New Montblanc pen designs; Rambling observations

[Wael El-Dasher]

Not sure if others have noticed but that's been a dramatic change in Montblanc's pen design. Perhaps I'm reading too much into it but, in my opinion, when I compare the Writers Edition pens, there seems to be a hard shift from when that series began in 1992.

 

Sure 1992 is almost 30 years ago and it's expected that over that span there should be some change. Still if I were to place a MB Hemingway or Agatha Christie next to the latest offerings, there's a marked difference in design. The new designs are overdone & elaborate. Obviously this is all subjective, but I feel gone are the days where a Oscar Wilde pen would be considered special just for the barrel resin color mix and it's subtle classic clip. 

 

Now I don't want to be nostalgic and sound like an old fart waxing on and on about the good all days when there was nothing but orange groves as far as the eye can see. Still it's pretty clear to me, as an architect, there's a dramatic shift in thinking within Montblanc and perhaps an infusion of young designers, the result of which is now we have the Moctezuma, which is something I would have never expected Montblanc to make as it looks more like something I'd expect from Visconti. 

 

I have nothing against any of these new pens. I handled a Victor Hugo last week and it's exquisitely made. I couldn't help but feel it felt more like a 3D printed product which is missing something from the earlier, much more subtle pens. The Agatha's clip is clearly cast and hand finished (at least that's the impression) while the Victor Hugo clip is so sharp and precise in it's angularity that it's certainly robotically milled. 

 

Not sure where I'm going with this. But please join in and aimlessly ramble with me. 

 

Cheers

 

Wael

[arcfide]

Well, there's also a lot more competition than there was. I think some people might not find the older models "extravagant" enough to justify the prices that Montblanc tends to sell these pens at, and there are lots of other companies doing marked up pens that are more "subtle" but at less expensive prices that Montblanc. I suspect that they have to keep trying to make the new designs different enough to seem special and unique and "inspired" while also dealing with the changing markets. 

[Karmachanic]

If I don't look at them, they don't make my eyes hurt.

[Michael R.]

Simply: yes!

 

Tools with a design based on historic models vs. theme pens loaded with a bunch of more or less subtle hints and ornamentaion towards the theme.

 

More expensive = more precious metals and diamonds but not necessarily better taste. 
 

Also I miss the „usable factor“ on some designs as coatings and platings seem to wear more easy.

 

BUT: I still buy the newer models as long as I like the design and accept as something totally different 😅 …you know: fan boy 😉

 

I tend to become nostalgic when seeing and handling the older models from the „modern golden age“ of the early 1990s.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[Toll]

I continue to buy Montblanc pens from a variety of product ranges (Writer’s editions, POA editions, and special themes such as Le Petit Prince) and eras. My Hemingway has a certain gravitas which I love (not to mention the nib), yet my LPP pens are no less satisfying. And then then there are my Bohemes, the 1912, and Alexander the Great, and….

 

Even though many recent MB offerings do not appeal to me, e.g., Beatles, James Dean, Pirelli), each year there is one or more new pens that call out to me, such as the Hugo and the Napoleon. In general, I find the workmanship of MB to be nearly flawless; the epitome of pen design and use. Although, a recent purchase — a Namiki Yukari Royale in Vermilion is making me want to explore those pens more. 
 

I was in Manhattan recently and stopped by the relatively new flagship boutique. Spacious and modern. They had a Purdey (which tempted me); otherwise (okay, loved the finish on the Elizabeth Taylor) nothing really grabbed my attention. Two notes. First — they had virtually no fountain pen cartridges! I learned that after inquiring about Petrol Blue. Second — very professional sales associate but I was a bit put off by her shadowing me throughout the store. 
 

[meiers]

Wael, I agree. There has been a shift in the design aesthetic. My two WEs are over the top … in a playful way that appeals to me.The Hemingway and the Christie are absolutely classic and  understated but overpriced in the second-hand market.  

[meiers]

Another example to illustrate my point about playful design aesthetics. All three of these pens are superlative writing instruments. 

[Wael El-Dasher]

26 minutes ago, meiers said:

Another example to illustrate my point about playful design aesthetics. All three of these pens are superlative writing instruments. 

That is pretty much what I noticed. The new pens seem to always be designed to be playful and elaborately detailed. Nothing wrong with that but I don’t see the restraint and subtle cues to the classics, say like the Poe where it’s all about the elongated top cap and it’s gorgeous shades of blue. While it’s a nod to the 17 1/2 classic, it’s modern enough to have it’s own identity and the designers, I feel, had to really work hard to balance the modernity of the Poe while respecting the classic elements of the 17 1/2. As a designer I can tell you it takes a lot of effort to produce something that looks simple. 
 

Having said that, I do find myself looking for a William Shakespeare. I am a sucker for white pens, herringbone design and octagonal shapes. That pen has all three. It’s very hard to find for some reason and it came out a year after I lost interest in pens and was selling off my collection. Perhaps also because it has just a pinch of Hemingway cues, as in the diameter of the barrel and the flat-ish top 🤷🏻‍♂️
 

[Michael R.]

Those are very nice examples of recent models.

Waiting for my Doyle. The Dean I already have and also enjoy the Beatles and Hugo. The Shakespeare is on my list!

 

But they are are a complete different generation of Montblanc's special and limited editions. 

 

I was always torn between vintage and modern pens. I like both, but in a different way.

 

 

 

 

[Wael El-Dasher]

4 hours ago, Michael R. said:

“I tend to become nostalgic when seeing and handling the older models from the modern golden age“ of the early 1990s.”

 

Cheers

 

Michael

Michael,

 

I think that’s what happening with me. The more I see the older Writers Editions specially, the more I feel something is different. Montblanc is not alone in this. It’s evident everywhere. From all the fake vents in the bumpers of cars that make them look like racing cars to dashboards and complex finishes. BMW M cars used to be extremely special. Designed by engineers and based on race track derived experience. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. 
 

New cars are certainly faster than the old and often more comfortable, and certainly became extremely luxurious. So they’re no longer the racers of the past. This shift in thinking is everywhere I feel. And just like the classic 90’s writers edition, old BMW M3’s from the 90’s are commanding hefty prices. 
 

Hence one has to wonder, if there is a market for these nostalgic 90’s items that, for simplicity, offer a purity of purpose and elegant restraint, would it not be something the Montblanc can capitalize on? 🤔 

[Karmachanic]

2 hours ago, Wael El-Dasher said:

purity of purpose and elegant restraint,

 

 

I'll see if I can get Deiter Rams on the case 🤪

[Wael El-Dasher]

22 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

 

I'll see if I can get Deiter Rams on the case 🤪

Actually now I do sound like an old fart 🤣

[sebastel23]

and his given name spells "Dieter".

[Karmachanic]

Thank you - fixed

[NoType]

Wael El-Dasher, I just stumbled across this thread in the few minutes’ spare time I’ve had today, and I very much want to join in on this pleasurable ramble that has brought up many interesting points on design, form factors, functional considerations, taste, and timelessness, but frustratingly I am out of time and will have to contribute tomorrow — thank you for starting off this thought-provoking discussion!

[Wael El-Dasher]

So the new Fountain Pen Hospital catalog arrived. Case in point right on the cover. 

Even Molly the Magnificent thought it was a dart then backed away 🤷🏻‍♂️

[meiers]

Molly is wonderful. 

[Arcadian]

In my mind, imperfect as it is, the switch to more elaborate Writers, Patrons and Great Characters editions has coincided with the introduction of the Heritage pens, and I suspect that Montblanc deliberately has let the Heritage pens corner the market on simplicity, and then turned the other series in the direction of collectors who value the pens for their elaborate appearance more than their daily usefulness. Like the difference between regular jewellery and Haute Joaillerie. 

 

 - P. 

[NoType]

Wael El-Dasher, I agree with you that there seems to be a marked change in Montblanc’s approach to the design of the Writers Edition pens since the launch of the series.  One could argue that the Patron of Art collection underwent a similar punctuated evolution, but much earlier.  

 

This list of Patron of Art and Writers Edition models helped me analyse Montblanc’s design decisions of various pens:

Year          PoA                                       WE

1992         Lorenzo de’Medici               Ernest Hemingway 

1993         Octavian                               Agatha Christie

                                                                  30000 FP & 4810

                                                               Imperial Dragon

                                                                  5000 & 888

1994         Louis XIV                              Oscar Wilde

1995         The Prince Regent               Voltaire 

                     4810 & 888

1996         Semiramis                             Alexandre Dumas

                     4810 & 888

1997         Peter I the Great                   Fyodor Dostoevsky

                     4810 & 888

                 Catherine II the Great

                     4810 & 888

1998         Alexander the Great            Edgar Allen Poe

                     4810 & 888

1999         Friedrich II the Great           Marcel Proust

                     4810 & 888

2000         Karl der Grosse                   Friedrich Schiller

                     4810 & 888

2001         Marquise de Pompadour    Charles Dickens

                     4810 & 888

2002         Andrew Carnegie                F. Scott Fitzgerald 

                     4810 & 888

2003         Nicolaus Copernicus          Jules Verne            

                    B4810 & 888

2004         J. P. Morgan                        Franz Kafka

                     4810 & 888

2005         Pope Julius II                       Miguel de Cervantes 

                     4810 & 888

2006         Sir Henry Tate                     Virginia Woolf 

                     4810 & 888

2007         Alexander von Humboldt    William Faulkner 

                     4810 & 888

2008         Francois I                             George Bernard Shaw

                     4810 & 888

2009         Max von Oppenheim           Thomas Mann

                     4810 & 888

2010          Elisabeth I                            Mark Twain

                     4810 & 888

2011          Gaius Mæcenus                   Carlo Collodi

                     4810 & 888

2012          Joseph II                              Jonathan Swift

                     4810 & 888

2013          Ludovico Sforza                  Honoré de Balzac

                     4810 & 888

2014          Henry E. Steinway              Daniel Defoe

                     4810 & 888

2015          Luciano Pavarotti                Leo Tolstoy

                     4810 & 888                          9000 & 1868

2016          Peggy Guggenheim            William Shakespeare 

                     4810 & 888                          8700 & 1597

2017          Scipione Borghese              Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

                     4810 & 888                          9800 & 1931

2018          Ludwig II                              Homer

                     4810 & 888                          9800 & 1581

2019          Hadrian                                Rudyard Kipling

                     4810 & 888                          9800 & 1895 & 70

2020          Moctezuma                         Victor Hugo   

                     4810 & 888                          9800 & 1831

2021          Napoleon                             Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

                     4810 & 888                          9000 & 1902 & 97 & 8

 

To my novice and undereducated eye, the Patron of Art series abandoned overt references to historical pens merely four years after its launch, the Semiramis perhaps the last direct evocation of an interwar Montblanc pen.  Henceforth, Montblanc gave subtler nods to earlier designs, like the Francois I and Karl der Grosser, and borrowed freely from their current lines, like the Friedrich II the Great and Sir Henry Tate.  Andrew Carnegie, especially, brings to mind a slimmer 149, and Max von Oppenheim a more robust 146 (a predecessor of the “wide-body” chassis of the later Masters for Meisterstück and Meisterstück Great Masters collections).  After mixing various historical and modern design cues in The Prince Regent, Peter I the Great, Catherine II the Great, and Alexander the Great models, Montblanc seems to have adopted a different directive for the new millennium pens (with the exception of the Carnegie).  One can detect a more defined break from both antecedents and modern pens; for instance, where the 1994 Louis XIV evokes vintage overlay designs, the 2001 Marquise de Pompadour seems a new format, the conceptual progenitor of the highly collectible Classique-sized 2003-2012 Annual Editions.  Although the 2005 Pope Julius II shares the Carnegie’s overall form factor and manages to reference an attenuated 149, in general as the Patrons of Art pens from 2003 onwards adopted more ornamentation representative of their particular muse, as Michael R more succinctly noted above about the Writers Editions, the origins of their chassis became less recognisable.  

 

This trend towards themed details coming to the fore also gathered momentum in the Writers Edition Collection around the turn of the millennium, although before Charles Dickens the form factors were more restrained and hewed more closely to design antecedents than can be seen during the same period with the Patrons of Art Collection.

 

Another landmark decision, to create more than one version of the Writers Edition pens, took form in 2015 with the Leo Tolstoy LE1868, which featured more elaborate materials and details.

 

The period beginning in 2015 represents the largest break from the previous design philosophy of the Writers Editions, which heretofore seemed to envisage pens in the series as writing tools with themed designs rather than art objects that happened to write, and could thus be distinguished from the Patrons of Art apparent design directive to appeal to the collector more than to the user.  The new design philosophy of the Writers Edition seems closer to the Patron of Art’s philosophy, at least for the more limited, more expensive versions, like the Tolstoy 1868, Shakespeare 1597, Saint-Exupéry 1931, and Homer 1581, and especially the Kipling 70, Doyle 8, Doyle 97 models.

 

Concurrently, execution of details has grown crisper, more precise, and hard-edged in the Writers Editions, as you noted above when comparing the Victor Hugo’s clip with that of the Agatha Christie.  

 

So, yes, I think it is safe to say that Montblanc’s recent designs represent a departure from earlier ones, most obviously in the Writers Edition collection, which now seems to have evolved into almost a kind of junior version of the Patron of Arts series.  I find the Writers Edition trend to ever more elaborate and complicated designs to be regrettable, and I miss the earlier pens’ relative “simplicity, purity of purpose, and elegant restraint” that you mention, although I acknowledge that some of the new designs are generally attractive, as Michael R, Toll, meiers, and you yourself attest.

 

Arcfide’s observation that the timing of the release of more complicated pen designs coincides with the launch of the Heritage Collection is a good one.

 

(As to automobile design, I cannot name a single model released after 2017, from any manufacturer, that I like. This situation is novel for me, an inveterate “car buff.”)

[Wael El-Dasher]

On 11/15/2021 at 11:55 PM, meiers said:

Molly is wonderful. 

Thank you Meier. She is very loving and sweet. When I get home from work she always stands on her hind legs and hugs me, wrapping her front legs around my waist, then remains my shadow for the evening.