Montblanc As a Status Symbol

[txomsy]

I have several Montblancs. And have bought many more to give away. I think I have only bought one first hand in my life, a black Slimline that has lasted me more than three decades and is still like new.

 

The fact is that given that my salary is getting ever closer to minimal wages, I consider myself on the lower middle class side.

 

So how comes? I've got them second hand. Owning a Montblanc is no big issue, you just go to eBay and get a good one for a sensible price (granted, not a "shiny, blindingly blingy, gaudy" one, but a discrete Slimline, or a Noblesse, or an old Meisterstück which, by the way, happen to write better (for my old-fashioned taste) than most modern ones (except the Calligraphy ones) and you're done.

 

Why MB? 'cos as I said, it uses atemporal designs for their workhorses, they are most well done, long lasting, well balanced, in a word, have a great quality and are made to last. Until I found the Kaweco Sport and Liliput, my MB Slimline/Noblesse pens were the only pens that would last me more than a few years.

 

Status symbol? I've never given a dime about status symbols. When I was well-known and related with top political officers at many countries and international institutions, probably one of the reasons I was well-known were my shabby, grunge looks, not "status"-branding, and that I got away with that in those circles. Mind you, the secret is to know how to be proper, keep propriety and "elegance" without "status"-show-off (which doesn't require money). What most of these people demand is that you show respect, not that you display a show-off of "power".

 

That my most beloved pens happened to be Montblanc had never anything to do with any status or price, but quality and -in some cases- sentimental reasons.

 

I see them like pyrite, the fool's gold: if someone is as fool as to believe in "status symbols", that because you own/show an MB you "must" be "important", they are likely gullible enough to buy the Brooklyn bridge. And likely many a one owns them because they know they can fool fools with them. No offense intended to anybody, it's just how I see it.

 

My advice? MB is pretty good. So are most Pelikan or Kaweco (and some others). You can't go wrong with any of these. Get a new one if you can pay it, and if not, hunt them on eBay. You shouldn't be disappointed. I know I haven't so far.

 

NOTE: as with any item, one should know what one is buying, why and what for, otherwise disappointment is an almost certainty.

[fpupulin]

By typing "Montblanc status symbol" into Google, the OP (original post author) might have found another two hundred threads exactly like this one, I mean, pretty useless and boring.
Let people enjoy what they want, for the reasons they want. Or avoid what they don't like, for the thousand reasons they might have for not liking it. 
There is absolutely nothing to learn from all this...

[yubaprof]

3 hours ago, fpupulin said:

There is absolutely nothing to learn from all this...

Amen

[JCC123]

What?! You guys don't like people posting inane discussions on a website dedicated to esoteric fanboy discussions??? 🤣

[torstar]

1 hour ago, JCC123 said:

What?! You guys don't like people posting inane discussions on a website dedicated to esoteric fanboy discussions??? 🤣

 

I'm still trying to recover from the severe burn I got in the last few pages.

 

Ponderous.

 

Life-changing.

 

Still like my MBs though, and yeah it's got some trace of nuance of status in buying and using one.

 

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

1 hour ago, JCC123 said:

What?! You guys don't like people posting inane discussions on a website dedicated to esoteric fanboy discussions??? 🤣

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[torstar]

Just now, inkstainedruth said:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

😁

 

some of us live to make it crater and goes sideways by page 3, as long as people who are honestly asking legit questions aren't upset by it... 

[Beechwood]

There was a Star Trek episode from a long time ago, I cannot remember the Captain, Kirk or Picard, where the crew  meets a friendly race of people in need of help, there was a communication problem because the people could only communicate by allegories which were specific to their own history.

 

I hope we don't follow this example and start communicating only by emojis, otherwise it will make me

 

😭

[inkstainedruth]

Format, you're now making ME think of an episode of Doctor Who (12th Doctor) when he takes Bill Potts to a planet run by Emojibots....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[torstar]

20 minutes ago, Format said:

There was a Star Trek episode from a long time ago, I cannot remember the Captain, Kirk or Picard, where the crew  meets a friendly race of people in need of help, there was a communication problem because the people could only communicate by allegories which were specific to their own history.

 

I hope we don't follow this example and start communicating only by emojis, otherwise it will make me

 

😭

 

that's every Stak Trek?  Sometimes it worked for the invaders as when Spock became ONE with the space hippies for a groovy jam session. 

 

The Enterprise Crew was very postmodern in taking apart every other people's metanarratives, and used gunboat diplomacy when necessary if they didn't mesh.

 

 

 

🦷

 

 

[torstar]

Why yes, yes, these are MBs...

 

are you impressed, do you want to worship me?

 

actually, please go away...

 

 

[a student]

21 hours ago, JCC123 said:

What?! You guys don't like people posting inane discussions on a website dedicated to esoteric fanboy discussions??? 🤣

 

+1

 

I suspect the OP had a point though. There is some explanation warranted if you see a person spend 1000+, again and again, repeatedly, on what is most likely a "precious resin" (aka good quality plastic) writing instrument. Now the buyer may have very good reasons other than "status" in view, but it is also a question of how the other sees it if you propose to use it in an environment where other colleagues do not indulge  and may take note. 

 

In the quill and ink era, the newly innovated contraption of a fountain pen was not necessarily the instrument of choice for a serious writer, and far from a status symbol. I read in de Gaulle's biography (the one by Jackson I think) that the general's father simply refused to degrade himself by using a fountain pen

 

To my mind a parallel situation would be: is a Patek Philippe watch a status symbol. That said, arguments to support that it is not could be made for those with complications, precious metals (jewellery?) and such; but the question would remain for the plain vanilla variety

[JCC123]

As I posted in some other forum once when asked a similar question, "but, the righteous indignation of those around you while you use such an expensive pen is priceless!" 😉

[txomsy]

Personally, what I find striking is that anyone might be surprised at someone using a Montblanc and not to all those many others who renew car every few years, have a motorbike to ride as a hobby, or otherwise expend much higher amounts in their hobbies.

 

When you pin it down, calling a Montblanc elitist, and not an electric bicycle, a motorbike, a boat, guns, fishing equipment, a DSLR camera, a potent chainsaw, a good painting easel, a set of Skoda sable brushes, a restored old car, a quality mechanical watch (even a Seiko one), a well-supplied home wine cellar, a cigar humidifier, or so many other things, is just plainly... <YOUR FAVORITE CENSURABLE TERM GOES HERE/>.

 

There is as much need for an FF DSLR instead of a cell phone camera as for an MB instead of a Bic.

 

Elitism is in the eye of the beholder and quite often, just a thoughtless prejudice.

[jmccarty3]

On 9/13/2024 at 2:06 AM, Format said:

In my profession many  people use a fountain pen daily and most of them use Montblanc 149,  I don't know anyone that uses one of the limited edition or special edition pens which are seen as vulgar and ostentatious.

 

I also deal with lawyers, almost all of them use fountain pens for their day books, very few of them use Montblancs because they are too 'in your face'. it was explained to me that it is difficult to take notes and  sit in front of someone who has all the troubles of the World or is being sued or has committed a heinous  crime with a $1000 pen in your hand, it is inconsiderate.

 

There are specialist suppliers of stationery to the legal profession who sell restored Parker 51 for lawyers, they work well but are subtle and show humility.

Lawyers who would like to use a Montblanc that's "under the radar" would be wise to consider a vintage 344. It's quite portable, writes like a dream, and doesn't advertise itself as a Montblanc unless one is looking closely. One of the finest MBs in my collection.

[sandy101]

I buy MBs because they are great writers. I buy pens that inspire me to write. 

 

I bought an MB Wiliam Shakespeare back in 2016. Shakespeare is a writer who inspires me, and I spend a great deal of time watching his plays, reading them and teaching them. So, being able to hold one and write with one is a privilege.

 

I just bought the Stevenson - it took me 4 years of overtime to set enough money aside to afford another Writer's Edition and I'm happy with it. 

 

MB piston fillers hold enough ink for me to write uninterrupted for 2 weeks - great for drafting novels. I completed 2 NaNoWrimo events with the MBs, writing 1,600 words per day without interruption or getting cramps. 

 

Neither of these pens leave the house - hardly anyone knows I own them. My (2nd hand) 146 makes the occasional foray out, but I've had more compliments from my Viconti Rembrant,which is bright red, than my rose gold 146. 

 

Yes, I love my MBs - yes, they cost a lot, but they all wrote out of the box. They're comfortable to use for days on end and I must admit I probably spoiled myself by buying them.

 

We're all human and yes - we are all vain. My friend likes cars. He's got a few of them. I don't own one. An oil change on his Mustang, which has to be done annually, cost more than my MB William Shakespeare. An expensive pen will cost you £1,000 and hopefully it will write for ten years + without any expensive maintenance. 

 

I suspect that my only S T Dupont pen is the best writer of them all as it is so finely balanced.

 

I want my pen to get out of the way and let me write without having to think about what it is doing. The MBs let me do that.

  

 

 

[jmccarty3]

9 minutes ago, sandy101 said:

We're all human and yes - we are all vain. My friend likes cars. He's got a few of them. I don't own one. An oil change on his Mustang, which has to be done annually, cost more than my MB William Shakespeare. An expensive pen will cost you £1,000 and hopefully it will write for ten years + without any expensive maintenance.

That's one of the nicest things about pens as compared to watches. No need to send a pen back to Switzerland every five years or so for maintenance. Don't get me wrong--I love my watches, but they are a couple of orders of magnitude more expensive to buy and maintain.

[sandy101]

 

18 hours ago, jmccarty3 said:

That's one of the nicest things about pens as compared to watches. No need to send a pen back to Switzerland every five years or so for maintenance. Don't get me wrong--I love my watches, but they are a couple of orders of magnitude more expensive to buy and maintain.

 

 

Yes. I bought one Swiss watch - a Tissot Le Locle and decided that one was enough. The watch has been used every day and I have got enough money aside to get it maintained/replaced when the time comes.

 

I used the wisdom of my grandparents - buy the best you can afford and use it as much as you can. 

 

I wish I had applied that logic to pens. I'd have two - one for black ink and one for blue. 

[Doug C]

18 hours ago, jmccarty3 said:

That's one of the nicest things about pens as compared to watches. No need to send a pen back to Switzerland every five years or so for maintenance. Don't get me wrong--I love my watches, but they are a couple of orders of magnitude more expensive to buy and maintain.

Agreed. I have several classic brands (JLC, Cartier,  GP, Rolex) but I also have several microbrands. Same thing with pens.  I have Danitrios as well as Safaris. 

[torstar]

On 9/29/2024 at 11:05 AM, JCC123 said:

As I posted in some other forum once when asked a similar question, "but, the righteous indignation of those around you while you use such an expensive pen is priceless!" 😉

 

one idiot in my life grabbed a leaky pen and held it at eye level and was being stupid with it

 

he came close to turning the piston filler and unleashing a stream of black ink onto his white dress shirt

 

i made a wish.. but then did the mature thing and asked him kindly to put it back and he did