Visconti Mecca Fountain Pen Visconti has created the Mecca Limited Edition Pen as a tribute to Muhammad, the founder of Islam. The great city of Mecca is the birthplace of Muhammad. Just outside of the city in a cave is where he received his first revelations from God, and thus, began the religion of Islam. The body of the pen is turned from shiny black resin to create a shape reminiscent of the architecture of the Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam. This cube shaped building located in Mecca predates Islam and was built by Abraham, the father of the Hebrew nation. The Kaaba was made of granite from the surrounding hills outside Mecca. Each of the four sides is scrimshawed with Arabic verses from the Qu'ran. They are inspired by the Kiswah, an embroidered black cloth that covers the Kaaba. The rings evoke the stone pieces used to build the structure. The pen is limited to 662 pieces in honor of the year Muhammad and his followers migrated to Medina, also known as the Hijra. This pen is available in fountain pen or rollerball. The fountain pen features a 23kt palladium nib. Science and Ethic, Third Millennium and Secularism, Laicism and Religion, these are just some of the great themes of humanity which often compete among each other, opposing themselves. Globalisation has enlarged this dichotomy: although at the end of the past century science and rationalism seemed to prevail, at least in all industrialised countries, throughout the third millennium, because of uncertainties mostly due to September 11 th, religion has dramatically become more and more significant not only from the spiritual, but also and unfortunately from the conflict fostering point of view, which is a consequence of the establishment of the new multiethnic societies. This chain of events has brought religion more and more at the centre of our lives, last but not least in our political perception too. Visconti has always been very attentive in giving importance with its creations to aspects and themes that have impact, change or describe our life: this Limited Edition fountain pen collection is dedicated to all religions of the world and the name chosen to describe it is (not by chance) MYSTIC PENS. Islam is one of the great religions of the world and we thought it was right to create a tribute to the two symbol towns where Muhammad was born and mostly active : Mecca & Medina MECCA Mecca is the town where Muhammad was born. The Mecca fountain pen is turned from a black shiny resin bar in a form which immediately recalls the architecture of the Kaaba. For ergonomic reasons we have rounded the corners of this bar in order to make the Mecca pen become a daily writing instrument. The four shaft sides and the three ones of the cap are “decorated” with Qu’ran verses in Arabic. Thanks to their elegant graphic features they give to the pen an extremely elegant aspect. These writings are inspired to the Kiswa, the precious black cloth that cover the Kaaba with its golden writings. When the cloth is lifted up we can see the original structure of the Kaaba, made of bricks and this is exactly the same for the pen rings. At the end we have a clip with a balancing device, a common feature to many Visconti pens of the past inspired to the silver set Kaaba Black Stone recalling the human eye. The Mecca pen numbering system is inspired to number 622, the year of Hijra. Limited Edition to 622 Silver Pens Material: Black resin Pen Nib: 23k Palladium Filling System: Power filler Artwork: Black ink scrimshaw with gold laquering Packaging: Perforated dedicated display box