One of the first questions we ask people who wander into our fabulous little Carmel-by-the-Sea boutique is whether they’ve used a fountain pen before. We’ve been using them for years, dipping nibs in vibrant inks before setting them to the finest stationery in the world, but we know not everyone has.

For a lot of people, a Bic is the only pen they’ve ever used — though we’re happy to meet a lot of people whose favorite pen is the Pilot G2 (and rightly so, as it’s a fantastic writing instrument). We’re always happy to share with them the Pilot writing instruments we feature, like the retractable-nib Vanishing Point. Its click mechanism always delights the people who try it, eliciting a “Wow, that’s so cool,” when we let them know its nib is made of 18k gold for the smoothest experience possible.

We love surprising and delighting people — and of course, we love being surprised and delighted ourselves. Every day, new orders arrive at The Pleasure of Writing, and while some of them simply include the usual stock of LAMY Safaris or Montblanc rollerballs (or Pilot Custom 823s), some of them impress us every bit as the Safaris and Vanishing Points delight our customers.

Montegrappa Frankenstein

This one, for example, isn’t just a writing instrument. It’s a full-on diorama featuring a straight jacket-esque sleeve and a gurney-shaped plinth to hold the body of the pen as securely as Victor Frankenstein once bound the creature whose body he imbued with electricity he gathered from a storm above.

That’s why besides the plinth and sleeve and fountain pen, this set even features a spectacular glassine plasma ball. Once plugged into a power source, the radiant electrical energy scintillates, responding to the slightest touch.

It’s a stunning display that deserves to be seen, and perhaps even must be to be believed.

S.T. Dupont Space Odyssey Prestige Edition

Featuring literally space-craft grade metals, the Space Odyssey is a writing instrument that would impress even Ziggy Stardust. It includes a base that looks like NASA’s Cape Canaveral, as though the entire writing instrument has already been prepared for liftoff.

The bottom of the pen features metal fins that give its back heft, while its capped with a gorgeous cone that features a brilliant blue stone among enamel and metal that matches its body. The pen does not post, as there is a small thruster-shaped decoration among the fins, but the pen does convert between fountain pen and rollerball simply by swapping the grip section.

Visconti Van Gogh Dreaming Starry Night

Visconti’s Van Gogh line, with its eye-catching designs based on the masterworks by the famous Dutch impressionists, always elicit a gasp from customers who are taken by their colors and vibrance. While the line has been updated nearly every year, always based on paintings like Orchard in Bloom or The Potato Eaters, Starry Night has arguably been the most popular, as it’s the painter’s most famous work.

For the Dreaming Starry Night, Visconti pushed the design and innovation yet further. It’s bigger and bolder and heavier than the Van Gogh line, with a textured barrel whose resin emulates brush strokes in enamel.

It’s case is an easel with an ornate golden-hued frame featuring intricate design as though ready to be hung on a wall.

David Oscarson

Every writing instrument David produces is gorgeous, from the Ellis Island with its flags of the world to the Sea Turtles, with lovely gradients in the terrapin shells. It’s not just about the quality of the craftsmanship, which begins with sterling silver and includes vibrant colors and glass overlay.

It’s about the obvious thought David puts into every design and his exacting attention to detail, whether that includes the stamp-esque features on the cap and finial of the Ellis Island or the propeller-shaped clip on the Spirit of Saint Louis. That’s what makes these pens not just special but unique. From how they feel in the hand to the marvelous, almost glassine smoothness of the exquisitely tuned nibs, these writing instruments are truly marvels.