After the second Laban instrument I reviewed in collaboration with Goldspot, my instagram notification popped up again. This time, it is Laban who reached out to me for another review to announce their release of the new colors of the Rosa collection, while the Ice crack on my desk today isn’t among the new releases - and on that note: disclaimer time - I do not have any affiliate links with Laban, so all opinions in this video are my own and I only use the link to their homepage laban.com to let you know where to find them and take a look around.

The history of Laban has already been mentioned in the post on the Cambridge 325, so you could check it out right here. It comes in the same paper box as the Cambridge 325 with a blue fabric texture on the outside, and they also gave you an orange branded bookmark and a sticker of the very same pen. The box slides open revealing the pen in plastic wrapper. It also comes with a converter and an international cartridge so you could start filling it up for use immediately.

Since this has been the 3rd pen I handle from Laban, the question of “is it a good pen?” now turns into “what is Laban trying to do with their pen releases?”. From an enthusiast perspective, fountain pen has always been more of a males’ thing, but recent years the number of female pen collectors and users has been increasing. Pen companies are definitely trying to capture that market as we could see the release of more eye-catching and vibrant colors to appeal to this new audience, as a writing instrument can also be seen as an accessory for their outfit or for the activities they engage in daily.

From that point of view, this Rosa Ice crack certainly can fulfill that role really well:

The instrument is made out of acrylic resin with different colors and sparkles that resemble natural marble. However, there is more to it: under the different angles there is a lot of blue and pinkish hue that caught me by surprise. The overall pen when put under sunlight has that pearlescent look that many pen makers try to replicate, but I think this one is among the most tastefully done. The blue and pink hues are not too gaudy and only show up when you hold the instrument up close, which will not distract the users from the task at hand.

The overall design of the Rosa still follows the school of italian pen making, as we can see a slightly tapered body, prolonged cap and a somewhat a meandering or “greek-key” motif on the cap band. The overall proportions and sizing are really similar to a Montblanc 146 that I’ve always been fond of: light in the hand, hefty enough to keep the seasoned fountain pen writers writing longer, while also not being too unwieldy for new users.

The only criticism that I would have for the Rosa is that the gold plating and finishing of the clip and cap band could use a bit of a touch up. The black paint inside the cap band was not cleaned up carefully and some gold parts were coming off the pen in the first 48hrs that I handled the pen. I could see this being a huge issue for some users but from experience, this would happen eventually to any fountain pen and it isn’t the worst thing to dread about.

The Rosa also comes with the same no.6 Bock nib unit as the Skeleton 300. I expected a similar writing experience but in this particular example the nib is a bit soft and I could imagine with a heavier hand it could spring easily. Nonetheless, this one is also a wonderful writer for what it offers and as a daily writer that also acts as an accessory, this one isn’t a bad choice.

This Ice crack example from the Rosa collection by Laban really made me turn my eyes toward italian style writing instruments and it would fit the role of a daily writer or a fashionable accessory pretty well. Once again, thanks to Laban for providing me the pen for this review and if you would like to check out the other colors in their Rosa collection or any other fountain pens from Laban, please visit laban.com or take a look at the metal overlaid construction of their Skeleton 300 model.