Visconti S.r.l.
TypeS.r.l.
IndustryLuxury goods
Founded20 October 1988 (1988-10-20) in Florence
FounderLuigi Poli and Dante del Vecchio
HeadquartersFlorence, Italy
Key people
  • Dante Del Vecchio
  • Luigi Poli
ProductsFountain pens, nibs, watches
Websitewww.visconti.it

Visconti is an Italian manufacturing company of luxury goods, founded in 1988 in Florence by Dante Del Vecchio and Luigi Poli, who were collectors of fountain pens. The company is noted for its use of celluloid in the making of its pens, adding details in ivory, titanium, gold, diamond, ebonite, and acrylic fiber.[1]

Visconti's handmade fountain pens have been recognised for their quality and fine craft.[2] Its line of products has changed over time, with several collections released since the company's inception.[3]

History

The company was founded on the 20th of October, 1988, by Luigi Poli and Dante del Vecchio, two friends that were fountain pen enthusiasts.[4]

The first collection launched by Visconti was the "Classic", a pen made of celluloid, which would be used for several collections in successive years. The success of this pen encouraged the company's founders to release a new limited edition of a hundred pieces, "Urushi", made of ebonite and decorated with Japanese lacquerware techniques.[4]

During the 1990s, Visconti developed the high vacuum power filler system (1993), the travel inkwell (1997) and the double reservoir filling system (1998), which consisted of a double reservoir refilling system, to prevent leakage.[4] By 2008, the company had 25 employees who made its pens by hand.[1]

In 2009, Visconti reached a deal with Coles of London (actually based in North Carolina), whereby Coles became the official distributor of Visconti products in the United States.[5] Together, both companies launched a range of new products, including the Rembrandt Collection, Opera Masters, Homo Sapiens Collection, Divina Royale range, and the limited-edition Templari.[6]

By 2012, Visconti had exported its products to more than 50 countries around the world with 50,000 pens sold by year.[7]

Dante Del Vecchio left Visconti in 2016 due to a conflict with his business partner[8] and later became chief pen designer at Pineider.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 L' atelier della penna raddoppia il fatturato by Maurizio Bologni on La Repubblica, 22 Oct 2005
  2. ↑ Strumenti di scrittura Visconti: non solo penne, ma veri gioielli by Daniela Carrara on TopNegozi
  3. ↑ Penna magazine of fountain pens, pages 23,58,59 (archived), 28 Jul 2014
  4. 1 2 3 Brand values & history on Visconti website
  5. ↑ Visconti pen service on Coles of London website
  6. ↑ Stylus, Winter 2010 p.44-48
  7. ↑ Massini, Claudio (22 November 2012). "Visconti, il lusso nelle penne, apre anche in Porta Rossa" (in Italian). La Gazzetta di Firenze.
  8. ↑ "Dante del Vecchio is leaving Visconti « Giardino Italiano – Blog".
  9. ↑ "Meet Master Pen Maker Dante del Vecchio". 2 May 2019.
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