100th Anniversary editions

[marlinspike]

39 minutes ago, NoType said:

 

@marlinspike You seem to have an artist’s eye for detail, materiality, and colour, which Montblanc could definitely benefit from.

They will make far more money than I ever will by continuing to push themselves as a luxury "lifestyle" brand selling leather backpacks to those who came upon money too quickly or too easily, and then for good measure selling some high 5 and 6 figure pens to people who will use them as a form of contract kickback. 

 

11 minutes ago, DimitriDiak said:

 

I think with the “Ink” effect on the resin caps Montblanc was going for a more delicate. understated design inspired by the different marbling effects of the early Meisterstuck, also updating the marbling of today’s production techniques.  

Personally I like the limited marbling effect to the cap it is very subtle (depending on the lighting) and contrasts well with the rest of the body. Otherwise the effect would have been blended into the pen and lost.

 

Here are the details of the coatings:

DOUÉ LEGRAND:  Platinum-coated with lacquered pattern. Laser-engraved vintage logo. Platinum-coated cap ring.

DOUÉ CLASSIQUE & SOLITAIRE LEGRAND:  Gold-coated with lacquered pattern. Laser-engraved vintage logo. Gold-coated cap ring.

 

I agree that limiting the marbling to the cap is good for the ballpoint, where the asymmetric design means the marbling helps improve the balance of the visual weight. However, to my eye the fountain pen and rollerball would do better to have the effect throughout.
In Montblanc terminology, "platinum-coated" is 3 to 4 microns and gold-coated is 15 microns. I'm fine with both, but if they truly lacquered and aren't just badly describing enamel, the failure of the lacquer is a matter of when not if, and that's pretty bad at this price point.

[DimitriDiak]

3 minutes ago, marlinspike said:

I agree that limiting the marbling to the cap is good for the ballpoint, where the asymmetric design means the marbling helps improve the balance of the visual weight. However, to my eye the fountain pen and rollerball would do better to have the effect throughout.
In Montblanc terminology, "platinum-coated" is 3 to 4 microns and gold-coated is 15 microns. I'm fine with both, but if they truly lacquered and aren't just badly describing enamel, the failure of the lacquer is a matter of when not if, and that's pretty bad at this price point.

 

Thank you, I appreciate your perspective.  

 

Regarding the superiority of enamel coatings it is true (although I assume that lacquer coatings have better aesthetics) however I am unaware of their use in Montblanc fountain pens.  I was wondering if you knew of any examples where they have been used?

[NoType]

8 hours ago, marlinspike said:

the failure of the lacquer is a matter of when not if

@marlinspikeMy knowledge of lacquer is limited to Chinese lacquer (plant-based; featured on some S T Dupont pens) and Urushi lacquer (also plant-based).  I presume that Montblanc uses synthetic lacquer in pens for which the descriptors “lacquer” and “lacquered” are mentioned.  

 

I wasn’t aware that synthetic lacquer’s life expectancy was necessarily abbreviated.  Can you shed any light on synthetic lacquer’s fragility?  (Or point me in the correct direction for learning more about synthetic lacquer?  A cursory internet search has not yielded much thus far.)  Many thanks!

[marlinspike]

1 hour ago, NoType said:

@marlinspikeMy knowledge of lacquer is limited to Chinese lacquer (plant-based; featured on some S T Dupont pens) and Urushi lacquer (also plant-based).  I presume that Montblanc uses synthetic lacquer in pens for which the descriptors “lacquer” and “lacquered” are mentioned.  

 

I wasn’t aware that synthetic lacquer’s life expectancy was necessarily abbreviated.  Can you shed any light on synthetic lacquer’s fragility?  (Or point me in the correct direction for learning more about synthetic lacquer?  A cursory internet search has not wielded much thus far.)  Many thanks!

I guess to be fair I have no idea what kind of lacquer they mean. When I hear the word lacquer, by itself, I assume nitrocellulose lacquer, as that's the one in the US that gets called simply "lacquer." It's what cars were once painted with. It chips and scratches more easily than enamel. Lacquer is easier to apply and faster to dry (and it does in fact dry, not cure). If they mean Chinese/Urushi lacquer, that's a different story, but I feel like they would have specified it if they meant it.
I don't know of any enamel Montblancs, but it is the way it's done in jewelry for a reason. I do know of other lacquer Montblancs, like the Napoleon, but it's clear coated over and consistent, whereas the caps here seem to just have the lacquer exposed since it can be felt.

[a student]

4 hours ago, marlinspike said:

I can't think of a single fountain pen reviewer who has any idea on how to judge jewelery (which actually is what fine writing is, at this price point for what you're getting it should be van cleef level).  Mostly it's just a bunch of ooing and ahhing, and if they do say anything negative it will be about how it doesn't post or too many turns to uncap or some other thing that completely misses the point. 

 

 

+1

[Cyrille81]

A LE100 will be released/announced on May 1st but as it is really limited, price will be in the range of Artisan Edition. And it seems a LE1924 in a special box will be released in October.

[NoType]

6 hours ago, marlinspike said:

I guess to be fair I have no idea what kind of lacquer they mean. When I hear the word lacquer, by itself, I assume nitrocellulose lacquer, as that's the one in the US that gets called simply "lacquer." It's what cars were once painted with. It chips and scratches more easily than enamel. Lacquer is easier to apply and faster to dry (and it does in fact dry, not cure). If they mean Chinese/Urushi lacquer, that's a different story, but I feel like they would have specified it if they meant it.
I don't know of any enamel Montblancs, but it is the way it's done in jewelry for a reason. I do know of other lacquer Montblancs, like the Napoleon, but it's clear coated over and consistent, whereas the caps here seem to just have the lacquer exposed since it can be felt.

@marlinspike Thank you for mentioning clear coating, which, come to think of it, seems to be a feature on many Montblanc lacquered designs.  I had not considered the protective role that clear coating plays in lacquer pens.

[NoType]

1 hour ago, Cyrille81 said:

A LE100 will be released/announced on May 1st but as it is really limited, price will be in the range of Artisan Edition. And it seems a LE1924 in a special box will be released in October.

Thank you @Cyrille81 for this window into future releases from The Origin Collection.  As someone whose double-handful of 75 Years of Passion and Soul Meisterstück Collection pens (Solitaire 146 & 162 LE75 pieces; Solitaire 146, 162, & 144 LE1924 pieces; Resin 149, 146, 145, 163, 164, & 165 LE1924 pieces) were acquired secondhand more than two decades after their 1999 release, and handful of 90 Years of Meisterstück Collection pens (Solitaire Skeleton 149 SE piece; Solitaire 145, 163, & 164 SE pieces) were acquired more than half a decade after their 2014 release, I will most probably employ the same strategy towards the limited editions of The Origin Collection, for affordability’s sake.  That is to say, if I am still in the market decades from now, and if any of the models have not appreciated in value.

[fpupulin]

Have any of the owners already requested a nib exchange? A retailer told me that for the 149 only M and F nibs are available with the 100th Anniversary engraving. Does anyone have more information?

[DimitriDiak]

1 hour ago, fpupulin said:

Have any of the owners already requested a nib exchange? A retailer told me that for the 149 only M and F nibs are available with the 100th Anniversary engraving. Does anyone have more information?

 

Yes, a very good friend has sent his for OBB and EF and was assured he would be receiving the original nib.  Also my Boutique has assured me not to worry but I can’t part with it for more than six weeks which I would think very unreasonable given how busy MB is at the moment.  I’ll probably modify my M to an italic (only from the bottom so it won’t show).

 

Today received a restocking notice for the 149 MST 100 but was told that all the pieces that arrived were already allocated for previous orders and none in Canada and only three showing in the US.

[DimitriDiak]

13 hours ago, marlinspike said:

I do know of other lacquer Montblancs, like the Napoleon, but it's clear coated over and consistent, whereas the caps here seem to just have the lacquer exposed since it can be felt.

 

Thanks for the information but I plan to be gentle with my lacquered pen.  

 

As you say there does not appear to be a clear-coat but I don’t know why it would be necessary.  Even though I intend to use it I won’t be going swimming with it (not like Ripley in the Netflix series 😅).  Cheers.

 

[marlinspike]

35 minutes ago, DimitriDiak said:

 

Thanks for the information but I plan to be gentle with my lacquered pen.  

 

As you say there does not appear to be a clear-coat but I don’t know why it would be necessary.  Even though I intend to use it I won’t be going swimming with it (not like Ripley in the Netflix series 😅).  Cheers.

 

 

The benefit of a clear is to avoid an edge that will catch wear.

 

I will be very surprised if anybody who has a nib swap gets their original nib back.  Maybe what they meant is the nib you get back will have the same engraving. 

[Lam1]

2 hours ago, fpupulin said:

Have any of the owners already requested a nib exchange? A retailer told me that for the 149 only M and F nibs are available with the 100th Anniversary engraving. Does anyone have more information?

 

I have an order for the 149 with BB and a Classique with OM. Even though I didn't believe the rumors, I specifically asked the German retailer if it was true that any nib other than M would not have 100th Anniversary engraving: the retailer assured me this is not true, that then entire nib range is available and said that MB would never go through the trouble of creating a special pen only to spoil it afterwards with a nib that doesn't belong to it (which, makes a lot of sense).

[fpupulin]

53 minutes ago, DimitriDiak said:

 

Yes, a very good friend has sent his for OBB and EF and was assured he would be receiving the original nib.  

Thank you.

[marlinspike]

28 minutes ago, Lam1 said:

 

I have an order for the 149 with BB and a Classique with OM. Even though I didn't believe the rumors, I specifically asked the German retailer if it was true that any nib other than M would not have 100th Anniversary engraving: the retailer assured me this is not true, that then entire nib range is available and said that MB would never go through the trouble of creating a special pen only to spoil it afterwards with a nib that doesn't belong to it (which, makes a lot of sense).

Oh, it will definitely have the proper engraving, every special edition has had this as an option and you've always gotten the proper engraving (even buying a Petit Prince that was out of production for 3 years at the time I bought it had the benefit of the correct nib engraving on the swap, though it took longer than normal to get that), but I don't believe you would get your original nib back, just that the replacement nib will look the same visually.

[Toll]

I am in Lisbon — on vacation — and the MB Boutique is across from my hotel. So, I had to drop by — glad I did — I was pleased they had all three colors of the Meisterstuck 100th Anniversary inks on hand — I bought a bottle of the blue, plus a bottle of the Klimt ink, and the 100th Anniversary notebook. The boutique I shop at in Washington, DC has not had any of these products yet. I hasten to note, the store, in Lisbon, was packed! 

[NoType]

3 hours ago, marlinspike said:

The benefit of a clear is to avoid an edge that will catch wear.

@marlinspikeThis seems important for long-term durability and makes one wonder if the lacquer is a newer, robuster formulation allowing Montblanc to eschew a clearcoat.  

[NoType]

31 minutes ago, Toll said:

I am in Lisbon — on vacation — and the MB Boutique is across from my hotel. So, I had to drop by — glad I did — I was pleased they had all three colors of the Meisterstuck 100th Anniversary inks on hand — I bought a bottle of the blue, plus a bottle of the Klimt ink, and the 100th Anniversary notebook. The boutique I shop at in Washington, DC has not had any of these products yet. I hasten to note, the store, in Lisbon, was packed! 

@TollWhat a wonderful holiday bonus!  I doubt any specialty inks will be available by the time I am ready to purchase, to say nothing of a notebook (it does not even make an appearance on the US website), as per usual for my backwater location, so I am resigned to living vicariously through others.  In furtherance of that, could I prevail upon you to furnish an ink sample of The Origin Collection Blue and Masters of Art Gustav Klimt Blue, when the opportunity arises?  Enjoy your vacation and many thanks!

[pen2deep]

5 hours ago, Toll said:

I am in Lisbon — on vacation — and the MB Boutique is across from my hotel. So, I had to drop by — glad I did — I was pleased they had all three colors of the Meisterstuck 100th Anniversary inks on hand — I bought a bottle of the blue, plus a bottle of the Klimt ink, and the 100th Anniversary notebook. The boutique I shop at in Washington, DC has not had any of these products yet. I hasten to note, the store, in Lisbon, was packed! 

@Toll Nice! I know the feeling, I usually stay at the intercontinental opera in Paris, and there is a MB boutique at street level.  I haven’t seen the notebook yet, were there multiple colors/designs? I hope you’re enjoying Lisbon!

[NoType]

25 minutes ago, pen2deep said:

@Toll Nice! I know the feeling, I usually stay at the intercontinental opera in Paris, and there is a MB boutique at street level.  I haven’t seen the notebook yet, were there multiple colors/designs? I hope you’re enjoying Lisbon!

@pen2deepA cursory internet search yielded a photo of a notebook of The Origin Collection in one colour —

from this website: https://www.mens-folio.com/lifestyle/montblanc-meisterstuck-the-origin-collection-celebrates-100-years-of-the-meisterstuck/

 

One hopes, like the bracelets, cufflinks, and inks, that the notebook is also available in coral and green.