I had the Czar Nicholas II - a partly-gold partly-Malachite rollerball (large version) that I sold on eBay a few years ago. I would have kept it, but the gold (plated I suppose) part was accumulating scratches, so I got rid of it. Nice collector's item. I bought their big fountain pen in the 1980's, around $500-$600 in those days, but it leaked, so I gave up on fountain pens. I remember in high school we had some nifty pens (Sheaffer?) that took little plastic liquid-ink cartridges, and we even refilled some of them. I think there are some cartridge pens even today.
a really interesting thread. My handwriting is atrocious and I can only look on with jealousy. My Parkinsons tremor prevents me from writing at all: the paper goes all over the place as I try to hold it down left handed and my right hand jabs and stabs with a pen.
In my days as a detective I worked with another sgt who used violet coloured ink and had the most beautiful handwriting. He was also very poetic with his speech AND drove an Audi Quattro in rallying.