Review - Montblanc Solitaire Geometric Dimension

[Brookzy]

I everyone! This is my first review on the FPN.

 

I found the review much easier to make in word processing software, and have saved the review as a PDF for your browsing pleasure.

 

Download the review here!

»

 

Please leave comments, queries and questions below!

 

Thanks,

 

 

Brookzy

 

Edit: After some issues with compatibility, the text of the review is below. I would still recommend, however, that you download the PDF to see the images and more suited layout. Thanks!

 

 

Initial Impressions

On first sight the Geometric is quite stunning, its three dimensional finish glistens in the light, an effect intensified by the bright spotlights in the Montblanc boutique. Since this was a ‘new’ model released in October 2010 (being a self confessed technology geek I am more used to ‘new’ meaning released last week, ha ha!) each boutique only stocked one model. Unfortunately this model had a small scratch on the ink window, in my view unacceptable for a pen of this cost (I will discuss further about the cost of this pen in the cost and value section below) and how the way I put it to the saleslady “I’d rather not have a head start in damaging my pen”. Luckily for me the boutique (the Birmingham one in Selfridges for those wondering) was eager for my cash and swiftly offered to next-day me a new one from Hamburg. I agreed and on the Tuesday after the Saturday I first viewed this pen I had a scratch free model; a very fast turnaround from Montblanc.

 

Appearance and Quality: 9½ out of 10

This pen features a design I haven’t seen on a Montblanc before. When I first saw the pen I was curious whether the pattern could be felt by the hand or if it was lacquered over. The former is true, however the pattern certainly does not make the pen awkward to hold – if anything it helps you to grip the pen, especially with the lack of a step down section. I cannot complain much about the quality of this pen, with the small exception of an annoying feature creeping into recent Montblanc Meistersücks is that the cap does not totally secure onto the barrel. My father’s 146 rollerball’s cap secures well onto the barrel with no forgiveness, however in this Meistertück and the Meisterstück Diamond Classique I have the cap can be almost clicked from side to side unless it is screwed on extremely tightly. But this is only a minor imperfection, thus leading to the half point removed in this section’s score.

 

Construction and Quality: 9 out of 10

The build quality is almost perfect: the piston telescopes flawlessly and is much looser (in a positive way) than my John Lennon special edition whose piston is rather tight. I am particularly impressed by the granite circles on the base of the cap (pictured below), they add a touch of class and in my opinion reflect Montblanc’s importance on attention to detail. One thing that does annoy me with Montblanc pens is that they do not seem to align the star emblem with the clip (and where I say they don’t seem to, read ‘they never do!’). Perhaps this detracts from their attention to detail. In this instance, the star is aligned almost perfectly. But I didn’t really care about alignment in this pen; for the material the star is made of is much more overpowering than its alignment: Mother of Pearl.

 

Reserved only for Montblanc’s most exclusive pens, for example limited editions such as the Patron of Arts series, Montblanc have seen this pen as worthy to crown the pearl, in comparison the much more expensive £1600 Meisterstück Porcelain pen is given the standard resin star (to much disdain from the Montblanc community). The Meisterstück Silver Barley is also finished with the Pearl star.

 

Weight and Dimensions: 10 out of 10

The pen is 146 sized and is nicely weighted. In terms of feel, the cap seems heavier than the pen (this may not be the case, but the cap is smaller and therefore feels heavier because of its density). The barrel is nice and light, and you could easily write many pages with this pen without much stress on the hand and wrist. I find the size just right: It is chunky enough to satisfactorily fill the hand but slim and short enough for it to be used every day and stored comfortably in a pen case. In some of the Meisterstücks, annoyingly, since the cap is heavier than the barrel, the pen tilts on its top-heavy cap meaning it looks, well, for lack of a better word, wrong, when rested upon a table. This particular model does not, however, so it scores full points here.

 

Nib and Performance: 10 out of 10

The Geometric features a single tone champagne gold nib. It is the first time in quite a while that Montblanc has made a single tone gold nib on an unlimited pen – normally the dual tone gold and silver is used. This is a nice touch, which matches the rest of the pen’s colour well. As with most of Montblanc’s pens, they leave the factory mainly donning medium nibs. But I was bored with the mediums; it was time for a more exotic choice. Oblique medium? Nah, my hand does not play well with the angled nibs. Broad? Come on, I want a change of universe not a flutter to another village. Double broad? Sounds good. I sent the Geometric away for a head transplant to a double broad, and this nib writes like a paintbrush, gliding over even the worst of paper. It certainly took, and will still take, some getting used to this new nib, and the much thicker line it lays. While the mediums can be used at almost any angle, the broads are a much fussier bunch, whose tips must glide exactly parallel to the paper. I love now the across strokes are different in thickness to the vertical strokes, i.e. line variation. In future purchases I think a single broad will be the nib of choice. If only Montblanc made a triple broad in the 149 and not just the oblique triple broad, otherwise it would hold a solid first place on my future purchases list. Overall, there are no complaints here.

 

Filling System and Maintenance: 10 out of 10

As I mentioned above, the piston moves easily without any stuttering or inconsistency, storing a decent amount of ink. I’m sure the wider nib will guzzle more ink than the thinner medium but the amount should suffice for a good few pages. The ink window is a nice addition allowing you to see when you are about to run out of ink, and also allows you a sneak peak into the piston mechanism.

I cannot comment on the maintenance aspect as I have not needed to maintain this pen, and if I did, would send it to Montblanc rather than attempting to change anything myself.

 

Cost and Value: 7 out of 10

This pen retails at £950 and the saleslady made it clear she had no intention on budging on that price: apparently discounts would “devalue the brand”. However I did get a free Montblanc watchcase, which are not available to purchase, and are only given to loyal customers. This case is of very nice quality and I was told that if it were to be sold, it would be at the £250-£300 bracket. I accepted this gift even though I don’t have a use for it, and I may post some photos of it in the Montblanc forum in the future.

 

How would I rate the value of this pen? I gave 7 out of 10 because I think £950 is a steep price to ask for this pen. It is suited more, in my opinion to the £700-£750 area. That said, I have no regrets in purchasing this pen, as it is joy to own and use.

 

Final score: 55½ out of 60 – Pretty damn good!

 

 

Thanks for reading, and please post your comment, question and complaints on the forum!

Edited July 17, 2011 by Brookzy

[Pemako]

Brilliant review, thank you. You have my thanks and compliments.

[Yuki Onitsura]

Excellent in depth review and some very nice photos to boot. Thank you!

 

Yuki

[breaker]

very nice review and pics

thanks!

[Michael R.]

Very nice review with an interesting layout on a very nice pen.

 

I think I can agree on all points being mentioned. The formerly called Solitaire line of pens is one of my favorites.

 

Luckily the Bond Street boutique in London did stock a pen with a fine nib aside the usual medium but as far as I remember this is only typical for their flagship boutiques.

 

It is interesting that the Montblanc site showed that model with an additional gold ring on the section. Luckily it was not issued like that as I currently have a problem with corroding section rings in my platinum Nicolai I.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

 

 

PS: no problem to view the pdf on my Ipad but my PC could not display the images and used font type.

[Brookzy]

  On 7/17/2011 at 8:35 AM, Pemako said:

Brilliant review, thank you. You have my thanks and compliments.

 

 

  On 7/17/2011 at 9:12 AM, Yuki Onitsura said:

Excellent in depth review and some very nice photos to boot. Thank you!

 

Yuki

 

 

  On 7/17/2011 at 9:32 AM, breaker said:

very nice review and pics

thanks!

 

Thank you all for your kind comments, over the next few weeks I should do similar reviews for the rest of my small Montblanc collection. Stay tuned!

 

  On 7/17/2011 at 9:50 AM, Michael R. said:

Very nice review with an interesting layout on a very nice pen.

 

I think I can agree on all points being mentioned. The formerly called Solitaire line of pens is one of my favorites.

 

Luckily the Bond Street boutique in London did stock a pen with a fine nib aside the usual medium but as far as I remember this is only typical for their flagship boutiques.

 

It is interesting that the Montblanc site showed that model with an additional gold ring on the section. Luckily it was not issued like that as I currently have a problem with corroding section rings in my platinum Nicolai I.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

 

 

PS: no problem to view the pdf on my Ipad but my PC could not display the images and used font type.

 

Thank you also for the positive comments.

 

You are correct - the London boutiques stocked two each, and the smaller ones stocked only one. I think this is poor on Montblanc's behalf - having a slightly damaged pen and having no others in stock could easily prevent a sale.

 

On the gold ring issue, I personally wish the gold ring was kept - only because it looks nicer, and also since the pen is not a click on, should not corrode as quickly. But I could be wrong, and the ink might corrode it more than I think.

 

As a precaution for the compatibility issue you highlighted, and to better keep to the forum's rules, I have posted the text of the review in the original post.

[KJY]

Hi Brookzy,

 

Thanks for sharing your pics and review.

Really nice FP with the MOP-star!

 

Kind regards,

KJY

Edited July 18, 2011 by KJY

[Brookzy]

  On 7/18/2011 at 10:53 AM, KJY said:

Hi Brookzy,

 

Thanks for sharing your pics and review.

Really nice FP with the MOP-star!

 

Kind regards,

KJY

 

Thank you for your kind comments. I agree that the star adds much elegance to the FP!

 

 

Brookzy

[agentdaffy007]

The pen is so shinny in real life. Blinded the (bleep) out of me. Nice pen though. I like the weight of it. Congrats on BB nib.

[Pen Nut]

Great review that attached one is

[BrandonA]

Excellent review and some great photos in the PDF. The MOP emblem looks awesome.

[olivier78860]

I tried this pen last year and I agree with you, concerning the price. At ~700€ I would have taken it. But 950€ is too much.

I guess I'm not the only one to think like this, since the only pen they had in this model is still available at the shop where I tried it.

After all, even if very good quality, there's nothing justifying such high prices. If things go on this way (new collections being more expensive with no objective added-value for the customer), their brand could end up "disvalueing" itself. The simple fact they gave you a quite consistent gift (which _they_ valued 250-300 pounds) shows they are playing with fire.

[Horseknitter]

I'm fighting tooth and nail to stay away from MB 146 Solitaires. Your review didn't help - at all.

 

Great review. Did you ever think about working for Montblanc?

[fabrimedeiros]

The pen is gorgeous! The BB nib is ... I'm jealous! A writing sample would be great! Wonderful stubbish nib!

[Sidestreaker]

I've not been a fan of Solitaires, until now, thanks to your review!

 

Great review of what seems to be a great MB piece. My favourite is perhaps the monotone rose gold nib and the MoP star.

[Brookzy]

  On 7/19/2011 at 4:03 PM, agentdaffy007 said:

The pen is so shinny in real life. Blinded the (bleep) out of me. Nice pen though. I like the weight of it. Congrats on BB nib.

 

Ha ha. The weight is surprising, the cap is much heavier than the pen.

 

  On 8/13/2011 at 10:04 AM, Pen Nut said:

Great review that attached one is

 

Thank you very much!

 

  On 8/13/2011 at 3:04 PM, BrandonA said:

Excellent review and some great photos in the PDF. The MOP emblem looks awesome.

 

Thank you also. Yes I agree, the MOP adds significantly to the styling.

 

  On 8/13/2011 at 3:29 PM, olivier78860 said:

I tried this pen last year and I agree with you, concerning the price. At ~700€ I would have taken it. But 950€ is too much.

I guess I'm not the only one to think like this, since the only pen they had in this model is still available at the shop where I tried it.

After all, even if very good quality, there's nothing justifying such high prices. If things go on this way (new collections being more expensive with no objective added-value for the customer), their brand could end up "disvalueing" itself. The simple fact they gave you a quite consistent gift (which _they_ valued 250-300 pounds) shows they are playing with fire.

 

Indeed. But they are not going to devalue themselves. With rapid expansion into Asian markets and sales slowly recovering as we emerge from the economic crisis I can only see prices going up.

 

And as to the free gift, yes, they valued it at £250-300. But they also valued the pen.

 

  On 8/13/2011 at 7:09 PM, Horseknitter said:

I'm fighting tooth and nail to stay away from MB 146 Solitaires. Your review didn't help - at all.

 

Great review. Did you ever think about working for Montblanc?

 

Thank you very much, please keep me informed if you end up with a solitaire.

 

And maybe I should work for Montblanc, if only I could speak German......

 

  On 8/14/2011 at 2:23 AM, fabrimedeiros said:

The pen is gorgeous! The BB nib is ... I'm jealous! A writing sample would be great! Wonderful stubbish nib!

 

Thanks also. I will get a writing sample up if you really want, but my handwriting's nothing to behold. :roflmho:

  On 8/14/2011 at 5:19 PM, Sidestreaker said:

 

I've not been a fan of Solitaires, until now, thanks to your review!

 

Great review of what seems to be a great MB piece. My favourite is perhaps the monotone rose gold nib and the MoP star.

 

Thanks for your comment. Yes the nib is very interesting, I am pleased that MB is putting more effort into the pen design rather than whacking on the standard nib. It was particularly disappointing then the Signature for Good line had standard nibs.

 

 

 

Many thanks to all again,

 

 

 

Brookzy

[georges zaslavsky]

stunning review and stunning pen

[aneed]

Very good review but why there is no picture for the nib !!!!

[pipmontano]

Nice review! I am also interested in getting this pen but I would like to ask for more information about it such as the weight (uncapped) and if the barrel/body is made of some metal or just gold-coloured "precious resin". I hope you can help me on this one. Thank you very much.