Many users also mention that fountain pens retain a sense of timeless elegance, personalization and sentimentality that computers and ballpoint pens seem to lack.

Fountain pens have also always been prized as works of art. Ornate pens are sometimes made of precious metals and jewels with cloisonné designs; others are inlaid with lacquer designs in a process known as maki-e (Maki-e is lacquering, a centuries-old technique in which multi-layered patterns are drawn on the barrel and cap with urushi - sap from Japanese lacquer trees). An avid community of pen enthusiasts collect and use antique and modern pens and also collect and exchange information about old and modern inks, ink bottles, and inkwells.