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January 8, 2006
Mont Blanc - world's most recognizable luxury-pen brand
Mont Blanc, which has been manufacturing fountain pens since 1906, helped spawn a contemporary revival in ultra-high-end pen sales with the 1992 release of a limited-edition model honoring Italian Renaissance arts patron Lorenzo de' Medici. Originally priced at $1,600, the pen was an instant hit with aficionados, so Mont Blanc and other makers followed up with more limited editions aimed at serious collectors.
The pinnacle of collector's items is Mont Blanc's Solitaire Royale, featuring an 18-karat gold barrel and cap set with 4,810 diamonds. Priced at $95,000 for ballpoint and $125,000 for fountain, the number of diamonds represents the height in meters of the Alpine peak after which the company is named.
By contrast, Mont Blanc's most successful model, the basic black Meisterstuck 149, costing $475, has changed little since it was introduced in 1924. A specially developed resin has replaced the celluloid first used in the barrel and cap, some internal components have been improved over the years, and ballpoint and roller ball models are now available, but functionally and aesthetically, a new Meisterstuck fountain pen is much like the original.
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 5:28 PM | Link to this Post
