Onoto British Museum Collection

Onoto partners with the British Museum, creates iconic collection of limited-edition fountain pens.

The Onoto Pen Company, in its long and illustrious career (and may its life increase) has made fountain pens (nay, writing instruments of rare distinction) – pens that Museums around the world have lovingly collected and compiled into collections to display for posterity. And now, Onoto has decided to match the gesture by creating and dedicating the Onoto British Museum Collection. One legend celebrating the other’s uniqueness – apogees of excellence both.

It’s been a year now since we partnered with the British Museum to create an iconic collection of limited-edition fountain pens.

The Great Court Vitreous Enamel pen mirrors the architectural marvel of the Museum’s inner courtyard. It features all of the Great Court’s design elements, such as the geodesic roof pattern, the domed ceiling and the vibrant blue of the sky as it peers through its 3,312 panes of glass. But there is so much more to it.

It captures a sense of brightness and brilliance that’s reflected in the openness of the main floor of the Museum. Where every step allows the visitor to discover a new view of their surroundings as the vista changes. As does the design of the fountain pen which offers a new perspective with every angle. An architectural jewel to behold and turn, often.

But why is it fitting, or even important, for the Great Court of the British Museum and its Reading Room to offer new perspectives? We’ve speculated that it all goes back to 1857 when upon the completion of the Reading Room, it was hailed as a world-famous centre of learning. Good design is seldom frivolous but tries to uncover the meaning behind original concepts. And if anything, learning is most likely to reveal hidden meanings and formulate new views.

Such was the case with the inscription on The Rosetta Stone, the most famous object on display in the British Museum dating back to 196 B.C. It opened a world of knowledge to Ancient Egyptian language, culture and history.

The Onoto fountain pen with the same name is fully engraved with the inscription found on the Stone. The content is a snippet of a decree from Egypt under Greek rule during the Ptolemies’ dynasty. What matters is not what it says but that it says it in all three ancient languages, allowing scholars to decipher the meaning of the hieroglyphs.

The term, ‘Rosetta Stone’, is now used in other contexts as the name for the essential clue to a new field of knowledge.

And with the pen’s slate grey colour, as a result of burnished Sterling Silver, the enigmatic appeal just keeps on giving.

We dare you to uncover hidden meanings as you write with our limited-edition British Museum Fountain Pen Collection. Whether your pick is bright or baffling, just remember, you can’t have one without the other.

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