S.T. Dupont Space Odyssey Fountain Pen Review: A Limited Edition Worth a Closer Look

Introduction

Some pens are tools, and some are conversation pieces. The S.T. Dupont Space Odyssey sits firmly in the second category. It is the latest limited edition release from the French luxury maison, themed around the history of space conquest and travel, and it arrives at a moment when space exploration feels genuinely exciting again, with private companies, planned lunar trips, and ambitions of crewed missions to Mars on the horizon.

This is a pen that normally lives online or behind glass at pen shows, so spending extended time with it is a treat. Over the course of this review, we will look at its design, trim details, nib, handling, measurements, and writing performance, along with a few trade-offs to weigh before spending this kind of money.

Unboxing and Editions

The Space Odyssey arrives in a large piano lacquered box topped with a reflective plaque that incorporates the S.T. Dupont D logo with a spacecraft orbiting around it. Inside, a second silver plaque carries the limited edition number. The edition size is 2,001 pens, a deliberate nod to the Stanley Kubrick film that inspired the name.

The package also includes warranty information, a use and care guide, a box of ink cartridges, and a booklet covering the different models in the collection and the inspiration behind them.

Two versions of the pen exist. The Prestige version is offered in a couple of sets and is built even more dramatically to resemble a rocket, complete with fins at the bottom, a launch pad display, and a bottle of ink. The Prestige Collector set adds further items, including an ashtray, astronaut cufflinks, and a lighter that sits in a stand shaped like a lunar lander. The version covered here is the Premium fountain pen.

Design and Build: A Rocket in Pen Form

The Premium Space Odyssey is made from brass and covered in palladium trim and a natural lacquer inspired by the Milky Way galaxy. The name itself traces back to a Greek myth about the goddess Hera spraying milk across the sky, though other cultures offer evocative alternatives: in China the galaxy is called the Silver River, and in parts of Africa, the backbone of night.

The lacquer work is the star of the show. The cap carries a dense field of stars under the finish, while the barrel carries a lighter, scattered star field toward the end. It is a genuinely attractive effect that photographs well and looks even better in hand.

The detailing continues throughout. The cap top carries the S.T. Dupont D logo, transitioning into a hinged clip topped with the traditional S.T. Dupont shield. The side of the clip is engraved with “Made in France” and the pen’s individual edition number. The cap is slightly bulbous and ends with the space-themed D, a motif that echoes a distinctive looping handwritten initial. The barrel carries the branded band, stamped with S.T. Dupont Paris alongside a leaf symbol denoting the use of Chinese lacquer, then tapers at a consistent angle to a slightly rounded end.

The trim deserves special mention. It mixes rivet-style details with grooved panels in a deliberately non-symmetrical arrangement, with additional trim beneath the clip. You can rotate the cap and barrel to align the trim front and back, but honestly the pen looks great in almost any orientation, so obsessive alignment is unnecessary.

Nib, Section, and Handling

Under the snap-off cap sits a 14 karat gold nib, stamped with a shield, the D logo, and a winged wheel logo from the company’s older designs. It is available in fine or medium.

The section begins with a decent-size flare used in the capping mechanism, is metal and grooved, then steps up slightly to the barrel. Despite being metal, the grooves do an excellent job of maintaining grip; the section does not feel slick at all. The pen has a pleasant heft that makes it feel like a quality writing instrument.

The pen is comfortably long enough to use unposted. It can be posted securely since the cap snaps to post, but the cap weighs 28 grams on its own, more than a Lamy Al-Star. That extra weight significantly back-weights the pen and throws off the balance, so unposted use is the better choice.

Filling System and Price

This is a cartridge converter pen that accepts standard international cartridges, and a converter is included. With all the metal in the body, eyedropping this pen would not be recommended.

As a premium pen, it carries a premium price. The limited edition Premium model sells for around $1,600, which is considerable but not unreasonable given the overall quality and design. The Prestige model retails for around $2,800, and the full Collector set with the lighter, cufflinks, and ashtray runs about $9,500. At this level you are buying more than a pen: a piece of usable art and a conversation piece, and in the Prestige’s case, an attention-grabbing desk display.

Size Comparisons

For context, the Space Odyssey is shorter than several flagship large pens. Side by side, it comes in below the Pilot Custom Urushi, the Montblanc 149, and the Classic Pens LB5, and it also sits smaller than the Pelikan M1000, the Conid Bulkfiller King Size, and the Sailor King of Pen Pro Gear Sky. Uncapped comparisons against the Sailor Pro Gear Sky, Pelikan M1000, and Montblanc 149 show a pen that is substantial but not oversized.

Writing Performance

The writing sample here uses the medium 14 karat gold nib paired with S.T. Dupont Royal Blue ink, a lighter and less saturated royal blue. Compared with Faber-Castell Royal Blue and Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue, it reads as a softer, airier shade.

The ink bottle itself has an odd shape, with a very wide neck and a shallow profile, so filling larger nibs requires a bit of an angle to work correctly. The ink itself is very nice.

On paper, the nib performs well. There is a fair amount of line variation, ink flow is decent, and the feed keeps up comfortably even during fast writing. Reverse writing is a little scratchy but gets the job done. S.T. Dupont nibs have consistently impressed in testing, and this one continues that trend.

Things to Consider Before Buying

Before committing at this price point, a few practical points are worth weighing:

• The 28-gram cap makes posted writing genuinely unbalanced, so plan to use it unposted.
• The all-metal body means converter or cartridge filling only; eyedropper conversion is not advisable.
• The non-symmetrical trim is part of the design, but if you insist on perfectly aligned bands, this pen’s slightly rotating cap and barrel may not suit you.
• The edition is limited to 2,001 pens, so availability depends on what retailers still have in stock.

Conclusion

The S.T. Dupont Space Odyssey impressed on every count that matters for a pen in this class: it is a very high-quality writing instrument with a unique, well-executed theme, a solid gold nib that writes with good line variation, and lacquer work that justifies the price of admission. If you are in the market for a pen around the $1,600 mark, this limited edition is well worth a closer look.