Montegrappa Elmo 02 Sorapis Balpen

Plucked from the Montegrappa’s 1920s archives, the vintage charm of the Elmo style still resonate after more than a century.

The Elmo 02’s frugal minimalism was a necessity of the 1920s, but the inventiveness of the company’s first technical director provided a design that would stand on its own merit and survive the test of time.

A century ago, Heinrich ‘Elmo’ Helm’s ingenious conical ends offered a way to dispense with expensive componentry without sacrificing decorative flair. It’s a formula that still works today enabling Montegrappa to offer the Elmo 02 with professional performance at an enthusiast’s price.

Helm’s fluted clip design channels the panache of the 1920s, with early hallmarks of Art Deco. Expressive resin and stainless-steel hardware echoes the Elmo 02’s distinctive angular lines.

Italy's first pen producer, Montegrappa, began manufacturing pens in 1912 in its factory in Bassano del Grappa in Italy. Utilizing natural celluloid and precious metals,Montegrappa combines traditional methods such as die-casting with more recent innovations as low-relief engraving to form their precious art objects. Whether Montegrappa use colors reminiscent of the master painters or ornamentation suggestive of Baroque palaces, the Italian heritage and romance is infused into each product.