Leonardo Momento Zero Grande Carolina Midnight: A Limited Edition Fountain Pen Worth Knowing About

Introduction

The Leonardo Momento Zero Grande Carolina Midnight is a small, carefully made limited edition fountain pen, with only 15 units produced. It pairs Jonathan Brooks resin with gold nibs, ebonite feeds, a piston filling system, and ruthenium trim throughout. Fourteen of the pens were offered for sale at $695 through figboot.com, while one was kept by the project creator.

If you missed the initial release, this review covers what the pen offers, how it writes, and whether it is the kind of pen worth hunting down on the secondary market.

First Impressions and Design

The pen arrives in a fairly large box, with a sleeve protecting the retail box inside. Alongside the pen, the packaging includes information about Leonardo, a use and care booklet with the pen’s number and a signature, and a 40ml bottle of Leonardo blue ink. The bottle has a wide, deep neck that accommodates just about any nib.

The Carolina Midnight resin is the standout feature. The material shows a lighter blue, gray, and almost turquoise undertones with a high amount of sparkle, often compared to stars in a clear midnight sky. The depth and subtle color variation are best experienced in person, where the resin catches light in ways photographs struggle to fully capture. While each pen varies slightly, they are fairly consistent in overall appearance between models.

Compared to the standard Momento Zero, the Grande is noticeably taller and long enough to use unposted comfortably. The cap can post securely and, because it is light, it does not back-weight the pen or throw off the balance significantly.

Trim, Nib, and Section Details

The cap comes to a cone point that transitions into a ruthenium-plated clip, giving the pen a gunmetal look that pairs well with the darker blue resin. The cap angles up to three ruthenium-plated bands before a small step down to the barrel, which begins with another ruthenium ring.

The barrel is engraved with “Leonardo Officina Italiana” along with the pen’s number in the limited edition of 15, and “Fig Boot on Pens” below that. The engraving is subtle and easy to miss unless light catches it just right, which suits the understated character of the pen.

The barrel tapers down evenly to another ring marking the piston knob. Leonardo retailers sell a tool for disassembling any Leonardo piston-filler, which is a useful option to have if a serious issue arises, though it is not something to do casually for routine maintenance.

Writing Performance

Under the cap is a number six 14 karat gold nib, ruthenium plated to match the rest of the trim. Nibs were offered in either fine or medium, with half of the 14 sale units in each size. The ebonite feed has a swooping low profile that is visually distinctive and contributes to a pleasant ink flow.

The section uses Leonardo’s traditional stair-step design, transitioning into resin threads and then a medium step up to the barrel. It is an ergonomic shape that many find comfortable in the hand.

In use, the medium 14 karat gold nib delivers very pleasant writing with decent ink flow and some line variation when pressure is applied. The feed keeps up well with fast writing. Reverse writing on this particular nib is not its strong suit. The piston operates very smoothly, and the nib and feed are friction fit, so they can be removed easily if deep cleaning is needed.

Buying Advice

The Carolina Midnight Momento Zero Grande is priced at $695, in line with other limited edition Brooks resin Momento Zero Grande models with the same features on the market. With only 15 units made, and 14 available for sale, availability is extremely limited. Interest in the earlier standard-size Carolina Midnight run was strong enough that some units resold above their original purchase price, which suggests demand for this material remains solid.

If you want one of these pens, acting quickly is the only realistic approach. Anyone comfortable buying limited edition fountain pens on the secondary market should also watch resale listings, where these occasionally appear.

Conclusion

The Leonardo Momento Zero Grande Carolina Midnight combines a striking hand-made resin, a well-tuned gold nib with an ebonite feed, a smooth piston filler, and cohesive ruthenium trim into a compact limited edition package. For collectors who value distinctive materials and small production runs, it is a pen worth seeking out if the chance arises.