Pilot Namiki Yukari Maki-e Fountain Pen – Firefly.

Fireflies are poetic symbols of love in Japan. Namiki Yukari Firefly features fireflies in the grass, with the bodies of the fireflies and several blades of glass highlighted with the raden technique (inlaid abalone shell).

Using the traditional Maki-e techniques Togidashi Maki-e, or burnished-raised maki-e, and Raden, the Yukari collection within Pilot Namiki pens are inspired by the beauty of the four seasons.The making of a Maki-e piece is an extremely labor- and time-intensive process involving a repetitive series of applying layers of lacquer, drawing the design outline, sprinkling gold and silver powders to fill in the designs, and polishing to achieve a lustrous surface. The lacquered main design is filled in with the carefully sprinkled gold and silver powders, and then several additional layers of lacquer are applied. Once these layers harden, the surface is polished many times.A finished product can take up to 3 months, and some of the pieces go through the repetitive lacquer-drawing-sprinkling-polishing process up to 130 times.

• #10 18k gold nib
• CON-70 converter andspare cartridge included
• Comes in a velvet-lined wooden box with Namiki branding
• For a close-up and 360-degree view of the motif, feel free to refer to its listing on Pilot-Namiki’s website here
• Lifetime warranty under Pilot
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