A Faithful Companion with Personality -- The Aurora Ipsilon

I've been focusing a lot on Japanese and German pens recently, so this week I decided to start a new series about one of Pen Boutique's favorite Italian pen brands, Aurora. The name originates from the ancient Roman goddess of dawn, who renews herself each morning and travels across the sky in her chariot from east to west, announcing the rising of the sun.

 

Aurora Legacy

Aurora is the only Italian pen company that produces its own fountain pen nibs completely in-house, and it has been family-owned since its inception. It was founded in 1919 as the Fabbrica Italiana di Penne a Serbatoio - Aurora with the financial support of textile merchant Isaia Lev, and every part of its fountain pens are still manufactured under one roof in their original factory in Turin (Torino), Northern Italy. 

Although making its own nibs from scratch is extremely old-school, Aurora has what its American distributor, Kenro Industries, describes as a "traditional-meets-modern approach [that] gives them a broad-ranging appeal."  As Kenro puts it,

Their pens are coveted not only by professionals and professors but also by Millennial bullet journalers and Gen Z influencers. Imagine! An Italian fountain pen backed by 100 years of history, now considered among the best pens for journaling and a cult sketch pen adored by current artists! Surely, a testament to Aurora’s unique flair for creating timelessly on-trend pieces?

Aurora's most famous pens include the elegant Art Deco Optima, introduced in the 1930s and relaunched in the 1990s, the 88 (or Ottantotto in Italian), and the Hastil. We also carry many gorgeous limited edition Auroras. The Aurora 88, which was released in 1947 and is considered the most successful Italian fountain pen in the world, was designed by Marcello Nizzolli to compete with the Parker 51. Aurora sold more than 5 million 88s all over the world, and the original 88 was in production until the 1970s, then relaunched in the 1990s with the form it has today. The Hastil, designed by architect Marco Zanuso in 1969, is revered as a triumph of modern design, and is part of the Museum of Modern Art in New York's permanent collection. 

The Ipsilon, which I am featuring in this first article in my Aurora series, was released in 1993 and has a fresh and contemporary feel. Right from the start, it was an accessible pen that came in fountain pen, rollerball, and ballpoint forms and five attractive colors:  Black, Red, Burgundy, Yellow, and Green.  The Ipsilon has expanded exponentially from there, and now has over a hundred variations!  It's one of Aurora's most popular pens, and is loved worldwide for its balance of style, functionality, and value, which make it both approachable for casual writers and appreciated by serious pen enthusiasts.

 

Inspiring Ipsilon 

The Aurora Ipsilon is an excellent introduction to the Aurora brand, with prices that start at the $100-$150 range for resin ballpoints, rollerballs, and fountain pens, and top off at a little over $300 for elegant sterling silver versions and lacquer fountain pens with 14k gold nibs. This shapely pen comes in a very broad range of colors and finishes, each of which has its own personality, so it's a great choice if you have specific color preferences (to match a university's colors, for example) or just enjoy expressing yourself with more unusual and fun shades like orange, purple, yellow, green, and bright red, while still retaining a timeless and elegant silhouette.  The Ipsilon is one of the pens I always recommend as a gift for graduates because it manages to look both collegiate and fresh at the same time.  

(I think the red resin pens' colors are perfect for the University of Maryland, the state school closest to Pen Boutique!)

I love the way Aurora describes the Ipsilon:  "The pen created to become the everyday friend of those who study and faithful companion for those who work: this mission is carried out with striking success by the Ipsilon, the pen that is eye-catching because of its innovative design, full of personality and characterized by the exclusive Aurora designed 'Y' shaped clip."  Perfect!

(Pictured:  Ipsilon Deluxe fountain pen in Blue.)

The Ipsilon takes its name from the Italian word for the Greek letter that we call Upsilon in English. It's the twentieth letter of the Greek alphabet, and is written uppercase Υ, lowercase υ. Four letters of the Latin alphabet arose from it:  U, Y, and, much later, V and W; however, the letter Y itself is rare in Italian and is not part of the Italian alphabet. 

The Ipsilon is available as a fountain pen, rollerball, and ballpoint, so it's a great choice for a wide variety of pen lovers, and the fountain pen and rollerball feature a firm and satisfying snap cap that also snaps onto the back of the pen when it's posted, to ensure it's equally secure on both ends.  The snap of the cap is quite a solid and satisfying feeling, and I love this feature!  This is the perfect pen when you want to get writing quickly and have no worries about your cap whatsoever.  The lightweight pen feels just right when the cap is posted, and is very well balanced.

(Pictured:  Resin fountain pen in Yellow, Resin ballpoint in Bordeaux, and Resin rollerball in Green.)

This pen's bold lines and colors express the personality of an individualist. I like the shape of all three pens and think they'd make a great gift pen or something a little different to add to your collection.  The excellent Aurora nib is a superb writer, and all three pens write well and feel comfortable in my hand.

The Ipsilon ballpoint clicks, rather than twists, to extend the tip, so it can quickly and easily be operated with one hand.  This is a feature that store customers often ask me for, as it is unusual in nice ballpoints, and, for some people, it's a deal-breaker!  It takes a standard Parker-style refill, which is easy to find.  The rollerball can use the standard Schmidt 888 or 5888 refill.

The fountain pens come with a twist converter and one Aurora King Size cartridge. They can also accept Parker long cartridges. Aurora makes some of the most well respected fountain pen inks available, and Aurora Black and Aurora Blue are famous for a reason. When I ask our reps from many different brands, who have been in the pen business for a long time, they often name Aurora Blue or Aurora Black a top favorite ink.  Aurora has switched to 100 Year Special Edition 55ml bottles, which come in a variety of beautiful colors, but we still have a very limited amount of Aurora's retired 45ml bottles left, in Blue only.

The fountain pen version of the Ipsilon is available in Extra Fine, Fine, Medium, and Broad nib sizes, and most versions come with steel nibs, but the Ipsilon Lacquer (shown above), Ipsilon Quadra, Ipsilon Quadra Rose Gold (which we don't regularly carry, but can order), and Ipsilon Deluxe feature 14k gold nibs. Our Kenro rep, Danean, told me the size is about equivalent to a #5 (since Aurora makes their own nibs, they don't give them sizes), and, while researching for this article, I found reviews saying it writes fairly fine for a Western nib. To my surprise, the reviews likened it to a Sailor or Pilot nib in line width, so I decided to compare the steel nibbed Ipsilon to my Pilot Metropolitan, which has a similar sized nib, and the 14k gold version to one of my 14k gold-nib Pilots with Pilot's #3 nib.  (Pilot, like Sailor and Platinum, also makes their own nibs, so they don't use standard number sizes either!) 

The Ipsilon does write with an extremely similar line width to the Pilot Metropolitan.  It feels a tiny bit wetter and provides slightly less feedback. The differences are subtle!

The Pilot and Aurora gold nibs also feel similar and have comparable line width, which is slightly thicker than the steel nibs' line. They are both extremely smooth, but the Pilot nib has more bounce.  Both of the Ipsilon nibs, and both of the Pilot nibs, feel great!  Which one you'd like better is a matter of taste.  I enjoy having variety in my nibs! 

The Ipsilon is presented in a strong and glossy outer cardboard box with a dropdown front that makes it easy to access the elegant plain black leatherette storage box within, decorated only with Aurora's logo embossed on the hinged lid. The pen is secured on a bed of black leatherette, and the outer box includes an enclosure with Aurora's excellent motto, "Il Segno di un Sogno" -- "The Sign of a Dream." The Quadra, Silver, Deluxe, and Lacquer versions have larger and more substantial boxes that are quite impressive! 

(Pictured:  Black with Chrome Trim ballpoint.)

The Ipsilon is available in a dizzying array of styles.  Our display case has so many different types, I've always been a bit overwhelmed, and there are even a few additional kinds of Ipsilon that we don't regularly carry, but we can order them on request!  Although there are over 100 different Ipsilon variations, after emailing with our Kenro rep, Danean, I learned that they fit into eight categories: Resin, Demo, Seasons, Satin, Silver, Quadra, Deluxe, and Lacquer. Accordingly, I decided to take one of each type home to photograph and understand better!

 

Ipsilon Resin 

Ipsilon Resin, the standard model, is made from resin as the name suggests, and has gold plated trim and a gold-plated steel nib. Its black finials and grip section contrast nicely with the barrel and cap colors. 

It's available in:

• Black (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Red (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Green (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Bordeaux (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Yellow (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)

The Ipsilons in the photo up above that illustrates the fountain pen, rollerball and ballpoint together are all classic Resin pens.  When I was working on this article, I saw a beautiful Luna moth outside my house, so I introduced her to the luminous Yellow Resin Ipsilon!  This is such a joyful color.

  

Ipsilon Demo

Ipsilon Demo, which comes in fountain pen only, is also made from resin, but has a clear grip section so you can view the ink flowing from the ink chamber and the channel through the feed and nib.  Very few pens, even demonstrators with clear barrels, have a totally transparent grip section, so it's unusual to be able to see your entire nib and feed! In addition to the standard cartridge and converter, the Demo pens are sold with a box of matching ink, packaged separately.  Ipsilon Demo has a more youthful look and is available in fun colors. 

I love the names:

• Passionate Red (stainless steel nib/chrome trim; comes with Red ink bottle)
• Wise Purple (stainless steel nib/chrome trim; comes with Purple ink bottle)
• Intuitive Light Green (stainless steel nib/chrome trim; comes with Turquose ink bottle)
• Enthusiastic Orange (gold plated steel nib/trim; comes with Orange ink bottle)
• Optimistic Yellow (gold plated steel nib/trim; comes with Sepia ink bottle)
• Dreamer Green (gold plated steel nib/trim; comes with Green ink bottle)

Below is a photo of all the colors together from Kenro's website.  Seeing your whole nib is pretty wild! 

 

Ipsilon Seasons 

Ipsilon Seasons is also made from resin, and features four seasonally-themed colors, available in fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint.  Like the Demo pens, they do not have contrasting finals or grip sections.  The fountain pens all have steel nibs, with appropriate chrome, yellow gold, or rose gold plating to match the trim color.  Each one has a very different feel, just like the real seasons do.  I love that Winter White was given elegant rose gold trim and Autumn Orange has warm yellow gold, while the other two have shiny bright silver chrome.

Seasons consists of:

• Autumn Orange, with yellow gold plated accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint) 
• Winter White, with rose gold plated accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint) 
• Spring Primavera (violet), with chrome accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Summer Estate (green), with chrome accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)

I featured the Autumn Orange fountain pen in my Embracing Autumn article this fall, and, in a beam of morning sunlight, the pen glowed with vibrant color.

The Spring Primavera is a pretty shade of violet and is vibrant in a fresh and cheerful way.

 

Ipsilon Satin

Ipsilon Satin is made from resin given a soft matte finish for a very different look! It has contrasting black finials and grip section like the original resin style does. Satin comes in seven different colors--the most color choices of any of the styles--and with three different steel nib/trim colors, chosen to complement their corresponding barrel color.  This series has a particularly elegant look and feel.  The blue with chrome colorway is also available as a mechanical pencil.

It includes:

• Black, with rose gold plated accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Black, with chrome accents  (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Blue, with rose gold plated accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Blue, with chrome accents (fountain, rollerball, ballpoint, and mechanical pencil) 
• Burgundy, with yellow gold plated accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Green, with chrome accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint) 
• Orange, with chrome accents (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)

Satin Black with rose gold trim is especially lovely, while Satin Black with the silver chrome trim has a cool and modern look!  I brought home a Satin Blue with rose gold pen, which has a serious, confident personality.  

 

Ipsilon Silver, Millerighe, and Quadra

These categories are a little confusing, as they include pens made from Sterling Silver, as well as pens with silver chrome-colored Satin finish barrels. There are seven different variations, and each one comes in fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint, but there are a few we don't keep in stock.  We can order the others if you request them!

Two have satin finish silver chrome.  These two are not Sterling Silver, but they are quite attractive!  The pens in this category have steel nibs, chrome trim, and contrasting black finials and grip section:

• Satin finish chrome cap and barrel (rollerball)
• Satin finish chrome cap with Black resin barrel (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)

I find the two-tone black barrel ballpoint with chrome plated cap section especially striking. The contrast between the shiny silver trim, textured brushed metal cap area, and gleaming black resin is very cool.

These five are 925‰ silver, and the fountain pens have a 14k solid gold nib, treated with rhodium for a matching silver color:

• Sterling Silver with “millerighe” striped pattern cap and barrel (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Sterling Silver “millerighe” striped cap and Black resin barrel (rollerball)
• Sterling Silver “millerighe” striped cap and Red resin barrel (fountain, rollerball)
• Sterling Silver "Quadra" squared pattern cap and barrel (rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Sterling Silver "Quadra" squared pattern cap with Black resin barrel (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)

I really like both the the modern quadra (squared) pattern and the traditional millerighe (thousand lines) pattern.  They are made using guilloché, a decorative process created by metal engraving. Aurora describes it this way, "A dedicated piece of machinery, manually controlled, engraves the pattern designed by our Style Centre on the surface of the metal."  The small squares of the quadra pattern appeal to my fondness for geometric designs, and the sophisticated pinstripes of the millerighe are very striking!  I also love the feel of the striped texture. The price for these pens is very nice for Sterling Silver and 14k gold nibs, too!

Aurora also makes Quadra Rose Gold, which we don't regularly carry, but can order for you. 

 

Ipsilon Deluxe

The Ipsilon Deluxe is slightly different from all the other models in that it has colored lacquer on the center of the clip, giving the illusion that the center of the Y-shape is open.  It's a stylish effect.  This series' grip section and finials match the barrel of the pen.  It comes in five different colors, all of which are available as fountain pen, rollerball, or ballpoint.  Three colors have chrome trim and two have gold-plated trim. The fountain pen has a 14k solid gold nib or 14k solid gold rhodium-treated nib, to match the corresponding trim color. This model is also available as a mechanical pencil in black with gold trim!

The available choices are:

• Blue with chrome trim (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Blue with gold trim (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Black with chrome trim (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)
• Black with gold trim  (fountain, rollerball, ballpoint, and mechanical pencil)
• Red with chrome trim  (fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint)

 The Deluxe model comes in a particularly impressive box. Very handsome!  Pictured above is the Deluxe Blue with gold trim.

  

Ipsilon Lacquer

Ipsilon Lacquer, which also comes in a large, premium gift box like the Deluxe model, is the only pen in the Ipsilon line with a lacquer barrel and cap.  Underneath the lacquer is a brass base, so they are noticeably heavier than the resin models.  The lacquer comes in three colors, all of which are quite beautiful:  a marbled reddish brown turtle, a marbled grey, and marbled blue. They have contrasting black finials and grip sections, with gold-plated trim for the turtle version and chrome trim for the other two.  As with the Deluxe, the fountain pen has a 14k solid gold nib or 14k solid gold rhodium-treated nib, to match the corresponding trim color.  They are available in fountain, rollerball, and ballpoint versions.

The blue marbled lacquer is stunning in the sunlight! 

I was feeling under the weather when I wrote this article, so I apologize that it's not quite up to my usual novel-length posts.  (I'm exaggerating.  Slightly.) I really enjoyed exploring all the different forms of Ipsilon, and was quite impressed by how much variety there is in the line!  The fountain pen is a lovely writer and I can't wait to try more of Aurora's nibs in my sequel articles. I love how approachable the Ipsilon is, with its excellent price point and appealing color choices.  I think my favorite is the Sterling Silver squared quadra cap with Black resin barrel... or maybe the stripey all-Sterling Silver millerighe... or Black with Rose Gold Satin... or the beautiful Blue Lacquer.... or what about Autumn Orange?  So many personalities, and so hard to choose!  Which one speaks to you?

-Laura P.

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