Giardino dell'Eden – let yourself be tempted by the twentieth anniversary pen

The Visconti Giardino dell'Eden was created exclusively for Giardino Italiano in 2016, to celebrate our first twenty years of activity. Produced in 200 total pieces —
100 in black resin and 100 in petrol blue — it is now almost impossible to find.

Almost sold out: only a few pieces in black resin remain.

Petrol blue is completely sold out.
The few remaining black pieces are individually numbered and will not be reproduced.

→ Buy the Visconti Giardino dell'Eden now

The myth of the Garden of Eden

There is no narrative more famous than that of the Garden of Eden, the place from which the history of Humanity unfolds.
The first mention of this place of peace and divine beauty is found in the myth of the primordial Man, in Mesopotamia. It tells of a king – the primordial Man – who is placed as guardian of the divine garden to protect the tree of life that grows there.

The myth then became part of the Hebrew Bible, which has handed down to us the story of the first man and woman on Earth. It is the story of Adam and Eve, born and raised in a wonderful place of peace and innocence created by Adonai (God): the Garden of Eden. In Genesis (2:9) it reads that "The Lord made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

When the serpent tempted Adam and Eve, they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge – the apple – and God had to banish them from the Garden of Eden to prevent them from also eating from the tree of life and thus acquiring the gift of immortality.
Cherubim were then placed to guard the garden to protect the tree of life, armed with flaming swords.

In search of the tree of life

Since ancient times, the Garden of Eden has been an object of human search.
The geographical references contained in the Bible have been variously interpreted in relation to the Four Rivers that would surround the garden: some locate these rivers in modern Ethiopia, others in ancient Babylon and the kingdom of Solomon, in Israel.

However, the mystery of the Garden of Eden does not end here: in the Talmud and in Jewish Kabbalah, scholars indicate that there are two different places called “Garden of Eden”.
The first would be an earthly place, while the second would be a heavenly place where immortal and righteous souls dwell. This second garden has never been seen by mortal eye.

All cultures, from Islamic to Nordic, to Eastern, agree on the existence of this secret garden of extreme beauty and divine origin, in which the tree of life – Etz haChayim, Yggdrasil, and all its other names – grows protected.

 

Giardino dell'Eden... let yourself be tempted!

Perhaps you will never find the tree of life, but if you are looking for a rare pen that represents your personal quest for knowledge, the search ends here.

Visconti has produced this small masterpiece exclusively for Giardino Italiano to celebrate Giardino Italiano's first twenty years of online sales: the Visconti Giardino dell'Eden.

In 1996 Giardino Italiano was the first e-commerce in the world to sell fountain pens (and has never stopped since!); the first brand we carried was Visconti, and the first pen sold was a Visconti. Who else then could we have chosen to create a pen that would suitably represent this important milestone?

This is a very limited edition: a total of 100 pieces in black with lighter, mother-of-pearl nuances, cloud effect, and 100 pieces in bright petrol blue with an almost shimmering effect, available in rollerball or fountain pen versions. The barrel and cap are made of resin, decorated with Visconti's exclusive Scrimshaw technique.

The scrimshaw technique consists of engraving the resin with a very sharp milling cutter to create the decorative motif.
Then the grooves were filled with ink, in this case silver colored, and left to dry for at least three days. Finally, the entire surface was carefully cleaned until the entire design appeared.
The scrimshaw technique was used in ancient times to decorate walking sticks, especially in ivory, the handles of collectible knives, and gun stocks.

Currently, Visconti is the only industrial manufacturer to apply the scrimshaw technique to resin for limited series productions.

The design, which recalls Klimt's style in the Tree of Life, represents an apple tree – naturally – that climbs up the barrel of the pen and extends onto the cap, in an intricate interplay of branches that spread into curls, spirals, small leaves, and apples; like precious embroidery that lightens the sobriety of the pen.

Among the apples, symbol of Wisdom, well hidden, lurks the serpent, symbol of temptation.

The fittings are made of palladium, the filling system is cartridge/converter, the nib is steel with a wide choice of tips: Fine, Medium, Broad, plus special flexible EF and rigid Stub nibs.

The cap closure is magnetic, and the central palladium band is decorated with the Giardino Italiano logo, the anniversary dates (1996-2016) and a hint of the same curls from the main decoration.
The bridge clip bears the Visconti logo on black enamel in both versions, and the pen's numbering (from 001 to 100)

The Visconti Giardino dell'Eden is packaged in the classic triangular Visconti box, personalized with the pen's name and the Giardino logo, and accompanied by the Visconti limited edition identity card.

The retail price, yet to be defined, will be set between 200 and 250 euros, and will vary
depending on the version (fountain pen or rollerball).

This is a unique opportunity to get your hands on this limited edition fountain pen: an exclusive and elegant creation, which contains within itself a universal symbolism for the celebration of life itself.

The Visconti Giardino dell'Eden remains one of the most sought-after limited edition fountain pens in the history of Giardino Italiano.

The Scrimshaw technique applied to resin requires days of manual work and makes each piece unique.
Those looking for a limited edition fountain pen with authentic artisanal decoration will hardly find anything comparable.

Visconti has been producing limited edition fountain pens for decades, but the Scrimshaw technique remains reserved for very few special productions. This limited edition fountain pen will not be reproduced.

Now you really have no more excuses not to let yourself be tempted…

You've read the story, now look at the pen. Only 23 pieces in black resin remain — numbered, not reproducible, only on Pens.it.

Also read: What those who bought it think

 

Giardino Italiano
Simona Gauri-Reisch