Visconti is an Italian
manufacturing company
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...
of
luxury goods
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...
, founded in 1988 in
Florence by Dante Del Vecchio and Luigi Poli, who were themselves collectors of
fountain pens. The company became notable for the use of
celluloid in the manufacturing of its pens, adding details in
ivory,
titanium,
gold,
diamond,
ebonite, and
acrylic fiber.
[
Visconti's handmade fountain pens have been recognised for their quality and fine craft, having released several collections since the company's inception.
]
History
The company was founded on 20 October 1988 by Luigi Poli and Dante del Vecchio, two friends that decided to turn their passion for fountain pens into a business.[Brand values & history]
on Visconti website
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 its founders to release a new model, "Urushi", a limited edition of only 100 pieces, made of ebonite and decorated with the Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese lacquerware technique.[
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.][ By 2008, the company had 25 employees who made the pens handcrafted.][L' atelier della penna raddoppia il fatturato]
by Maurizio Bologni on ''La Repubblica'', 22 Oct 2005
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. 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.
By 2012, Visconti exported its crafted products to more than 50 countries around the world, with 50,000 pens sold by year.
Dante Del Vecchio left Visconti in 2016 due to a conflict with his business partner and later became chief pen designer at Pineider.
References
External links
*
Visit with Visconti and President Dante del Vecchio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visconti (Pens)
Manufacturing companies based in Florence
Fountain pen and ink manufacturers
Watch manufacturing companies of Italy
Jewellery companies of Italy
Italian brands
Luxury brands
Italian companies established in 1988