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The luxury-goods brand Montblanc produces many fine and covetable things: luggage, watches, headphones, fragrances, belts, washbags, cardholders, phone cases and diaries among them.But it remains most famous for its pens, and one pen in particular. It is the pen that built the Montblanc mountain, and likely the image that comes to mind whenever you hear the “M” word. Distinctively chunky and cigar-shaped, with a smooth body of black resin edged in precious metal, it is technically not “a Montblanc” but a Meisterstück — “masterpiece” in German. It’s the ultimate stationery status symbol, its famous fans alone putting it in a category of one. They include Charlie Chaplin and Salman Rushdie, Anne Frank and Dustin Hoffman — and King Charles III, who now unpockets his Meisterstück following an irritably leaky moment with a Parker during his coronation.
MONTBLANC MONTBLANC Meisterstück LeGrand 14ct gold-coated precious resin fountain pen
MONTBLANC MONTBLANC Meisterstück LeGrand 14ct gold-coated precious resin fountain pen
The “power pen” celebrates its 100th birth-day in 2024, though its precursor can be traced back further — to 1906, when the Hamburg banker Alfred Nehemias and the Berlin engineer August Eberstein hatched a plan to take writing tools upmarket. Their first attempt was called “Rougeet Noir”, and was made of matte ebonite. It was followed by the pen that would give the company its name: the Montblanc. The fancier-still Meisterstück was born in 1924 and remains assembled in Hamburg to this day, where its hand-ground, 18-carat gold nibs feature rhodium inlays and its lids are decorated with the snow-flake logo that denotes the brand’s namesake peak. Modern Meisterstücks come in many guises, including rollerballs, pencils, ballpoints and even highlighters (“Montblanc Meisterstück Highlighter LeGrand”).
Montblanc Montblanc Meisterstück Le Petit Prince Classique Fountain Pen 119665
Montblanc Montblanc Meisterstück Le Petit Prince Classique Fountain Pen 119665
But it is the original fountain pen with the ink reservoir that remains iconic. In the age of digital communication, demand for fountain pens is rising — Amazon has reported a four-fold increase in sales, while Parker claims “a world-wide resurgence”. Prominently displayed, it is associated with long, flowing lines of cursive script and a personal touch that expresses some-thing that no number of words can. ○
