basis. I'd always thought that fountain pens were too messy for every day use and although I'd considered purchasing a good quality pen for several years had never actually got round to it. He bought his pen, a Waterman, from John Lewis - I checked and their price for this pen at the time I purchased it for £108 from Amazon, was £190. The pen is really easy to write with, no pressure required, which I guess you would expect for this kind of price range. With a decent quality ink, it dries really quickly so unless you have a habit of rubbing your hand across the words you've just written, the drying time isn't really an issue. I wish I'd realised that the pen comes with the attachment you need to use bottled ink, as I bought that separately and now have an unused spare one. In retrospect, I think a fine nib, rather than medium, would have probably been more use as a pen for daily use but I can't deduct a star for that - it really is a fine pen at an outstanding price and if you're thinking of purchasing a good quality pen then I'd definitely recommend this one.

Dans l’écrin noir, un roi repose, Son corps laqué, sa plume en or, Il trace en silence, sans effort, Des mots qui dansent, nobles choses. Son capuchon, d’un clic discret, Scelle le pacte avec l’écrit, Et chaque ligne qu’il décrit Est un voyage, un doux secret. Il glisse, il file, il ne résiste, Sur le papier, fluide et pur, Comme un voilier dans l’azur, Son trait est net, jamais trop triste. J’y mets mon encre bleu marine, Et chaque lettre prend le large, Ce stylo n’est pas un simple charge — C’est l’âme d’un poète qui s’incline. Offrez-le donc, ou bien gardez Ce bijou d’art, ce bel outil, Le Carène, fier et subtil, Fait de l’écriture un baiser.

Gorgeous looking and smooth writing instrument. It is what makes writing with a fountain pen a joy.

Lovely pens. This is my second purchase as I gave my first to my son. These are classy, stealth wealth fountain pens.

This is a very smooth fine nib that writes well out of the box. No hard starts no cartridge converter issues. No hard starts. No adjustments were needed. The deep burgundy brass lacquered finish is perfect. In hand, the pen feels slightly weightier than any Lamy Safari or TWSBI ECO pen I own. I first inked the pen with a Waterman Blue ink and made sure to saturate the feed properly. Read the instructions in the manual. I have used it over a period of two months and refilled the pen 4-5 times since. I deliberated between a medium and a fine nib for the Waterman Carène. Although generally I prefer medium nibs from LAMY or on gel or rollerball pens. The fine nib works well for me as a regular daily writer. I write mostly on modest fountain pen friendly notepad paper; from Rhodia, Fabriano, Campus Kokuyo to Maruman. The Japanese papers, Maruman or Kokuyo provide a smooth glide-like writing experience. 80gsm Rhodia, although popular with many fountain pen users; tends to feel a slight waxy on any fountain pen to my experience. The Carène puts lines on the page easily, with an easy, generous, smooth consistency. The internal ink feed for the Carène is a very long generous feed (You can’t disassemble it; but you can watch YouTube videos or pictures of people who have cracked the barrels open). In other words, when refilling the cartridges it’s good to prime the feed with ink since it will hold a little bit more ink for you between refills than what you see in the cartridge. I have not experienced any dry out issues even with the pen uncapped for an hour. A pen you can enjoy writing with at work, at home, or to sign that important document.

good produce