Have you ever seen a fountain pen and thought to yourself "Yeah I don't need that. BUT I WANT IT." Well that was me when I first laid eyes on the TWSBI Diamond 580 Smoke Rose Gold II. Did I happen to accidentally add it to my cart and order it? Yes, yes I did. The Diamond 580 is TWSBI's premium pen. The Smoke Rose Gold II is their most expensive version at the time of writing ($85 US). Considering how other premium pens are $200+, this is a great price for such a beautiful tool.
Before making the purchase of the Diamond 580, I've owned and used two TWSBI Eco pens. One in the transparent blue color with an EF nib (pictured later) and the other in white with the F nib. To be completely honest, it's hard to feel and see a difference between the two nibs and over the years I've found that I really enjoy drawing and writing with medium nibs. I have been using the Lamy Safari in Terra Red with a medium nib for a while and love the way it feels. So when I went to make a purchase for the Diamond 580 I made sure I purchased it with a medium nib and I'm so glad that I did.
I'm assuming this is the second version of the Smoke RoseGold since there's the roman numeral for "2" in the name, so I will be reviewing this iteration of the pen. As stated above, I purchased the Diamond 580 Smoke Rose Gold II with a medium nib. I find that medium nibs have that perfect balance of the smooth pen to paper feeling as well as having the versatility of creating noticeable thin to thick lines. I have my pen filled with De Atramentis Archive Ink. This black ink has been my go to because it is waterproof. Waterproof ink is important for me because I like to draw with my pens and use watercolors over the lines in my sketchbooks.
The Aesthetics
TWSBI's trademark with their pens is that every pen they manufacture is a demonstrator pen. A demonstrator pen is basically a pen that is transparent and showcases the ink that you have the pen filled with. This is something that I love about both the Eco and the Diamond 580. It's great both for a practical and aesthetic standpoint. For practicality, you can see how much ink you have left in your pen so you know when it's time to fill that sucker back up. Aesthetically, it's just nice watching the ink slosh around. It looks even better if you have a colored ink! Aside from being a demonstrator pen, the pen has a great look. The "smoke" which is the transparent black/grey is accented very nicely with the rose gold bands and clip. At the very top there is TWSBI's red logo which looks surprisingly good. When you remove the cap you get to see the steel nib that has been plated with rose gold as well. Overall, the pen is a real looker and sometimes is a conversation starter.
Ink Capacity and Filling Mechanism
The lovely thing about TWSBI pens is that they have large ink capacities. This is because what holds the ink is the pen itself. A lot of other pens require you to use a converter that holds between .6 to 1ml of ink. The capacity in the Eco and Diamond 580 are 1.8ml and 2ml respectively. This is fantastic because you get to spend less time filling your pen and more time writing or drawing with it. The Diamond 580 also uses a piston filling mechanism which is plenty easy for beginners to get used to. You can fill your pen directly with an ink bottle or if you like convenience and portability, considering looking into the Pineider Pen Filler.
But how does it feel?
The Diamond 580 feels great in the hand. Now, that being said, I do have a medium to large sized hand. From what I've seen from other reviewers, it seems to be a great choice for most people. As you can see in the images above, the pen fits my hand pretty nicely. I recommend testing how pens feel before filling them with ink so you still have the opportunity to return them. If you can try one out in a local shop, even better! One thing to note is the pen does not feel too great when you post the cap. It becomes very back heavy and makes the writing and drawing experience feel a bit unbalanced. But when unposted it's a perfect length with a nice weight as well. The acrylic portion is also faceted so it gives you a little more grip compared to a completely rounded Eco. The writing and drawing experience with the medium nib also feels nice and smooth. I have used it on both cold press watercolor paper and a gridded Midori MD notebook. I will say though, it isn't quite as smooth as my Lamy Safari with a medium nib. But it certainly is not a problem at all. Now this gets me thinking, I wonder what a medium gold nib would feel like compared to a steel nib?
Conclusion
The TWSBI Diamond 580 Smoke RoseGold II is a great pen for both beginners and those familiar with fountain pens. It's at a very affordable price for a premium fountain pen, it looks amazing, and it writes and draws really well too. I even wore it in my jacket pocket at a formal occasion that I attended and it added a nice accent to my blue suit. All in all, if you're in the market for a new fountain pen, absolutely have a look at TWSBI's line up. If you aren't a fan of the Smoke Rosegold color, there are a lot of other options that they offer!