New Montegrappa Extra 1930

[Epictete92]

Hello friends,

 

I have just received this week the last pics and details about the new Extra 1930.

 

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t120/epictete92/2009/Extra1930BlackWhitedetail.jpg

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t120/epictete92/2009/Extra1930BlackWhitediamondsimage.jpg

 

Unfortunately i have not been able to get a sample ( not yet delivered here in France ), i have asked them to give me one fountain pen (sure they will not pick up the one with diamonds !!) to make a trial by someone of fpn.

 

if you want to have close details, do not hesitate to go there and click on each picture to get a very close view, normally it should work.

Preview Montegrappa Extra

Best regards

Jean Elie

 

[diplomat]

Thanks, there was a lot of anticipation over this pen lately on FPN.

 

The gold and diamond is... bling bling to say the least. Luckily there is that plain silver trim version. That's nice. Indeed nice.

 

Best,

[lterry]

The new black/white with silver trim looks great. It appears to be the same charcoal celluloid from the Symphony and Emlema series. I can hardly wait.

[bugmd]

Is this a real photograph or CGI? Pass on the one with diamonds.

[Vicary]

Ok, that's a bit of a disappointment. I was geared up for something new, maybe black and pearl- not the same old charcoal celluloid....

[Bryant]

Is it just me or is this very strange? I dont know, I just dont see how adding diamonds to a pen makes it nicer. It just seems to me, its just a way to add cost. I see Montblanc do this all the time, they come up with a pretty cool design, then slap some diamonds on it.

I think the original is so much better, but obviously they keep making them, so I guess I am a minority here.

Sorry for the rant, I just miss all those great LEs that Montegrappa used to make.

[QM2]

Ditto Bryant's post above. Both Montblanc and the new Montegrappa ruin many beautiful designs with this tactic : (

 

I like the non-diamond charcoal model very much -- though my favourite is still the bamboo black.

[Darius]

I got a Classica in black because it looks so similar to the Extra which didn't come in black. So this one is going on my wish list. The silvr one.

[MidnightBlue]

Not for me. It looks rather odd and dull compared to its ancestors.

[omasfan]

The diamonds are.... well.... ...

The charcoal celluloid is very pretty but I fail to see how this is a truly new release. In my view, Montegrappa are just recycling materials on this pen. Nonetheless, it is a pretty pen.

 

I loved the Extra 1930 and owned the tortoise brown one. I ultimately sold the pen as I was afraid of braking the thin and fragile cap section on which the greek key design sits. Also, it took me several turns to unscrew the cap. This pen, as beautiful as it is, is very impractical. The captive piston converter holds little ink compared to true piston fillers. Whenever I think back of this pen I truly regret that such beauty in design is not matched by equal usability.

[Vicary]

Also, it took me several turns to unscrew the cap. This pen, as beautiful as it is, is very impractical. The captive piston converter holds little ink compared to true piston fillers. Whenever I think back of this pen I truly regret that such beauty in design is not matched by equal usability.

 

The cap screwing issue is problematic, but there are many other pens that share that problem. Not everything can be as easy as a VP! I carry my Extra 1930s with me an use them often. I don't find them any more or less usable than most other pens.

 

However, the Miya has a different threading design and the cap comes off much more quickly. What's more, the Miya is pretty much the same size as the Extra, and while the nib is smaller it writes just as well. And it's less expensive. So my reason for spending the extra money to get the Extra 1930s is in the celluloid. The Bamboo Green, Tortoise, and Antique Green are all exclusive to the Extra 1930 line. I don't own any of the Extras in the standard celluloid colors, because the Miya is just as good and significantly cheaper. The Historia and Classica, while no longer produced, are very similar to this new Extra 1930. And this celluloid is actually one of the most common around, being used not only by Montegrappa but Krone and Marlen among others.

 

So this one won't be added to my collection, which is not necessarily a bad thing- the money could no doubt be better spent elsewhere. If only it had been black and pearl, though...

 

[orangesam]

I really love the Bamboo Black Extra 1930, but I agree that the more competitively priced Miya collection makes more sense in purely monetary terms.

 

However if someone else is paying, then I'm having an Extra 1930 !!

[orangesam]

The new black/white with silver trim looks great. It appears to be the same charcoal celluloid from the Symphony and Emlema series. I can hardly wait.

 

 

The non-diamond version of FP and RB has just come into stock and both look fantastic, and beautifully packaged in smart wooden boxes

 

Good work MTG !!

[karmakoda]

Is it just me or is this very strange? I dont know, I just dont see how adding diamonds to a pen makes it nicer. It just seems to me, its just a way to add cost. I see Montblanc do this all the time, they come up with a pretty cool design, then slap some diamonds on it.

I think the original is so much better, but obviously they keep making them, so I guess I am a minority here.

Sorry for the rant, I just miss all those great LEs that Montegrappa used to make.

Found and retrieved.

Someone should staple this up somewhere. One of my favorite comments ever.

[MidnightBlue]

Agree re Bryants point. Further, the gold STILL does not work for me..........though a look at the silver is OK....but the diamonds make it look too much like jewellery. ( yes I know, writing jewels, blah) Not a guys thing I don't think either

Thanks

[tzmcneill]

You've got to remember that many of these makers need to make pens to satisfy a large range of tastes in many parts of the world. The notion of understatement and restraint are very western ideals for taste. Next time you are in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Riydah look to see how many diamond encrusted or gold things like sunglasses, cigarette lighters, cell phone cases you see. I would guess that that pen was never designed to sell in the North American or European market.

 

tom.

[Lizzie]

This is a fair comment.

 

While I agree with Bryant with regards to the beauty of the older Montegrappa LEs and the disappointing designs during the Richemont group ownership (I am thinking in particular of the Modigliani, which is completely uninspired), a lot of these higher end pens are not for the western market.

While I was passing through Hong Kong recently, I saw Mont Blanc's "Lucky Number 8" in the MB outlet in Hong Kong airport. It is a pretty amazing pen, but I doubt that anybody in the West would spend that kind of money on a skeleton pen whose only design feature is the repetition of a single digit.

[tzmcneill]

Exactly, different aesthetics for different markets. If I remember correctly, the number eight in Chinese is a homonym for something like "success" or "wealth" or "happiness", suffice to say, something good.