Interview with Dante Del Vecchio founder of Visconti

1. Why the passion for this business?

I’ve had a long, enjoyable love affair with writing instruments. To me it is not a business but a passion. It started by my owning a pen shop for 10 years, from 1977 to 1987. My family passed on to me both the desire and the ability to start manufacturing. They were factory owners: my grandfather being an artist in wrought iron production. He won prizes and awards in Paris in 1928 and Rome in 1935. To sum up: passion, art and entrepreneurship run thick in my veins.


2. What is the structure of Visconti?

Visconti is structured to promote excellence where creativity, innovation and organisation live together in harmony. It is divided into departments and professional tasks (finances, sales, invoicing, service, production, R&D etc) all functioning as a team. The relationships among our employees are informal: we live like a big family or, better said, like a big melting pot of creativity. Competition between associates is seen in a positive way, in fact teamwork and mutual support are our cultural heritage.

3. Which elements or situations inspire you most?

For sure culture! All our creations are products of culture, they may even seem to be spontaneous creations! The Visconti clip, for instance, represents the bridge, a symbol for friendship, of union between peoples. It’s a unifying not a dividing element. This is the task of pens, which for centuries have been recognised as symbols of diplomacy!

Other sources of inspiration are contemporary history and our town, Florence - which is a work of art in itself. It is an inextinguishable source of inspiration. Indeed when we consider that Visconti creates and manufactures its pens in a 13th century villa, what more can I say?


4. Is exclusivity a symbol for Limited Editions?

Not necessarily. Owning a Visconti today, no matter which style, is a mark of exclusivity and of a careful choice. A choice based on creativity and on “Made in Florence”, specifically - a good luxury, a quality luxury. I will speak again later on what I mean by ‘good’ luxury.

A Limited Edition is not always a good product since sometimes it is undervalued and some limited editions do not even have the qualities to be “valuable”. For Visconti a limited edition pen must provide innovation, creativity, art and be produced in quantities below the demand of the potential market. In fact, Visconti limited editions of a few years ago have been completely sold out!


5. Can you reflect on technological innovation in the luxury pen market?

A pen is a traditional object that lived through two golden ages in its history - from 1920 to 1950 and from 1990 to 2000. Technological innovation in the last 40 years has been almost non-existent.

At Visconti we can clearly define two periods of change as related to the luxury pen market. The beginning, with the rediscovery and the idea to use “forgotten” or historical pen materials such as Celluloid or Ebonite. This made our entry into the market possible, distinguishing our brand from the others using mass market materials (like injected plastic).

The second phase when Visconti, as only brand in the world, started to innovate and register patents (more than a dozen, three in the last two years). The most significant patents were made to restyle pens: solution for ink losses in airplanes, cap fitting, filling system, and the traveller inkwell.


6. Which features are compulsory in a pen?

Elegance! And it is not so easy to define it, since it is a combination of different factors, like proportions, colours, form, handiness and weight. A good pen must have all of this and if a small detail fails, you’ve failed.


7. Which creation made you most proud?

In Italy we say: every cockroach is pretty for his own mother! But if I have to make a choice: the “Divina Proporzione” without any doubt. It is a pen with all qualities in harmony, the word “perfect” is inadequate to its description.... “Divine” is absolutely the right word!


8. How do you chose the names for your collections?

Visconti creates two types of pens: the “Regular Editions” and the “Limited Editions”.
For the first ones the name must be easy to be pronounced in all languages, it must communicate the message of the collection and must be well known to the widest public.

For the L.E. indeed it’s sufficient for the name to represent the emotion that we want to communicate, in fact a Visconti Limited Edition is first of all, an emotion.


9. Who is the target of your creations?

People that can appreciate them! I always say that if you see a pen of ours and you feel an emotion... then it means that we did a good job. Our creations must gratify our hearts and brains, they must make people feel a deep emotion, like in those moments when you’re in front of a Picasso or a De Chirico that you’ll never be able to own. The wonderful part is, in the case of our ‘art’ you can indeed own it... that’s even better!



10. Which occasion is best to give a pen as a present? How do you chose the right model for a person?

There is no “best occasion” as a pen is so easy to give as a present. It is made for all occasions, even the most difficult ones. For birthdays, ceremonies, business presents etc., pens are always appropriate and welcome.

A pen makes an excellent gift for a man, as it is one of the few masculine accessories which are appropriate for all occasions. Today’s woman also appreciates true luxury! With a carefully handcrafted masterpiece as the choice, you can’t go wrong.

The only problem is there is no “way” to make an easy choice. It is all a question of taste: maybe you select it as an expression of your personality or maybe the personality of the future owner. That’s so much of the fun. There is one little problem with purchasing a beautiful pen as a gift. We often see customers purchase both a pen as a gift and at the same time, purchase a pen as a gift for themselves!


11. How do you choose the locations for your stores?

The locations must be consistent with and supportive of the brand image. The materials, the craftsmanship and the exquisite designs deserve to be presented in a manner true to their origins.


12. In the world of craftsmanship there is the “Made in Italy” mark. What is your view on the this as it applies to Visconti?

Visconti has abandoned the “Made in Italy” attribution in deference to “Made in Florence”. Visconti produces its pens entirely in the most beautiful town in Italy and we want to ensure our patrons understand and appreciate this element of their creation. Indeed Florence is part of our brand - the word “Renaissance” central to Florence is also central to Visconti. While this element is of great importance for us it is also very important to our clientele encouraging us to export Visconti craftsmanship to over 40 countries.


13. Can you define your view
of luxury for us?

In my view there are two types of luxury: the hedonistic one, which is usually identified with the brand and its association with the purchaser, and another one, a sort of “good” luxury. The ‘good’ luxury is based in truth; on the value of the elements in the creation and how the creation respects those elements. At Visconti we believe in a product that is very close to a work of art, one that will not be mistaken for ‘mass production’.

The price for our creations reflects the care, the time, the craftsmanship, the flawless materials and the creativity inherent in each creation. The price of the pen is not the value of the pen. The one who appreciates the pen they own, places the value on it.

Some of our clients seek a timeless work of art, a luxury that is not based on ephemeral elements but on creativity, materials, innovation, passion.

We work hard to make Visconti pens. Those who own them have worked hard to be in a position to enjoy the kind of luxury captured and delivered in every Visconti creation. Our workmanship pays homage to their efforts to achieve and their selection of Visconti reflects on our efforts to provide them with a declaration of their achievement. The union, like the bridge on our pen, is a perfect one.


Key Dates in Visconti’s History

1988 The market for writing instruments was stagnant: most of the existing companies produced repetitive, predictable, even boring pens, with models lacking in innovation and style. Suffice it to say a pen catalogue would have consisted of very few pages. Most pens are black and some had golden caps. However, there was a glimmer of hope: in 1988, in the United States, Pen World magazine was born, while in Florence, Visconti was founded. The main goal of Visconti was to launch a beautiful vintage pen, like those of our grandfathers, turned by hand on a lathe from pure celluloid blocks. Thus Visconti sowed the seeds of luxury and collecting in the pen industry.


1988/1989 Visconti launched their first celluloid collection. ‘Classic’ comes in six marble-like colors triggering real shock, surprise and delight in the market: Visconti is on every pen aficionado’s lips.


1989 The young company doesn’t settle for the success it has obtained in such a short time. Visconti found a Japanese craftsman producing an old 1920 pen in Urushi lacquer, totally by hand. Furthermore the craftsman handmade the nibs himself. Visconti obtained the exclusive rights. The Urushi pen became the first limited edition of our day and the first 50 pieces were soon sold out. Visconti made the first page of the newborn magazine ‘Penne’.


1990 The success of the Urushi pen (three years of pre-scheduled sales) leads the way. The Visconti collection was enriched by a 14 color line of vintage celluloid pens, in limited edition. Visconti located special material stock which they turned into its first piston model pen with a solid gold nib: D’Essai. The collection was sold in a pen case made of Florentine briarwood. When auctioned the rare and exciting pieces skyrocketed just like newborn Swatch watches. In the two years since its beginning Visconti has revolutionized the pen market.


1991 In the first three years Visconti concentrated mostly on materials rather than on the design of its pens. With Ragtime, while maintaining a classic pen setting, Visconti introduced its first personal touch in pen design; maybe not mature and well developed enough, but certainly innovative.

Ragtime was launched at an extraordinary event in Piazza Signoria in Florence, inside Banca Nazionale Dell’Agricoltura’s headquarters to an overflow crowd of 170 people. No similar events occurred in 1991 for the launch of a fountain pen.


1992 The Year Of Columbus’ anniversary marked the birth of another limited edition: Caravel. It introduced the concept pen: a pen, an inkpot, a wallet and ink tabs commemorating Columbus’ sea journey. A Florentine painter, Mario Fantini, completed the concept painting in three months - 1500 lacquer paintings which became part of the pen cases.


1993 The year is remembered for the launch of the depression filling system, still used today on many Visconti models: High Vacuum Power Filler. Two extraordinary new pens are endowed with this system: Voyager and Uffizi. The clip represents a sailing boat that plunges into a wave; the clip was designed by Visconti the year before for The Moro of Venice sailing team. Unfortunately they did not win America’s Cup. After this however Mr. Raul Gardini graciously authorized Visconti to use the design on Visconti pen clips.

1994-1996 During this period Visconti invested heavily in materials research: the growing company walked away from celluloid after five years. At the same time all of their competitors were just discovering it. For other pen manufacturers celluloid was a novelty, but Visconti had already been producing over 10.000 pieces of celluloid pens each year. It was obvious that alternatives had to be found and Visconti was successful with: ebonite, bakelite, ivory and resins for the basic models. During this period we remember three absolute works of art: Alhambra- decorated in silver or in gold with a technique never to be used again, Taj Mahal – the first pen jewelled in filigree, decorated with diamonds totalling 8 cts for the Sultan of Brunei, the first collection pen without a clip, the Leopardi – the first mini size pen vanguard of its time, with laser-engraved on the barrel the entire poetry ‘L’Infinito’. Most probably this was the first time a laser was used to engrave a luxury item. In 1996 Visconti acquired the licence FI 1425 to produce and commercialize precious materials.

1998 The year of the patent for the Double Reservoir that brought a significant innovation in fountain pens was filed, freeing the lovers of fountain pens from the nightmare of using it while aboard a plane. This filling system represents the sole real technological breakthrough in the industry since WWI and identifies Visconti not only as a great pen manufacturer but also a recognized innovator in the field.


1998- 2001 The end of the 20th century saw Visconti experience continuous growth. In co-operation with German and American suppliers Visconti felt the need to find its own identity. The collection pens or the limited editions while being a good business, did not provide enough to cover the investments required in machines, let alone the funds to create brand awareness outside the circle of pen collectors. Visconti was probably the first to realize that collection pens do not sustain a brand. This insight and the consequent research laid the foundation for today’s Visconti: a modern manufacturer seeing the pen not only as a luxury item but as an accessory, even a means of communication, for the modern man.


2000-2003 The new Visconti identity resides in the clip and in the pen shape. Time proved that the launch of a dedicated and recognizable brand not only required years but also millions of euros in advertising. In 2000 the Millennium pen was launched: its clip was shaped like a bridge, to symbolize the crossing from the two millennia of the past into the beginning of the third. The clip with the name Visconti was to become the flagship of the company: the most severe judge, vox populi – the voice of the people-had approved it.


2003-2005 After the clip, although Visconti already had a top seller in the Van Gogh line, looked for a defining shape. It was in the study of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian man, inscribed in the square and in the circle, that Wall Street saw the light. Squaring the circle was imitated on a vast scale from the beginning. The shape blends into a unique design the stability and balance of the square with the movement of the circle: Visconti had found its dimension.


2005-2007 is recent history and Visconti’ s masterpieces are born either accidentally or with a good dose of luck. Everyone talks about Da Vinci’s code and Leonardo had already triggered indirectly the inspiration for the collection ‘Squaring the Circle’, so little was needed in order to come up and interpret the Divina Proporzione. The extraordinary fact is that the pen was designed in ten minutes on a math exercise book. Four hours in the laboratory completed the exact inclination of the golden spiral and the related patent for the hook safe closing system and its filling…simply genial intuitions!!

In fact with Divina Proporzione Visconti has not only created a masterpiece but also ‘squared’ the circle of its collections, placing at the high level a very representative pen and completing its range that saw Van Gogh as entry level, Squaring the Circle as middle range and Divina at the luxury end.


Epilogue:
What else is left to be said? After all this time the passion is as strong as it was in the beginning. The emotion when we see a new pen is absolutely intact, just like the first time and the best pen is always the next one! For Visconti the pen is a means of communicating our emotions, a canvas to paint, a movie to shoot. Some say our pens are too difficult to understand because they are too philosophic! Well…they are right! We are bound by our culture and we see pens as expressions of culture and a means to convey that culture. Much of what we put into a pen is hidden from the eye, but revealed to the soul. You will never find an anonymous Visconti... it is not in our DNA. However the adventure initiated 20 years ago by two madmen that wanted to produce pens is today a solid reality, a team of passionate employees managed informally but professionally by one of the two ‘madmen’. The creativity has not been altered but united to a unrivalled know-how and to a quality standard. Thousands of pen lovers worldwide appreciate Visconti pens and many trust us to develop their projects. We receive every day words of praise for our dedication and for the work of the 50 people in Florence, encouragements to keep up with the same passion and drive as if it were the first day so that Visconti continue to be in your hands.



Buy a Visconti pen. They are all excellent writing instruments.