This pen is smooth, sleek, beautiful; it’s solid but gracious. And it’s even called Nautilus. All things considered, it’s enough to make me want to write something in ink instead of typing.
Designed by Australian Marc Newson, this smart retractable nib pen was conceived in collaboration with Pierre-Alexis Dumas for French fashion house Hermès. Newson explains the design process to Dezeen:
“Designing this pen was no simpler or more complicated that conceiving the inside of an aeroplane. The main constraint was having to fit a complex rotating mechanism into a very small space.
“Its spare, clean lines make it mysterious looking, nothing about it suggests that it’s a pen. It has no lid, no ring, no clip.
“There’s nothing technological about its appearance. It looks easy obvious, instinctual. But it’s hiding a mechanism that’s part genius, part magic.”
Made from aluminium and stainless steel, the pen opens and closes neatly by turning the body — though sadly, they don’t explain how. Incidentally, it’s named after Captain Nemo’s submarine from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.
Available as a ballpoint or fountain pen version, in ebony, red or blue, it comes in its own stitched calfskin leather pouch. Naturally. Depending on nib and colour, it will set you back in the region of €1000 ($1400). So, maybe I’ll stick with the keyboard for now. [Hermes via Dezeen]