The Carene is a pen that I had wanted almost since the beginning of my fountain pen journey. I saw it mentioned on a Reddit post about inlaid vs integrated nibs (this is also where I discovered the Pilot E95s), so I googled it and found this beautiful pen.

The Carene next to (my best attempt at a) grand piano sketch. Inspired by redeempens

Then, I saw the price tag and basically gave up hope on ever getting this pen. I was already lusting after the E95s, but I was thrown off by the $100 it costs (this was still at the time when I thought “$200?! That’s an insane amount of money for just a pen!”), so I couldn’t imagine myself getting such an expensive pen at the time.

Fast forward about 10 months, and I was on my way to the DC Pen Supershow. Upon arrival, I had one pen that I knew I could leave without: the Carene. I searched around the show for hours on the first day to no avail. That is, until I spotted a stray Waterman box on someone’s table. I opened it to find a stunning blue Carene in rhodium trim and said “I’ll take it.” The incredibly generous lady manning the booth ended up selling me the Carene for a whopping $5! Now, onto the review.

Close up of the Carene’s cap band engravings that read “Waterman France”

The Carene’s nib is super photogenic and gorgeous

The Design

The Carene’s design is inspired by sleek and modern luxury boats, resulting in fine curves and polish across the pen. The finial, clip, and cap band are rhodium plated to compliment the matte blue aluminum body, though the Carene is available in tons of finishes, ranging from a solid color with either rhodium or gold trim, all the way to textured metal finishes (some of my favorites are the Essential Black and Gold and the Essential Silver). The 18k gold nib has an incredible inlaid, bow shaped design meant to look as if it was diving into the page, bringing your words and thoughts along with it. The spring clip sweeps down the cap, coming back up towards the bottom to make it easy to slip onto a pocket or case (although this is a somewhat stiff clip). Overall the look of this pen is one of my favorites, as I personally am a big fan of contemporary design.

The Carene feels sturdy in the hand, making it quite comfortable to write with

The Feel

In one word: solid. The full metal body provides a very nice heft, and the pen feels very durable. The cap snaps on with a very satisfying click, and unscrewing the barrel feels smooth and controlled (also, the barrel always screws on so that the finial lines up perfectly with the nib; a level of attention to detail that I love to see in a pen). Unscrewing the barrel reveals a sturdy Waterman converter held on securely. The pen is weighty enough that posting it makes it too heavy to use in my opinion, but it feels well balanced and weighted when unposted. Heres a nice list of some specifications:

Length (Capped): 145mm

Length (Uncapped): 128.4mm

Length (Posted): 148mm

Section Diameter: 10.8mm

Max Diameter: 13.4mm

Weight Uncapped: 23g

Weight Capped: 33g

Overall, the pens is somewhat heavy, very durable, and feels incredibly solid.

Another close up of the incredible nib in front of my mediocre sketch 😛

The Writing Experience

People consider the Carene to be the best modern Waterman fountain pen, and I can see why. The 18k gold nib is smooth, but stuff, and provides the most consistent ink flow of any of my pens (with Waterman ink). This pen has never hard started, skipped, or failed to flow properly under any circumstances, making the Carene a fantastic option as a workhorse pen. There’s not much more I can say about how this pen writes besides wonderful.

The silver accents on the clip and nib fit the matte blue body perfectly

Concluding Thoughts

This pen is worth it. I know that I got this pen at a 97.5% discount, but even if I did spend full price, I still would not have second thoughts about whether I loved this pen. If you are considering the Waterman Carene, go for it. You will never look back.

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