Tips on How to spot a fake Mont Blanc

[kavanagh]

Dear Colleagues,

 

I have just perused ebay in the UK and I am surprised at the amount of fakes being brought over from Dubai and the Far East and then sold without 'box and papers'. So I am offering the following tips ( which I hope are useful ) and would welcome any additions ( I have also attached pics of some fake mont blancs bought in New York on my trip from the UK so that you can get a feel for a fake ):

 

1) The nib is the most difficult aspect to fake. Always ask for a close up picture of the nib section - iridium tip and 'made in germany' stamped on the nib is a dead give away. To my knowledge, Mont Blanc do not stamp 'iridium tip' on their nibs. The exception to this is the Genuine Mont Blanc Starwalker pen - it does have the words 'iridium' stamped on the nib section, is nearly always silver ( hence, this pen is faked more than any other ). Always ask for a pic of the floating star on the cap, if it appears to be irregular or not dead centre, it is likely to be fake. The best tip I can give is go to a genuine dealer and actually take a picture of a starwalker ( barrel and cap ). That way you know what to look for.

 

2) Ask for a picture of the underside of the nib section. A genuine Mont Blanc's black section will be aligned perfectly with the ink aperture between the tines ( a genuine article is accurately produced down to the smallest detail ). If the black section is not aligned and is either side of the aperture, then it is likely to be a fake.

 

3) Before you bid, get an emailed assurance from the seller that it is a genuine Mont Blanc - because if turns out that it isn't , you can ask for your money back or get ebay involved. If you get a vague response to your question - don't bid.

 

4) Another dead give away, ask the seller if he has more than one item and if you can purchase more than four. A faker always buys in bulk and then sells them individually. Genuine Mont Blancs are expensive, and if a seller has more than four - it's likely that he has bought in bulk.

 

5) A sure thing about a fake Meisterstuck legrande 146 is the nib section - it always has a nib similiar to the cheap german fountain pens with the words 'iridium tipped' made in germany - it is definitely a fake. The original nib is beautifully crafted and a faker will not spend more money on trying to recreate this.

 

I hope this information helps

 

Regards,

 

Kavanagh

Edited February 4, 2007 by kavanagh

[kavanagh]

Fake Mont Blanc's bought in New York.

[kavanagh]

Some more fakes.

[vibin247]

When I had my Meisterstuck 146 inspected for authenticity at the nearest Mont Blanc boutique, the biggest indication is if it doesn't have the company trademark "Pix" followed by the registered trademark symbol, then it's definitely a fake. The sales associate, who seems to know about Mont Blancs quite a bit, including the vintage models, has seen very good fakes with serial numbers and Germany stamp and everything else BUT the "Pix" trademark.

[George]

Look under the clip, and you can read Pix. Thats always a good first look to see if it is fake. A fake will not have it.

[patrick_y]

Add this to your list:

 

6) Hold the pen up to the light. The black plastic should be somewhat transparent.

 

7) Montblanc's pens are made of resin (except for the solitaire line) and this natural material is able to hold an electric charge (much like amber). This material also feels more animate and doesn't feel cold to the touch.

Edited February 5, 2007 by patrick_y

[Allan]

First off thank you for the valuable information you posted, we all need to be well informed to avoid being taken to the cleaners. Now if I may offer a little bit of constructive criticism....

 

You refer to the nib section and under the nib, the black section. You may not be aware that the piece of the pen that holds the nib and feed (the feed is the black piece underneath the nib) is called the section which confused the heck out of me when I first read your post. I finally understood that you were referring to a generic section of the pen, and not THE section.

 

No big deal, we all have to learn, and I am not trying to be picky just lending a helping hand. Thanks again for the post!

 

Allan

[Nikolaos]

All of the above are great points and good indications of authenticity.

George, you are partially right about the Pix engraving underneath the clip. It is only in the more recent years that it appears. I hope someone can tell us when it started to appear. So if you are buying a brand new MB or a very recent one it is good to look for that. For the older, vintage models though there is no Pix there, just like the serial number in the Meisterstuck lines.

Nikolaos

[*david*]

If I were making fakes, first thing I would do is put Pix in there.

 

To spot a fake, hold the potential fake beside a known authentic pen.

[gene]

  Quote

To spot a fake, hold the potential fake beside a known authentic pen.

 

then what can you find? nothing.....

 

Ok, I have seen different grade of fake MB. first the lowest grade, which will cost the least for them to counterfeit it is very easy to spot them. the material and the overall quality is really bad compare to the real one, any one with some experience can spot those.

 

Now gets little tough, the middle grade counterfeits. cost little bit more than the lowest grade, so the overall quality is better or say close the real thing, but not as detail as the real one. so look close into the detail work in those grade of conterfeits.

 

Now the "A" class grade counterfeits, those are extramly tough to spot by just look at them. I can promise you if you ever find one of those in the market you won't be able to tell the different by just look at them. they are weight the same, looks the same, and feel the same.

 

One of my German friend who has a friend is one of the engineer for MB, he bought some "A" class grade counterfeits MB pen back to the factory to exam them. (BTW,they are only $100 less than the real thing, ain't cheap) He had many those expert workers to exam them, the result.... without break the pen or take it apart, they CAN NOT tell the difference between them. how are they perform?? No difference. So the MB's engineer took the pen to a writter whom has been use MB pens for more than $30 yrs and write more than 1000 words with the pen every day. Result.. at the first few lines, no difference. but the more he writes, the more he felt uncomfortable. so the Engineer took the pen and the report back to the factory, and break the pen and melt the nib to exam them. final result.. First, the feed design is not near close to the design of real MB, therefor the ink flow not as good. second, the ratio of gold and other elements in the nib is total wrong, which cause the uncomfortable feeling during writing. other wise every thing is very very close to the real thing.

 

What do you all think the skill of counterfeit?

[Kalessin]

I believe the "Pix" on the underside of the clip doesn't appear on pens until after about 1990... Does anyone have any better information on this point?

[Bill]

  gene said:

...I have seen different grade of fake MB...the "A" class grade counterfeits, those are extramly tough to spot by just look at them...the skill of counterfeit?

Gene,

 

Thank you for the your insight into levels of counterfeit quality of Montblancs. This is something I was curious about.

 

Many years ago I bought a fake Rolex watch in a flea market. The vendor had two grades of them. I bought a better one for about $70 instead of the $20 version. Later, I handed it to two different owners of real Rolexes who closely examined it and never knew it was a fake. It probably would have taken removing the back to expose it. The watch actually turned out to be a good timepiece in its own right.

 

Other than the infringement/legal/ethical issues, could the middle and higher end MB fakes be worthy as decent writers themselves?

 

Bill

[ptitmax]

So is it possible that a MB have a serial number, but not the "pix" trademark ? As they seems to have appeared at the same time, I wonder. I have bought one on the internet look quite authentic, with a serial number, but under the clip it's written "laiton", and not "pix". Can someone help me ?

[mgshn]

So, you're saying that the Montblacn (at least that's what was stamped on the steel nib) Copernicus I bought in Bangkok for $35 last summer may not be genuine?

 

[gene]

I have nerver ever seem or heard about a fake MB149 or 146. Why?? i guess the porfit margin aren't higher enough for a good counterfake. cheap ones are easy to spot. all the fake one are highend LE pens.

 

For those of you looking for 149, don't have to worried about the authentic issues. but again, if some one sell you one for $30, common sense should tell you those aren't real....

Edited February 17, 2007 by gene

[gene]

QUOTE

Other than the infringement/legal/ethical issues, could the middle and higher end MB fakes be worthy as decent writers themselves?

 

i am sorry, i forgot about this post. bill to answer your question, yes those are decent writers. only if you are a professional writer and only use MB pens. any tips that is round and smooth should be a decent writer. right?

 

 

 

[sheafferkid]

Ptitmax, my Mont Blanc Meisterstuck Le Grand has a serial number and "Laiton" too! I sure hope mine isn't a fake; I paid good money for this pen. I had to pay for half of it for my own bday present! Ptitmax, what kind of Mont Blanc do you have that has Laiton? Mont Blanc experts, please help us!

 

Evan

[Bogtrotter]

For what it's worth, a quick Google search showed "Laiton" to mean "brass".

 

My MB Boheme FP has the Pix trademark preceded by the word "metal", in lowercase letters. I believe the Boheme to be authentic, because I purchased it at a Montblanc boutique.

 

My 1989 MB146 has no markings on the underside of the clip.

 

bt

[Bogtrotter]

I just shined a powerful flashlight through the barrels and caps of my Montblancs. Even though the pens were black in normal light, they were all transparent ruby red when illuminated from behind by the flashlight.

 

It might be interesting to try the same experiment with known fakes.

 

bt

Edited February 20, 2007 by Bogtrotter

[Chris]

That ruby red colour is one of the things I like about my MBs.

 

Chris