Their 18-karat gold nibs are finished and polished by hand, then affixed to barrels coated with elegant lacquered colors, wood or sterling silver.

Stella had been writing, using an old-fashioned fountain pen, marbled blue, with a gold nib.

Those were the iridium-tipped gold nib, hard rubber, and free-flowing ink.

The modern fountain pen nib may be traced back to the original gold nib which had a tiny fragment of ruby attached to form the wear-point.

Early Waterman pens were made of hard rubber and were equipped with 14K gold nibs.

Not a trace of the gold nib was left.

The nib also changed, being steel with a newer v-shaped design, while the gold nib was an entirely new lattice work unit.

She picks up the ivory-handled pen, dips its gold nib in the inkwell and - leaves us her name.

Eight years later, the simple silver pen with the gold nib is his most faithful companion.

Replacing a gold nib costs $30 to $40; a 14-karat gold clip is about $5; reconditioning starts at $20.