Montblanc As a Status Symbol

[Beechwood]

I worked with a man who was phenomenally successful, self employed and had the most expensive house in London, £12m which is about $16m and  this was 1976,  multiply by 4.5 for todays values. it is probably better that I don't say his name because he turned out to be a villain. I was a new graduate and had a treasured Parker 61, this was the slimline era. There were hundreds of people on the  trading floor and they all seemed to have Montblancs, it was  the prestigious pen to have and I really wanted one, to join the club. I told Sir that I had been looking at Montblancs and he pulled a 149 out of his pocket that was huge, it seemed to be bigger than any other 149, he said that he had it made specially for him.

[Doug C]

It has all been well said in the previous posts. Out of the 200 or so pens I have only 4 are Montblancs and 2 of them are pencils. 

Starwalker fp

Vintage Carrera fp

Due mp

And my favorite: Oscar Wilde mp.

They are good writers; no more no less. 

[Peony Blush]

20 minutes ago, Format said:

...I really wanted one, to join the club. I told Sir that I had been looking at Montblancs and he pulled a 149 out of his pocket that was huge, it seemed to be bigger than any other 149, he said that he had it made specially for him.

First, that was a jerk move. Second, it sounds like he was compensating for something else.

 

I'm happy you were able to pursue your passion.

[Peony Blush]

6 minutes ago, Doug C said:

And my favorite: Oscar Wilde mp.

This pen is BEAUTIFUL!

[senzen]

I avoid Montblanc precisely because of this reason; they've long cunningly applied the "if it's expensive it must be good" self deception and lots of let's say more backwards people use them as status symbols, only to fail miserably as they scream "poor taste with more money than brains". It's like bragging of solid gold toilet seats.

 

Still, there are people who genuinely appreciate them or received them as an heirloom, I hope they keep enjoying them.

 

Then there's the idea that good design is timeless and doesn't need big logos for people to recognise them; the bigger Montblanc's gaudy white star, the more it fails in this respect, when even a humble Muji (the "brandless brand") triumphs. For another terrible example there's recent Mercedes models with triangular stars all over the front, which says "we failed at differentiating our product so there, more stars".

 

The one series I find interesting design wise is the 252, 254, 256; luckily there's info right here on FPN that all their caps crack, hilarious for supposedly high end pens; and of course, there's that big white star.

 

I did fail to resist a Dunhill apparently made by Montblanc, a great example of 1960's-1970s design: the nib is nice but moves easily on the feed.

 

[senzen]

2 hours ago, Format said:

I worked with a man who was phenomenally successful, self employed and had the most expensive house in London, £12m which is about $16m and  this was 1976,  multiply by 4.5 for todays values. it is probably better that I don't say his name because he turned out to be a villain. I was a new graduate and had a treasured Parker 61, this was the slimline era. There were hundreds of people on the  trading floor and they all seemed to have Montblancs, it was  the prestigious pen to have and I really wanted one, to join the club. I told Sir that I had been looking at Montblancs and he pulled a 149 out of his pocket that was huge, it seemed to be bigger than any other 149, he said that he had it made specially for him.

 

Come on, you gotta tell us now! Probably long dead?

[Beechwood]

42 minutes ago, senzen said:

 

Come on, you gotta tell us now! Probably long dead?

 

He is dead, died 2017. As I have said he was a villain I had better not give him a name, he wouldn't mean much to people out of his industry anyway.

 

My favourite MB of all time was a 236, a pen bought in 1947 at a Trade Fair in  Hanover, I bought it as a wreck in 2010 and Francis rebuilt/restored it for me. The 236 was never the most attractive MB but Francis turned a sows ear into a silk purse.

 

 

[senzen]

1 hour ago, Format said:

 

My favourite MB of all time was a 236, a pen bought in 1947 at a Trade Fair in  Hanover, I bought it as a wreck in 2010 and Francis rebuilt/restored it for me. The 236 was never the most attractive MB but Francis turned a sows ear into a silk purse.

 

 

 

That 236 looks nice.

[a student]

10 hours ago, senzen said:

For another terrible example there's recent Mercedes models with triangular stars all over the front, which says "we failed at differentiating our product so there, more stars".

 

Enjoyed that; many thanks

[Driften]

I haven't let any status or lack of it influence my ownership. I have three MB fountain pens, two ballpoints and a fineliner. My 149 and 146 I bought used. My first was the ballpoint I found on the ground with a crack in the side of the upper barrel. I love that pen and when I got back into fountain pens I wanted to give them a try. My 149 is one of my favorite pens and it's always inked. 

Only once did anyone ever notice and commented. That was Boheme! 

[max dog]

Earlier this year I had to go into a lawyers office to sign some legal documents.  We sat with the lawyer and when it came time to sign the legal documents, he gave me some of their law office branded ball point pens to use, but instead I pulled out my 149C to sign, and he did remark he liked my pen.  I let him sign his part with the pen and he knew to blow on the ink to let it dry and looked at the pen in admiration.  Led to a brief nice conversation about the pen, breaking the ice.   

 

Other times over the years when i went to a customer meeting, occasionally one of the executives would take notes with a nice fountain pen, usually a Montblanc.  Thehy would see me with my Montblanc and there would be mutual admiring glances as we proceeded in the meeting.  The majority of times people didn't notice what I was using as they would pull out their BIC or whatever pen they found lying around in the office.  So on the rare occasion I came across someone who used a fountain pen, it was mutual admiration, like a secret club we belonged to understanding why we use what we do, the rest of the time no one really notices.

 

So, no I don't avoid purchasing Montblanc's because they're so recongizable.  The vast majority of the time, no one really notices, and when someone does, it was admiration.  I have half a dozen I use all the time, they give me much pleasure to write with, and because of that I take tons of notes in my work which has been really beneficial to my job. 

 

I recently acquired a New Old Stock never inked before MB Special Edition John Lennon Donation fountain pen.  It's currently with MB for a level 1 service to get the piston lubricated.  Can't wait to get it back and start using it.  Perhaps at some meeting, someone who is into John Lennon or playing guitar might take notice, as it has a very noticable guitar head for the clip, the nib has a big peace symbol engraved on it, and the cap has John Lennon's signature, and the cap/barrel material resembles the grooves of a vinyl record.  It is quite groovy. 

[torstar]

using a fountain pen, to begin with, is enough of a leap into the conscious status-world

 

batting around the idea of a MB is a mere trifle on top of it

[Karmachanic]

1 hour ago, torstar said:

using a fountain pen, to begin with, is enough of a leap into the conscious status-world

 

In your world perhaps.  In my experience few notice.  Cap in left hand, quietly scribbling away.

[torstar]

33 minutes ago, Karmachanic said:

 

In your world perhaps.  In my experience few notice.  Cap in left hand, quietly scribbling away.

 

if you notice that few notice, it means something to you....

 

another quirk is old windup alarm clocks, i always have one going just in case, 3 from West Germany on the shelf, still meeting the demands

 

 

[Karmachanic]

12 minutes ago, torstar said:

if you notice that few notice, it means something to you...

 

Because they express  interest dear.  Not because I'm playing look at me, which is why the cap is hidden in my left hand, and my head is down, focusing on the page.

 

[torstar]

 

[Beechwood]

I swear I only understand half the stuff you guys post.

[Doug C]

54 minutes ago, Format said:

I swear I only understand half the stuff you guys post.

😜

[aimi]

I have one MB and it is a modern one. I admit that I don’t like to bring it out in the public because I find the star obviously conspicuous compared to more “niche” fountain pen brands (eg. Sailor, Pelikan- both of which also have decorated finials). I didn’t consider this when I originally bought it, but alas. 

[kazoolaw]

In 30+ years of carrying a MB the only comments I ever received were from other MB owners/users.