Waterman Carène Marine Amber Fountain Pen | Gloss Brown & Black with 23k Gold Clip | Fine Nib 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.

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'.

Beautiful pen. Writes very smoothly, even with a fine nib. Excellent ink flow. No blotching and doesn't dry up even if left without use for over 3 months. Comfortable to hold. A pleasure to use.

Excellent fountain pen. It looks superb, the Carene is my favourite of the modern Waterman lineup by far and this version is beautiful.It's a cartridge/converter and is supplied with a converter which works fine.The nib is great, I've had a couple of mediums before which have been very wet writers so I was happy to see this was available with a fine nib.I was lazy and didn't rinse it through before using it but it was fine - no hard starts or skipping and it has an average ink flow, will write with the lightest of pressure but won't put don't too much ink if you like to apply a bit more pressure when writing.

I have purchased many of these carene fountain pens now largely due the fact I kept dropping them! Be warned if you do drop this pen the gold nib will bend and will be useless I speak from personal experience, you can however replace just the nib but it's often cheaper just to replace the entire pen believe it or not . The pen arrives in a beautiful blue hinged presentation box inside is lined with a cream Suede cushioned lining underneath is a pack of blue ink cartridges and a converter so there's no need to buy either on purchase. The writing style of this pen is quite simply sublime it produces a smooth even flowing script with no drips or splotches . Unlike traditional fountain pens the carene has a rounded nib similar in shape to the very cheap Parker vector pens. That is the only thing That's the only thing this pen has in common with cheaper brands the Parker nib can feel somewhat scratchy where as the carene always feels smooth ,This pen is a thing of beauty it looks good and feels good it's got a nice solid weight making for a very evenly balanced fountain pen:not too heavy not too light. Both the medium nib and fine nib are pleasant to write with . The medium obviously produces a thicker script and the fine nib is as it says on the tin. I will never change fountain pen brands again I am a fan for life. For those who find the price excessive Amazon are the cheapest yes it's expensive but you won't be disappointed this pen They do often dramatically reduce the cost so it's worth keeping an eye out .