Ancient, intelligent, beautiful and shy, Sea Turtles play a vital role in maintaining the health of the world’s oceans. These graceful giants have peacefully roamed the earth for millennia; surviving numerous obstacles including the extinction of dinosaurs.

Six of the seven species that swim the planet’s waters - leatherback, loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley, green, olive ridley, and hawksbill - are found in every ocean except the Arctic and Antarctic. The seventh, the flatback, lives only in the waters around Australia.

Sea turtles make incredibly long migrations between feeding and breeding areas (the leatherback travels an average of 3,700 miles each way). Mating occurs at sea, followed by pilgrimages to beaches several times per season every 2 to 5 years to lay their eggs. Females dig a hole in the sand, deposit their clutch of eggs (up to 100 in the leatherback’s case), cover them up and return to the sea.

Sand temperature determines the sex of the eggs. After about 60 days, the eggs hatch and tiny hatchlings make their way from the nest to the water at night, often a deadly ordeal as seabirds, crabs, and other predators prey on the young turtles. Natural light at the horizon guides the hatchings to the ocean. Lights from hotels, homes, and other buildings can confuse the turtles into heading the wrong way. Only one out of 1,000 hatchlings survives to reach adulthood. Their lifespan however, is long; some sea turtles can live to be 100 years old.

Omnivorous turtles may eat a wide variety of plant and animal life, however, some species specialize on certain prey; the Leatherback feeds almost exclusively on jellyfish which helps control jellyfish populations. Sea Turtles can slow their heart rate to one beat every nine minutes, conserving oxygen and allowing them to hold their breath for up to five hours underwater.

The Sea Turtle Collection is the 33^rd in the David Oscarson series of Limited Edition Writing Instruments; it is a salt water companion to the Koi Collection released in 2017.

The Sea Turtle Collection features three majestic Sea Turtles coasting through a coral reef. Ocean currents and schools of fish surround a beautiful seascape of coral and angelfish in high and low relief. The tortoise-shell gipping section is complimented by a coral clip and the Japanese symbols for Sea and Turtle are artistically displayed on the bottom and top of each Collection piece. The Japanese character meaning Turtle appears in high relief on the top of the Cap, while, the character meaning Sea sits at the bottom. In keeping with the Koi Collection, David Oscarson is engraved in Japanese script on the ring of the cap.

The Sea Turtle Collection continues in the spirit of artistic mastery and the tradition of Old World craftsmanship by combining the centuries-old technique of Guilloché with the art and expertise of Hard Enamel.

Using a mortar and pestle, a composition of glass, water and metal oxides is ground for hours by hand. When settled, the water is removed, leaving the fine paste that is the basis for hard enamel. A quill is then used to apply each coat of the mixture to the surface of the metal, ensuring that the entire guilloché area is completely covered in enamel. The components are then fired in a furnace at temperatures exceeding 1,000° F, fusing the enamel to the metal and forming a layer of glass.

After cooling, the pieces are manually ground with a diamond file, restoring their proper shape and surface. This tedious process is repeated at length until the level of enamel reaches the depth required to cover the peaks and fill the valleys of each intricate guilloché pattern. When the final stages of firing are completed, the pieces are polished and buffed, revealing the velvet finish of translucent hard enamel.

Production of translucent hard enamel demands the highest levels of patience, experience and skill. A five-year apprenticeship is required to ensure that the highest levels of quality will be met in each individual Collection piece.

Please allow us up to several extra days for shipping of this pen. Please also note we are unable to accept a return of this pen for any reason once it has been used with ink. Please thoroughly inspect and dry test the pen before use.