Visconti Mirage Mythos – Apollo

An Italian Pen With a German Nib

Ok, first things first, if there’s going to be one take away from this article, let it be this; this is a beautiful pen.

The Visconti Mirage Mythos is my first Visconti pen. They consider this their ‘entry-level’ pen. I think that’s an interesting concept as it’s quite an expensive pen. I ordered mine for $160 or so. The rest of their lineup costs even more, so begrudgingly, I’ll accept that this is an entry level Visconti pen. Not an entry level fountain pen at all, but if you’re curious about Italian pens like I was, this is a great showing.

For $160, you can get a Pilot Decimo, you may even be able to find a Sailor Pro Gear Slim or 1911S, a Platinum 3776, or a Lamy 2000. There’s very steep competition in that price bracket, and, well, this has to be at least in competition to those to be even worthwhile at that price.

In short, I’d say it is.

Overview

The Visconti Mirage Mythos is a fountain pen manufactured by Visconti in Italy. It has a plastic body and a steel nib manufactured by Schmidt in Germany. It is a cartridge / converter pen that includes a piston converter. Notably, it has the iconic Visconti spring clip and it has a magnet cap. Its most notable feature, however, is the blended resin of which it is made.

Styling & Build

This aspect is where the Visconti Mirage Mythos really stands out. It’s really a beautiful pen. It is made out of a wonderful blended brown resin which has a certain iridescence under light. I thought it was stunning in photos before I bought it, and photos cannot do this pen justice. The body has three concave facets in its otherwise cylindrical form.

On the cap, it has a gold colored cap band. This band has mountain shaped engravings which are representative of Mount Olympus, the home of the Greek gods the pens colors are named after. The cap has the famous Visconti bridge clip, which is inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Venice, is certainly not the most functional I’ve used. It isn’t the worst clip either, that is reserved for the Kaco Edge and its “Blade Clip”.

Uncapping the Mirage Mythos reveals a large golden #6 nib with a big V on it. It has some etchings but it’s pretty ordinary. The grip section, however, is another standout. It has a matte gold toned section with more mountains engraved on the end. Visconti loves their mountains and I’m all for it. They add a detail to a spot that on most pens is pretty much the same shape. Phenomenal looking pen.

When you put the cap back on, it lines up with some notches in the body and the cap liner. These make it so that the concave faces are always lined up and straight. They will never twist or look out of place. That’s great. Genius. That’s why this pen is $160, the R&D to get notches!

On looks, I give it a 5/5. On build, I give it a 5/5.

Writing Experience

I know what the people at Visconti said when they designed this pen.

They said “Oh no! We have a bad reputation for our nibs, so we wont make any.”

Genius, that’s the ingenuity the Italians are known for. These use a Steel Schmidt nib made in Germany. I have other Schmidt nibs, like the Kaco Edge. This one is about what I expected, which is great. It’s reliable and smooth. It is a bit wet for my taste, but I prefer finer Japanese pens usually, so I expected that. It has a comfy shape to write with unposted, and it posts magnetically, so its stable and comfy when posted as well.

But the nib doesn’t have the texture I crave. So It’s just great. I’ll give it a 3.5/5 and its comfort a 5/5.

Extra Features

The Visconti Mirage Mythos uses a cartridge / converter, those are pretty common. It includes a piston converter.

Personal Satisfaction

Well, going into this pen, I had these high expectations of it being gorgeous and stunning and well designed. I had expected its nib to behave like a German Fine nib. I said, “this thing is pretty expensive, it better be good”. and it didn’t disappoint me at all. With a high bar expecting it to be this Italian piece of art fit for a museum, it was going to be hard to meet those expectations. But it did. It followed through. Congratulations Visconti. I may even buy more of their pens someday in the future.

Personal Satisfaction: 5/5

Value

Among its price bracket peers. From top to bottom: Lamy 2000, Sailor Pro Gear Slim, Visconti Mirage Mythos, Pilot Decimo, Platinum 3776 Century.

Well, it’s a bit expensive. At $160 USD with a steel nib. It is far from cheap. It’s well built, reliable, and writes well. However, it competes in a bracket with many Japanese gold nibs. But many of those have cheaper competitors. The Sailor 1911 has the Sailor Profit Casual, the Pilot Decimo has the Majohn A1. You can argue about the ethics of copycats, but ultimately, for the consumer, those are functionally very similar to their more expensive counterparts. This is a pen that I don’t think has anything quite like that. There is no cheaper version, there is no copycat. It’s unique, it stands out, it catches the eye. For $160, if its a pen you like the look of, there’s really nothing else that can compete. And that makes it compelling, even at $160 USD.

Value: 3/5

Final Scores

• Styling: 5/5
• Build: 5/5
• Writing: 4.25/5
  • Nib: 3.5/5
  • Comfort: 5/5
• Personal Satisfaction: 5/5
• Value: 3/5
• Average: 4.4/5

Final Thoughts

Next to a 1:64 Hot Wheels LaFerrari.

Well, I think this pen is pretty neat. But I bought it knowing I was prioritizing its looks over its actual writing experience. Sometimes writing with a beautiful pen makes you feel fancier than writing with the best writer. It’s stunning, it’s gorgeous, but it isn’t everyone’s fancy. Some might find the large gold accents garish, some might dislike the resin, or the shape. But I think it looks lovely. It isn’t that it writes poorly, it’s just in a bracket where there’s a lot of competition for the best writing pen. But it stands out in a different way.