Joshua Kennon

David Oscarson Consider the Liles Black Pen

Sweet!  David Oscarson released the next installment of his pen series called Consider the Lilies.  They were inspired by Luke 12:27 when Christ said, “Consider the lilies, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin; yet I say unto you, Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

Here’s the company’s official statement on the pens:

Marking our Tenth Anniversary, the Lily Collection speaks of our gratitude for all that is virtuous, beautiful and pure. In a world full of clouds and error, the Lily Collection reminds us of all that we hold precious, all that we hope for and all that we aspire to be.

The Lily Collection incorporates three levels of Guilloché engraving and six colors of translucent and opaque Hard Enamel on each Collection piece. The entire body of each pen is first cut down to the level of the background, leaving the outer and inner lines of the lilies, pads and leaves in high relief. The backgrounds are then kiln-fired with opaque Hard Enamel in either Black or White. The Lilies are the first Collection pieces to incorporate three colors of Hard Enamel onto one surface without separating each of them with dividing lines in high relief and the three colors of the daylilies graduate and gradate inconsistently, emulating nature’s unique ability to distinguish one lily from another.

I have got to get my hands on both of these.  The rollerball version lists for $4,700 with the fountain pens coming in at $4,900 each before sales tax.

Consider the Lilies White Version David Oscarson Pen

The great, eternal question is, of course, whether or not to ink a collector’s edition fountain pen.  Personally, I buy them to write.  I say ink away, absolutely, positively.  These are not just financial investments for me.  They are tangible and in that regard, they are different from stocks or bonds.  You can see them.  At some point, they become emotional attachments, as well.  I can still pick up the two Montblanc pens I bought as my first writing instruments when my mom took me to Omaha to visit Warren Buffett’s jewelry store, Borsheim’s.

At the time, I was in college and I spent $500 or $600 on the two pens, which consisted of a black and platinum rollerball Montblanc LeGrand and a black and gold fountain pen Montblanc LeGrand.  They still sit in my office at headquarters today.  In fact, I used them to sign the papers when I bought my first house, to sign my book contract, and a lot of other important documents.  I’ve used them to sign the incorporation papers for some of the businesses we launched this year.

These are not mere excesses or trivialities.  They are probably one of the best emotional and financial investments a man (or woman) can make if he knows what he’s doing.