Pineider goes back to 1774, with a reputation for making some of the finest paper, leather goods and writing instruments in the world. With new ownership, and a renewed commitment to Italian quality, history and craftsmanship, Pineider also wanted a truly innovative pen range.

One of the most renowned and respected pen designers in the world had just split up with his previous company. Dante Del Vecchio was available, and full of ideas. They got together, and Dante has designed some pens and accessories that are both beautiful and highly practical.

At first glance, the Avatar is a pretty pen, but fairly unassuming. But then you start to notice the details.

• The resin is beautiful, with a pearlescent depth to it, and wonderfully smooth to the touch. Thanks to new technology, this 'UltraResin' is extremely robust and the pen is constucted using a method known as 'GlueLess', making it virtually unbreakable.
• The clip is shaped like a feather, yet remains practical in use. There's a spring mechanism inside the cap that lets the clip open very wide, so it can hold onto even very thick pockets and bags, while a little upward turn at the tip makes it easy to attach.
• The metal ring around the cap has some decoration to it, which is perfectly common. In this case, though, it's the skyline of Florence, wrapped all around the ring, along with the Pineider logo.
• When you uncap the pen, the pull cap feels a little different. It's held in place by magnets, making it quick and easy to cap and uncap, while making a good seal.
• The rhodium-plated nib is large for the size of the pen, but you can tell why when you start writing with it. The steel nib has a bit of softness to it, giving it some of the slightly springy feel you'd usually get from a gold nib, and giving you a bit of line variation with pressure, so your writing has a little more style and expressiveness.

The Avatar Personal also lets you customise your pen. Each pen is supplied with cut-outs of signs of the zodiac, initials and various shapes that can be fitted to the pen using the two lens supplied with it.

The overall result is a pen that's really been thought through with the attention to detail and innovation that could only come from Dante Del Vecchio.

Supplied with a converter for use with bottled ink, and will also take international standard ink cartridges. Presented in a gift box.