Montblanc 149 750 solid gold

[AcLondon]

This is a MB 149 solid (750) gold that's on its way to me. With a 14c two-tone nib, single unit barrel, plastic threads I date it around late 70s to early 80s. I'm interested in any info that anyone can help me with on these 750 149s. I know MB didn't make their own until 1988. And that a very small number were commissioned from 1950s onwards to outside jewelers like Lefebvre and B&? ??!  Any I've seen have small differences. Some with stars on cap, some with plain dome; some with 'Germany' on clip. This one has 'Metal' on clip, hallmark on clip,  'Montblanc 149' and '750' on cap band. There's also am additional band above piston. This is not a repair or addition but a feature according to original owner. Has anyone seen this before? As always, any additional insight would be very welcome. Thanks. AC

[Michael R.]

Very nice!

Typical model for that time. 

This is from their 1982 catalogue: model 1497 (listed as news; price on request)

0 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

16 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

Montblanc1982-23 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

Cheers

Michael

 

 

[Michael R.]

1983:

montblanc1_42988156231_o by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

[Michael R.]

1979: USA import

montblanc-4_42269670004_o by pensninks, auf Flickr

[AcLondon]

Michael, I appreciate your input as always. Any thoughts on the band above the piston? 

[kazoolaw]

Thank you both for sharing:  AcLondon for detailed photos of his precious metal 149, and Michael R. for the catalog resources.

[AcLondon]

What a great resource @Michael R. is.  1979 is earlier than I had thought they were advertised as being available by catalogue. Interesting!

 

Mine also has some slight differences to these in the catalogue... as noted, an extra band on the barrel, it says 'Montblanc 750' rather than 'Montblanc 18k' (I have found at least one other example like this), 'Metal' engraved on cap band.

[Uncial]

I assume the piston band is designed to take the greater heat of scratching when posted?

[NoType]

1 hour ago, Uncial said:

I assume the piston band is designed to take the greater heat of scratching when posted?

@Uncial What a clever thought!

[NoType]

15 hours ago, AcLondon said:

There's also an additional band above piston. This is not a repair or addition but a feature according to original owner. Has anyone seen this before?

Congratulations on your lovely and somewhat unusual acquisition, @AcLondon!

 

I have nothing meaningful to add beyond @Uncial’s inspired speculation immediately upthread, other than to answer your question in the negative.  (My two 1970’s examples by Pierre Lefèvre lack this most interesting additional band above the piston cone, but like yours and those illustrated in the catalogues so miraculously and generously produced by @Michael R. upthread, the captop for each of my pens is a snowcap-less mirror-polish dome.)  

 

Please do let us know should you come across any information beyond what enlightened members here may contribute.

[NoType]

12 hours ago, AcLondon said:

What a great resource @Michael R. is.  1979 is earlier than I had thought they were advertised as being available by catalogue. Interesting!

@AcLondon My thoughts precisely.  I, too, did not realise that the 149G appeared in any Montblanc official catalogues as early as 1979.  All of us here are heavily indebted to @Michael R., who represents the very best of the Fountain Pen Network!

 

[AcLondon]

7 hours ago, Uncial said:

I assume the piston band is designed to take the greater heat of scratching when posted?

Hi @Uncial (greetings from North County Dublin;-)), this is easily the best speculation I've had about this mystery band! I'm going with it until I hear otherwise!

[AcLondon]

6 hours ago, NoType said:

Congratulations on your lovely and somewhat unusual acquisition, @AcLondon!

 

I have nothing meaningful to add beyond @Uncial’s inspired speculation immediately upthread, other than to answer your question in the negative.  (My two 1970’s examples by Pierre Lefèvre lack this most interesting additional band above the piston cone, but like yours and those illustrated in the catalogues so miraculously and generously produced by @Michael R. upthread, the captop for each of my pens is a snowcap-less mirror-polish dome.)  

 

Thanks for these great replies @NoType. I appreciate them so much.  Out of interest do your examples from the the 1970s have any variations from the catalogue examples (other than era changes like feed, nibs etc)? Mine says '750' rather than '18k' on the band.

[NoType]

On 6/22/2024 at 11:20 PM, AcLondon said:

Thanks for these great replies @NoType. I appreciate them so much.  Out of interest do your examples from the the 1970s have any variations from the catalogue examples (other than era changes like feed, nibs etc)? Mine says '750' rather than '18k' on the band.

My pleasure, @AcLondon.  Neither of my pens seems to feature any variations from the catalogue, and each says “Montblanc 18K.”  I only have one to hand at the moment, as the other is in a safe deposit box, so unfortunately I am unable to photograph both together.  

 

Although each pen had been acquired from a different source over a period of time separated by several years, the ensconced example is essentially a twin of the one photographed here.

 

 

ETA: (a previous) photo of the now ensconced pen; the only notable difference between it and its (later acquired) twin is the discolouration of the gold on the cap.

[jchch1950]

I saw one many years ago. The owner had it disassembled to weigh the gold, I think to sell it. It was impossible to negotiate the price even if the offer was much higher than the gold's value. But if I remember correctly there wasn't a band near the piston. 

[Barry Gabay]

  @AcLondon    AcLondon   Congratulations on this magnificent 149G.  I have always found this style, vertical stripes, the most refined of the various 149G finishes.  Have never seen the additional barrel band. Concerning "METAL" engraved on the cap clip:  I had several early 146 sterling Solitaires with the same cap clip engraving.  Thank you for sharing this great pen. 

[Arcadian]

I have nothing to add except to say that it's pwetty and I wants one! 😋

 

 - P. 

[fpupulin]

The Meisterstück 149, which I love passionately, is already a bit "too much" pen by herself. This golden 149, in the beautiful pinstripe pattern (I agree with Barry that it is the most refined of the gold versions), is way "too much", but in the right direction. It is a pen for a king, for a Maharaja, for the secret emperor that everyone has inside themselves.

 

Was the price of this pen not outside my means, I would be more than happy to add one to my collection, to please my little king.

 

Congratulations to both @AcLondon and @NoType for their great pens, and a a warm thank to @Michael R. for sharing his knowledge treasures.

[NoType]

5 minutes ago, fpupulin said:

The Meisterstück 149, which I love passionately, is already a bit "too much" pen by herself. This golden 149, in the beautiful pinstripe pattern (I agree with Barry that it is the most refined of the gold versions), is way "too much", but in the right direction. It is a pen for a king, for a Maharaja, for the secret emperor that everyone has inside themselves.

 

Was the price of this pen not outside my means, I would be more than happy to add one to my collection, to please my little king.

 

Congratulations to both @AcLondon and @NoType for their great pens, and a a warm thank to @Michael R. for sharing his knowledge treasures.

@fpupulin Thank you for your eloquent paean for the 1497|149G and felicitations for those of us trying to learn and share more information about the pre-factory, pre-1988 versions that have passed through others’ hands, at times several successive pairs, and eventually ended up under our stewardship.  

 

I agree that it is a pen for a mini-potentate of some kind and can seem a bit like excess for a pen already as flamboyant in dimension as a 149.  (Personally, procuring a new 149G either back in the 1970’s made by a goldsmith contracted by Montblanc or today made in Montblanc’s Atelier would have been and still would be inconceivable; besides, I prefer a hand-me-down with its sometimes mysterious backstories waiting to be discovered.)  

 

And we are all indebted to @Michael R. for helping piece together data regarding Montblanc pens, especially past models.

 

But @fpupulin, your words “This golden 149 . . . is way “too much,” but in the right direction.  It is a pen . . . for the secret emperor that everyone has inside themselves” will stay with me for a long time to come.

[AcLondon]

I love these comments, thanks @fpupulin and @NoType and @Barry Gabay. 

 

The pen has arrived and is really something to behold. The most striking thing is that @Uncial speculation about the ring seems spot on. It posts perfectly on top of the ring without touching the barrel of the pen. An extraordinary bit of simple ingenuity. Certainly part of the original design - there's no evidence of it being a later addition. Some photos below...