Most precious writing instrument in the world

[MidnightBlue]

The next page being bling central.

Thanks

[Mille]

  On 11/23/2009 at 4:33 AM, WendyNC said:

From the picture, it appears to be a very good one of what it is. I'm personally rather fond of shiny metal and polished rocks, but just happen to prefer to carry them around attached to my body. However, if they decided to make one in yellow gold with rubies, it would go nicely with a set I have and I've always wanted to try a Montblanc.

 

Edited to add a link to the next page at that site.

 

To cheap and to much Elton John.

[archie001]

As I love non plastic and pure precious metal pens... and more, this pen is adorned with diamonds and precious stone, I'd dream to have it as a heirloom to pass through my family generations. No other pen is as glamorous as this one for sure, it's so classy and sublime and untouchable to many. I'd love it!

[tanburi]

An untouchable pen is nothing to me.

[archie001]

  On 11/23/2009 at 9:32 AM, tanburi said:

An untouchable pen is nothing to me.

 

I have no doubt!

[Mille]

  On 11/23/2009 at 9:18 AM, archie001 said:

As I love non plastic and pure precious metal pens... and more, this pen is adorned with diamonds and precious stone, I'd dream to have it as a heirloom to pass through my family generations. No other pen is as glamorous as this one for sure, it's so classy and sublime and untouchable to many. I'd love it!

 

If it wasn't for your list of pens you use it would be a very ironic and funny comment.

 

Edit: Hmmmm. When I think about it the list makes it even funnier.

Edited November 23, 2009 by Mille

[Shangas]

It's fancy, it's heavy, it's expensive, it's pretigeous (or just plain 'stuck up')...but...

 

...Will It Blend?

 

...nah seriously...I don't see anyone really buying a pen like this. Why would you? This is the kinda thing which people buy, the kinda people who have bought everything else that money could buy and have money to burn. It is not for peasants like us...

[archie001]

  On 11/23/2009 at 11:46 AM, Mille said:

  On 11/23/2009 at 9:18 AM, archie001 said:

As I love non plastic and pure precious metal pens... and more, this pen is adorned with diamonds and precious stone, I'd dream to have it as a heirloom to pass through my family generations. No other pen is as glamorous as this one for sure, it's so classy and sublime and untouchable to many. I'd love it!

 

If it wasn't for your list of pens you use it would be a very ironic and funny comment.

 

Edit: Hmmmm. When I think about it the list makes it even funnier.

...for whichever you could still squeeze out of your mind, have more fun out of it! its really funny right?

[Vadim Zhuravlev]

I think that the price is strongly overestimated.

Possibly MontBlanc wished to take away a title of the "most precious pen" from Montegrappa which has exhausted the Peace Pen.

[wtlh]

Guys I think the people who think it is going to be actually used as a regular pen and judging its value based on how good a writing instrument the pen should be is missing the point entirely. It is a ceremonial piece, designed to show-case the craftsmanship and design of the manufacture workshop. It is identically comparable to the ceremonial swords you see displayed in museums and in hands of generals at state events. Do you seriously expect these swords with finely engraved and jewelled blades plus ivory handles and precious metal fittings to be ever used on a battlefield, or be stained with blood? This pen is never intended to be sold to the general public—they only produced one... it is just one off demonstration piece, that would later be bought by some rich collector (and perhaps then kept safe in a bank vault) or be a museum piece, kept with all the other elaborately decorated otherwise ordinary household items—these finely crafted gold bowls and plates, encrusted with diamonds and rubies and with all these complicated and delicate engravings, do you think that plate is going to be more practical and useable than your everyday china plates? As plates they are horrible but why it is they and not the ordinary $5 plates that gets displayed and treasured?

 

We as humans occasionally create elaborate things based on the everyday tools we use, this is true for all civilisations though out all ages. Most if not all of these items are actually unsuitable to be used as the tool they represent. So why do we keep on producing them? It is because we as humans have a tendency to love to celebrate things we endear in our everyday life, and make a glorified versions of these items as a token of appreciation of their importance. The more useful a tool is to us, the more likely you will see it being requested and made into a more luxurious form. As a fountain pen lover myself, I am actually happy to see someone (in this case Montblanc) has bothered to create such a piece. It shows there is still a place in the heart for the good old fountain pen in today's society. The day nobody bothered to make such "useless" or "non-practical" jewellery of a pen is the day we will truly see the demise of all fountain pens.

Edited November 30, 2009 by wtlh

[offbase]

For $1.5M, this thing should not only write, but replace each and every function traditionally performed by one's spouse. Additionally, it should have a guarantee for the lifetime of the owner's entire family tree. Finally, in its capacity of performing spousal functions, its DNA should give the owner children who pee emeralds and poop black diamonds, making it an investment for several lifetimes.

 

Knowing MB, however, they probably just slapped some lab-produced "emeralds" onto a pen and advertised the (Potty Mouth) out of it. Some Russian crime lord will conduct his operations with a $1.5M pickle in his pocket.

[Skyppere]

  On 11/19/2009 at 1:29 PM, Koyote said:

I was going to order it, but they wanted $14.95 for shipping and that's just a ripoff.

 

=========

I'm still laughing at this...

skyppere

[Nimrud]

  On 11/30/2009 at 2:57 PM, wtlh said:

Guys I think the people who think it is going to be actually used as a regular pen and judging its value based on how good a writing instrument the pen should be is missing the point entirely. It is a ceremonial piece, designed to show-case the craftsmanship and design of the manufacture workshop. It is identically comparable to the ceremonial swords you see displayed in museums and in hands of generals at state events. Do you seriously expect these swords with finely engraved and jewelled blades plus ivory handles and precious metal fittings to be ever used on a battlefield, or be stained with blood? This pen is never intended to be sold to the general public—they only produced one... it is just one off demonstration piece, that would later be bought by some rich collector (and perhaps then kept safe in a bank vault) or be a museum piece, kept with all the other elaborately decorated otherwise ordinary household items—these finely crafted gold bowls and plates, encrusted with diamonds and rubies and with all these complicated and delicate engravings, do you think that plate is going to be more practical and useable than your everyday china plates? As plates they are horrible but why it is they and not the ordinary $5 plates that gets displayed and treasured?

 

We as humans occasionally create elaborate things based on the everyday tools we use, this is true for all civilisations though out all ages. Most if not all of these items are actually unsuitable to be used as the tool they represent. So why do we keep on producing them? It is because we as humans have a tendency to love to celebrate things we endear in our everyday life, and make a glorified versions of these items as a token of appreciation of their importance. The more useful a tool is to us, the more likely you will see it being requested and made into a more luxurious form. As a fountain pen lover myself, I am actually happy to see someone (in this case Montblanc) has bothered to create such a piece. It shows there is still a place in the heart for the good old fountain pen in today's society. The day nobody bothered to make such "useless" or "non-practical" jewellery of a pen is the day we will truly see the demise of all fountain pens.

 

I agree with the idea. But MB didn't really make something worth paying that much for. The actual gemstones don't seem to be worth the price tag. I've bought lots of jewellery in my time so I know what I'm talking about. Even worse, there's nothing particularly imaginative or refined about the design. It's just a 149 with lots of emeralds stuck on it. It looks like something you might find in a traditional Hong Kong jewellery store for idle rich housewives. That's what I think a lot of people are reacting to, not just the price tag.

 

If you want to put a US$1.5 million price tag on a fountain pen, at least make it unique and artistic, and truly one of a kind. Look at handcrafted watches by comparison. For $1.5 million, you could get a remarkable watch with an extremely clever and intricately complex mechanism, not something plastered with gems. MB must know this. They are trying to get into the luxury watch market. I'll bet they make lots of watches that are more intricate than this pen but are priced much less. I'll bet even more they wouldn't dare put that kind of price tag on any MB watch unless they put a lot more effort into it. It just doesn't compare, and if you are the type of person with a habit of acquiring beautiful things with that kind of money, you would know the difference.

[offbase]

  On 11/30/2009 at 6:01 PM, Nimrud said:

  On 11/30/2009 at 2:57 PM, wtlh said:

Guys I think the people who think it is going to be actually used as a regular pen and judging its value based on how good a writing instrument the pen should be is missing the point entirely. It is a ceremonial piece, designed to show-case the craftsmanship and design of the manufacture workshop. It is identically comparable to the ceremonial swords you see displayed in museums and in hands of generals at state events. Do you seriously expect these swords with finely engraved and jewelled blades plus ivory handles and precious metal fittings to be ever used on a battlefield, or be stained with blood? This pen is never intended to be sold to the general public—they only produced one... it is just one off demonstration piece, that would later be bought by some rich collector (and perhaps then kept safe in a bank vault) or be a museum piece, kept with all the other elaborately decorated otherwise ordinary household items—these finely crafted gold bowls and plates, encrusted with diamonds and rubies and with all these complicated and delicate engravings, do you think that plate is going to be more practical and useable than your everyday china plates? As plates they are horrible but why it is they and not the ordinary $5 plates that gets displayed and treasured?

 

We as humans occasionally create elaborate things based on the everyday tools we use, this is true for all civilisations though out all ages. Most if not all of these items are actually unsuitable to be used as the tool they represent. So why do we keep on producing them? It is because we as humans have a tendency to love to celebrate things we endear in our everyday life, and make a glorified versions of these items as a token of appreciation of their importance. The more useful a tool is to us, the more likely you will see it being requested and made into a more luxurious form. As a fountain pen lover myself, I am actually happy to see someone (in this case Montblanc) has bothered to create such a piece. It shows there is still a place in the heart for the good old fountain pen in today's society. The day nobody bothered to make such "useless" or "non-practical" jewellery of a pen is the day we will truly see the demise of all fountain pens.

 

I agree with the idea. But MB didn't really make something worth paying that much for. The actual gemstones don't seem to be worth the price tag. I've bought lots of jewellery in my time so I know what I'm talking about. Even worse, there's nothing particularly imaginative or refined about the design. It's just a 149 with lots of emeralds stuck on it. It looks like something you might find in a traditional Hong Kong jewellery store for idle rich housewives. That's what I think a lot of people are reacting to, not just the price tag.

 

If you want to put a US$1.5 million price tag on a fountain pen, at least make it unique and artistic, and truly one of a kind. Look at handcrafted watches by comparison. For $1.5 million, you could get a remarkable watch with an extremely clever and intricately complex mechanism, not something plastered with gems. MB must know this. They are trying to get into the luxury watch market. I'll bet they make lots of watches that are more intricate than this pen but are priced much less. I'll bet even more they wouldn't dare put that kind of price tag on any MB watch unless they put a lot more effort into it. It just doesn't compare, and if you are the type of person with a habit of acquiring beautiful things with that kind of money, you would know the difference.

 

Of course I do. That's why it's never going to sit alongside my fabulous $500,000 limited edition Acme Homer Code.

[Mille]

  On 11/30/2009 at 2:57 PM, wtlh said:

Guys I think the people who think it is going to be actually used as a regular pen and judging its value based on

...

jewellery of a pen is the day we will truly see the demise of all fountain pens.

 

You have a few problems with your argumentation. People find the pen ugly and silly, comparing it with a cucumber for instance. It is true that taste is personal, but most people seem not to find it attractive. This is not a piece of craftmanship. It is a rather simple construction in a factory, where they have cluttered it with semiprecious stones, which only exhibits tackiness and bad taste. Craftmanship in pens has been seen very rarely in the last hundred years, but you can look for Henry Simploe for an exception. It is not a ceremonial piece comparable with swords or whatever. Those swords symbolised power and omnipotense, in many cases the earthy counterpart to the bishop's crosier. It would not very good if a high judge displayed the Cucumber as a sign of his power, rather he chooses a Montblanc or a serious looking Parker. But as someone pointed out, a maffia boss's wife may fancy a cucumber. It should also be noted that the ornamentation and the sword as a symbol more grew after it had played out its role in the battle field. Therefore, partly to give you some credit, this is the reason why these ornamental pieces like pens for thousands of dollars, (that is pens people actually buy), come now, and why there are no ornamental P51s. To give an example. Obama does not sport an automatic rifle.

Edited November 30, 2009 by Mille

[Deirdre]

  On 11/30/2009 at 10:14 PM, Mille said:

It is true that taste is personal, but most people seem not to find it attractive. This is not a piece of craftmanship.

I disagree with both, but what I will say is that this isn't a good venue for quality emeralds. Which, btw, are not semi-precious. They are precious, and a fine emerald is rarer than a fine diamond.

 

That said, like people, emeralds are best when one is able to take in the totality, including the flaws.

[pugasaurus]

  On 11/22/2009 at 5:35 PM, Mille said:

Moved around shows, and then finally bought by a shieks wife to her son in a futile attempt to encourage his educational efforts. The pen is then given to Paris Hilton as thank you for a well spent night and she shoves it in her hand bag. The pen likes it there among other pointless luxury items, until Paris has a gig opening an envelope with a winner. She find her pen and rips up the envelope with a guy who takes her liking. Then the pen gets its big chance because she needs to give him her phone number, but unfortunately holds the pen upside down and wrecks it. It does not really matter as the guy helps her with a ballpoint and takes the pen to get up the olives out of his drink. Handing the glass to the waiter, the green colour of the pen reminds the waiter the celery twig is missing in a bloody mary he is about to hand out. As a joke he puts the pen in the drink. Not that it matters, as it has not been inked anyway. Late that night a cleaner finds the pen under a sofa and notices the semi precious stones on it, which happened to be worth as much as $20,000, which made it possible for her to pay her sons college degree.

 

Ha! Love this! The poor pen. I feel sorry for it, under-designed and over-ornamented. It brings to mind a news article I saw several years ago when Mariah Carey had a cell phone covered in diamonds or somesuch thing.