Pelikan Amethyst M205

When the Pelikan M205 Amethyst first came out in 2015, I wasn’t sure if I should buy it. At the time (and still) the Pelikan M600 size is my perfect size and I remember measuring up the M205 size, comparing it with the M600 and thinking that it was too small for me. So at the time, when the pen was readily available, I passed on the chance to pick one up.

For the next 4-5 years I’ve regretted that decision and have kept searching for it at a reasonable price. I could have purchased a New Old Stock edition for nearly $1000 USD but I decided I would pass on this. Last year, while trawling pen sales on the Fountain Pens Australia Facebook group, I saw a listing for a used one at a reasonable price and quickly grabbed it.

In the hand, it is on the small side and strangely, I seem to notice that its smaller on the Amethyst edition – I have the M205 Star Ruby as well and that doesn’t seem to be as small to me as the Amethyst – its probably a mental thing.

The version that I have is onto its third owner and so the piston has a slight rattle and the pen body has slight scratches where the lid fits onto the body. The standard steel nib that it came with is also dry and scratchy – although I think that is pretty common with Pelikan M200/5 steel nibs. Luckily M600 nibs fit into this body, so I swapped one of my gold nibs into it.

The Amethyst colour is really dark, so its difficult to capture the colour of this pen in photo. It’s a lovely moody purple colour, dark enough not to be too obvious in a conservative office environment, but purple enough that you would not forget it actual colour.

All up, I’m glad I finally picked this pen up at a reasonable price second hand. I wouldn’t have minded paying the original price for it new (when it first came out I mean) but for me, I don’t think its worth the mark up you see when you search for a brand new edition. The steel nib on mine if not fantastic and given the option, I would definitely upgrade to a gold nib if possible.