Omas revival?

[catbert]

Anyone know anything about this?

From the front page of Omas.com (http://www.omas.com):

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Bologna, 14th of July 2018

Dear Colleagues, Collectors and OMAS fans around the world,

We are delighted to announce that OMAS, Officina Meccanica Armando Simoni, and the Armando Simoni Pen Club, are being brought back to life.

The unique Italian elegance that is in the DNA of this iconic pen brand, is being respectfully restored and retained. Unfortunately, many important technical parts and historical artifacts were lost during the last two years of trouble. It will take us some time to restart production.

We appreciate your support and devotion for OMAS.

For all question and enquirers please contact:
CEO@ancora1919.com


Yours faithfully,
Matt Briling
CEO Ancora 1919 Pen Company

----

There was a link to Ancora's website but Safari deemed it insecure so I've omitted it here.

[SIR]

Could be, it was taken over by administrators... but "Unfortunately, many important technical parts and historical artifacts were lost during the last two years of trouble" is significant and ominous.

[whichwatch]

I wonder what impact that will have. Guess it depends on what they actually produce, and from what materials. Could make things awfully confusing among original Omas, Manu's stuff as Armando Simoni Club, and now whatever this group produces.

[FredRydr]

PLEASE let it not be anything like the Conklin revival.

[catbert]

So. Armando Simoni Club has some of the materials, Scribo has some of the people, and now Ancora (?) has the name.

Scribo had this to say in a newsletter dated 13 July (perhaps to pre-empt the Ancora announcement, now that I think about it):

----

to write a brand new story!

Beginning this new great adventure we would like to express our opinion on the rumors that have chased the unfortunate end of Omas glorious history.

This is the first and last time that we will give our interpretation to the events that occurred between the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, without any polemic or revenge intent, but with the sole objective of sharing the story that brought us here today.

Many words were spent on the closure of Omas, someone said that the Company went into bankruptcy, some others that it was unable to manage production costs or that it had lost the quality of its products and others again said that the Company had even relocated production to China.

None of this corresponds to truth, it is all much simpler: the Holding Company that owns Omas simply decided to cease the business of writing instruments and, despite the various attempts made, including a formal offer of acquisition by us and all other employees presented to the representative of the owner based in Bologna, the Omas owner never wanted to consider the idea of transferring the brand to employees so that we could continue the work we had started.

Only after opening the voluntary liquidation procedure (not bankruptcy!) all materials and finished products were sold, and lately, according to rumors, the brand was sold too.

We are convinced of the fact that, for a mere matter of image, the Omas owner did not accept the idea that employees could even try to do better. There was the doubt that they could make it. This, at least, is our opinion.

So, it was better to close Omas down, to interrupt a history of almost centenarian Italian excellence, rather than to give it the opportunity to be reborn under different hands.

A real pity which, as soon as the disappointment was absorbed, turned out to be a new great opportunity, SCRIBO.

[mulrich]

I'm sure there's some truth to the Scribo story but I doubt the holding company cared whether the employees bought the company or not. I bet this was a financial decision and the company decided they could make more money through liquidation than whatever offer the employees made. Holding companies aren't sentimental and make decisions to maximize profit.

[tomusa0106]

I'm not sure if their comeback will be successful or not but I will always support. krunker (https://krunkergame.co)

[stephanilope]

the rebirth of OMAS but the joy and hope of slope ball (https://slopeball.io). We hope it is more and more sustainable and growing

[lilycollins]

Omas revival? Could be, it was taken over by administrators among us (https://amongus2.io/) ... but "Unfortunately, many important technical parts and historical artifacts

[Jon Szanto]

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/ed226da1250636f938567663ebc4ebe07c561b77/c=0-521-2115-1716&r=x1683&c=3200x1680/local/-/media/2017/07/22/Guam/Guam/636362927789205045-SPAM-GU-Can.jpg

REPEAT OFFENDER - BAN THE SPAMMER ACCOUNTS!

[catbert]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzjk75j5aio

[Jon Szanto]

Don't bet your money on this working out well. It appears to be another near-Ponzi scheme with various parties owning the name, the materials, the manufacturing, etc, etc. I saw some of the pens in LA yesterday at the California Pen Show and the quality level was not great. From everything I can see it is another Simoni Club mess. Very disappointing.

[724Seney]

Don't bet your money on this working out well. It appears to be another near-Ponzi scheme with various parties owning the name, the materials, the manufacturing, etc, etc. I saw some of the pens in LA yesterday at the California Pen Show and the quality level was not great. From everything I can see it is another Simoni Club mess. Very disappointing.

+1
Agree 100%

[fountainpenkid]

Very unfortunate. That thing is ugly. From the ASC garbage to this...no one, NO ONE!, has captured the (in my opinion singular) refinement that OMAS achieved.

[whichwatch]

Two of the partners in "new Omas" are Manu from Pen Family and Frank Zheng from Nahvalur. I'm just sayin'.

[Gulfcoast]

Yep. It's the ASC folks taking another swing at making a buck off OMAS.

[karmachanic]

Emmanuel Caltagirone Visits The New OMAS Atelier in Italy
https://youtu.be/n5ml13bCfJE

[TSherbs]

I've always loved the look of the Omas nib.

[Jon Szanto]

At the pen show over the weekend I heard someone refer to the new venture as "Faux-mas".

[manoeuver]

At the pen show over the weekend I heard someone refer to the new venture as "Faux-mas".
oh no!

[Jon Szanto]

At the pen show over the weekend I heard someone refer to the new venture as "Faux-mas".
oh no!

Of course, you could rightly go South of the border and just declare "no mas".

[manoeuver]

At the pen show over the weekend I heard someone refer to the new venture as "Faux-mas".
oh no!

Of course, you could rightly go South of the border and just declare "no mas".

I'd just hand it to some dude: here's your Bromas.

[TSherbs]

At the pen show over the weekend I heard someone refer to the new venture as "Faux-mas".

December 25th? ;)

[Gulfcoast]

What was the filling system on the "OMAS" pens at the CA Pen Show? Piston, or the "pneumatic" ASC type?

[Jon Szanto]

What was the filling system on the "OMAS" pens at the CA Pen Show? Piston, or the "pneumatic" ASC type?

From another attendee at the show (I didn't do a dedicated examination:


I just looked at three of them in a row and each had a QC issue. First one the barrel screwed off. Second one the piston (which Manu confirmed is a Schmidt unit) had an issue - it was rough and making a clicking noise (and no it’s not a ratcheting type). They were going to swap the nib and found it was misaligned. Manu told me to go take it to someone else to get it fixed. Needless to say I passed on the deal.

[fountainpenkid]

You can see it’s a sham from the promotional video: the glued construction of the cap and piston unit is nothing like the true Ogiva. I’m surprised they included that footage.
It’s all wrong as a design—the flared section is so wrong and badly executed, the piston ring is too thick, the cap is too fat (more like a modern Aurora 88)…I don’t know how this happens except to think that the people involved had no great appreciation for the long history of exceptional design the brand stood for. Living up to and reviving that ethos would be key to any successful relaunch. What other company (No, not Montblanc!) subtitled their logo with “symbol of distinction” inside their boxes back in the ‘30s?

[MarcoA64]

I would never buy one. Omas is dead, full stop. Money making exercise for silly buyers. Same as for Delta. Resurrecting a brand to sell, poorly manufactured, luxury items. Want an Omas or Delta? Buy vintage and live happy!

[Motomachi10]

Some celluloid pens of older Omas pens have been corrupted and destroyed. Are the new pens made with new materials?

[Farmboy]

Does this new Omas have a website?

[catbert]

Does this new Omas have a website?

https://omasofficial.com

The typos and writing style don't inspire confidence.

[thundernightmark]

I appreciate you taking the time to discuss this issue Spanish dictionary (https://spanishdictionary.cc) as I have strong opinions on this issue and I would like to learn more information about it. Could you add some details to the post you made on your blog? It will truly be to our collective advantage. lol beans (https://lol-beans.io)

[Keyless Works]

I find this so confusing. Why would you buy a new OMAS pen over an ASC when ASC makes a pen that actually looks like a Paragon, Ogiva, 360, etc.? Is the quality the same as Pen Family?

Is this new OMAS brand using OMAS' nib tooling to make new nibs? Did Scribo not get that equipment?

[Jon Szanto]

Is the quality the same as Pen Family?

It is hard to read that and keep a straight face! One would hope, truly hope, that the quality would be much higher.

[724Seney]

Is the quality the same as Pen Family?

It is hard to read that and keep a straight face! One would hope, truly hope, that the quality would be much higher.

Definitely an oxymoron!!

I'm wondering if @Keyless Works's account was hijacked and this post has been made by someone else?
@Keyless Works is a longstanding, very experienced member who knows vintage celluloid pens well. For sure he has got to be knowledgeable about all the Pen Family issues, etc. which have been discussed here and elsewhere.
And, even if not, all the information about the relationship between "new" Omas and the Pen Family is found right within the contents of this thread!

My bet is it is a hacked account; hopefully there is a FPG member who knows him and can give him a head's up.

[fountainpenkid]

The new pens sold under the OMAS brand are made by the founder of Narwhal. I wonder if they share any parts. At least the Ogiva looks like it is somewhat similar to the original shape.

[724Seney]

The new pens sold under the OMAS brand are made by the founder of Narwhal. I wonder if they share any parts. At least the Ogiva looks like it is somewhat similar to the original shape.

He is working in close collaboration with the founder of The Pen Family.
Rest assured it is a shared business venture.

[Dougc]

I would never buy one of the new brand Omas ( im downsizing and have 5 original left with only 2 of those being fountain pens) as well an original Oldwin, but I do think that there is a certain tendency to 'pile on' anything from the Pen Family.
I understand that their business model is a little irritating (swooping in on revered brands and creating new versions that sometimes have little to do with the spirit of the original) but I do own one of the cheapie ASC Studio pens and it is perfectly fine.

I'm in line with all of the above comments. Just trying to interject a little balance.
BTW why has no one asked why the new Omas are not made in Italy? Where are they made?

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

[Farmboy]

This is so much fun to watch.

[Keyless Works]

I would never buy one of the new brand Omas ( im downsizing and have 5 original left with only 2 of those being fountain pens) as well an original Oldwin, but I do think that there is a certain tendency to 'pile on' anything from the Pen Family.
I understand that their business model is a little irritating (swooping in on revered brands and creating new versions that sometimes have little to do with the spirit of the original) but I do own one of the cheapie ASC Studio pens and it is perfectly fine.

I'm in line with all of the above comments. Just trying to interject a little balance.
BTW why has no one asked why the new Omas are not made in Italy? Where are they made?

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

They are made in Naples according to this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5ml13bCfJE
In that video it shows a guy wearing a Gioia branded work shirt. Are they somehow related to Gioia? I do not believe that Gioia is part of Pen Family.

[Jon Szanto]

This is so much fun to watch.

Dude, you don't watch text, you read it. Until someone posts a video...

Oh shit. Nevermind.









:D