Omas Bologna Ametista Profondo: A Resurrected Italian Classic Worth a Look

Introduction

Any conversation about the modern iteration of Omas tends to stir strong emotions. Fountain pen people are passionate about this brand, and the Omas Bologna in Ametista Profondo gives them plenty to talk about. This is an Italian-built pen designed off the 1930s version of the Bologna, produced under the resurrected Omas name, and it deserves to be looked at as its own thing.

A Brief History of Omas

Omas was founded in Bologna in 1925 by Armando Simone, whose surname gives the company its acronym: Officina Meccanica Armando Simone. Simone built his own tooling as well as his pens, and the company grew into a pinnacle of Italian luxury writing instruments, beloved for its nibs, celluloid, balance, and distinctly Italian sense of style.

The company was later purchased by a luxury conglomerate around 2000, passed through various owners, and entered voluntary liquidation in 2016. Various entities picked up the name, materials, and former staff; some former employees with the nib-making machines went on to form Scribo pens. Ultimately the parent company that acquired the Omas name partnered with figures from the pen world to resuscitate the brand, and today the modern Omas is run by passionate fountain pen people committed to producing the best possible pen within the Omas lineage. The current Bologna draws its design directly from the 1930s original.

First Impressions and Design

The Ametista Profondo resin is genuinely striking. Made of diamond cast resin that seeks to emulate the celluloid materials of the 1930s, it has incredible depth with a bit of sparkle and shine when the edges catch the light just right. It is a stunningly beautiful pen.

The weight is very light without feeling insubstantial, helped along by the piston filling mechanism inside. A gorgeous gold clip with a small roller at the end grabs your attention first, easing the pen gently into a pocket, and it is engraved with the arches of Bologna along its length. Three gold metal bands ring the cap, and a close look reveals laser-engraved Omas Italy detailing on the cap. The pen has a gently sloping profile, a piston knob with a handsome pommel, and a mirrored pommel on the other end. Our only nitpick: we would prefer the cap bands extended all the way to the lip to protect the edge.

Nib and Filling System

The nib is made in-house and aims to recreate the classic Omas nibs. It is 14k gold with the arrow design, paired with an ebonite feed in the flat style of an old vintage pen. That flat feed is less delicate than modern feeds, so you are not worrying about breaking off fins, and it is absolutely gorgeous in shiny gold.

The pen fills via a modern piston mechanism, an upgrade from the historic lever fill version. Screw the piston down and the pen greedily drinks up ink; it filled smoothly and cleanly in use. Nibs are available in extra fine, fine, medium, and broad.

How It Writes

Paired with a safe, well-behaved blue ink on smooth paper, the extra fine nib on the test pen proved to be a true extra fine, yet remarkably smooth. Even for someone who generally prefers medium nibs, this one felt genuinely pleasant.

Sketching with the pen, which stresses the nib from many angles at once and exposes skipping or hard starts, showed a free-flowing writer with a generous ink flow. The extra fine line feels as smooth as a medium, with no hesitation and no skip. It is precise, reliable, and fast, and it makes an excellent signing pen, which many extra fines do not. If you value a pen that supports the speed of your thought, this one keeps up.

The pen can be posted for those who like to write that way, though it sits well unposted too. Even with fairly large hands, it fits comfortably, and a small ridge at the end of the grip keeps fingers from sliding onto the nib. Fit and finish feel luxurious throughout, with the cap seating nicely.

Value and Buying Advice

This fountain pen retails at $480 US. That is a serious price, but the math has some logic to it: a 14k gold in-house nib alone can run $150 to $200 or more, and you are getting artisan production in Bologna, Italy, premium materials, and an ebonite feed alongside them. It is not an unfair price, and it is easy to rationalize if the pen inspires you to write and carries a real connection to heritage and history.

Conclusion

The modern Omas Bologna in Ametista Profondo lives up to the legacy it references. It is a beautiful, free-flowing extra fine, a joy to write with, and a confident signal that this revived Italian brand is in good hands. If artisanal Italian craftsmanship and a deep connection to pen history appeal to you, this is an extraordinary pen to consider.