Lambrou Pens ZJ2 Gaia Prototype 2012

by Jim Mamoulides, September 13, 2024

Lambrou Pens ZJ2 Gaia prototype 2012

A Pen for a Goddess

This is the Lambrou Pens ZJ2 Gaia prototype fountain pen made in 2012. Gaia or Gaea, in Greek, Γαία, is the ancient Greek personification of the goddess the Earth. Gaia was the mother of the Titans, the Gigantes, the Erinyes or Furies, and the Cyclopes. The guilloche engraving uses deep vertical and horizontal cuts crossing and meeting at right angles to represent the terrain where the decisive Battle of Thermopylae, between the small army of Spartan Hoplites and other Greeks against the huge Persian army invading Greece. The battle took place in 480 BC. The geometric pattern is otherwise unnamed. There is no direct connection between Gaia and Thermopylae, so the chosen names may simply be to tie the pen and design to elements of Greek mythology.

The ZJ2 Gaia is a 5 3/4 inch long cartridge/converter fountain pen based on the large size Lambrou Pens model Mythos 878. It is engraved by the R. Murelli Company, an independent, specialty guillocheur workshop located in Domont, France, using brass blanks for each of the cap and barrel parts. Two different linear engraving machines were used, one for the vertical cuts and the other for the horizontals. The engraved brass components were then silver plated to a minimum of 5 microns. As on the other ZJ2 prototypes, the engraving extends past the clip to the edge of the cap and also to the edge of the barrel. The sterling silver clip was hand crafted by Paul Rossi. The 18 karat gold nib is a Peter Bock G-380 with ebonite feed, rhodium plated to compliment the silver color clip and trim.

Lambrou Pens ZJ2 Gaia prototype 2012

This prototype is complete with Lambrou Pens laser engravings on the cap band. Prototypes for new models are usually first made of brass and then plated in silver or palladium and usually have unmarked cap bands and no hallmarks. The time from the initial design discussions to creation of a complete final pre-production prototype like this one can take several months, as each step in the process will involve corrections and changes in order to finalize the production design. This prototype is very close to the look of a complete and finished pen, except it lacks hallmarks.

Lambrou Pens ZJ2 Gaia prototype 2012

At 5 3/4 inches long with the cap on and a really long 7 3/8 inches long with the cap posted on the end of the barrel, the ZJ2 Iliad is, as are all of the ZJ2 pens, too long and bulky to use posted. It’s going to be used with the cap sitting on the desk. It is very heavy at 2.8 ounces, more than double the weight of most large modern pens. The nib is slightly soft and springy and writes very smoothly. The writing quality is excellent.

I thought this would be another great addition to a proposed ZJ2 sterling silver fountain pen collection, but I don’t think any other ZJ2 Gaia pens were ever made.

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References

R. Murelli

What is "guilloché"?, Laguiole Fontenille Pataud, Thiers, France