Montblanc As a Status Symbol

October 4

*I do have a couple of Montblancs myself

October 8

On 9/12/2024 at 10:59 PM, Peony Blush said:

Back in the '90s, I owned a Montblanc because, well, it was a Montblanc. We were still coming out of the conspicuous consumption of the '80s, so it was viewed as a status symbol. Unfortunately, the pen was stolen about a year after I got it. If it hadn't, I would still have it today.

They are good pens - I realize that, but do any of you avoid buying one because they're so recognizable? (Aside from the fact that most of us don't have $700 - $2,400 disposable income lying around.) I'm not trying to start any pen bashing, I'm just genuinely curious. As an aside, I do not own a Montblanc anymore and likely will not again.

Thanks in advance for your input!

I’m the original poster of this thread. I have to say, you all convinced me to give Montblancs another try. I received a “We found it in grandpa’s desk after he passed - he got it as a gift but never used it” version, circa 1990-1997ish in the mail today, and I’m over the moon with it! I’m still in the process of soaking the dried ink off and flushing the reservoir, but I did a dip test, and it writes like a dream.

Story time for those that are interested:

I was married from 1991 to 1997. Early in my marriage, I mentioned that I wanted a Montblanc fountain pen. Lo and behold, my next birthday I unwrapped a Montblanc box aaaaaand… it was a rollerball. My ex didn’t misunderstand what I asked for; he said he purchased the rollerball because he thought it was more practical. I thanked him and tried not to show my disappointment. Speaking to a group of fountain pen lovers, I’m sure you can empathize with how much I was disappointed. Not that I wasn’t appreciative of the gift, but it was a letdown. So it seems fitting that my first Montblanc fountain pen is (unintentionally) from that era.

Thank you all for sharing your stories and opinions. You changed my mind. 😊

October 8

My husband has flat out said he won't buy me any fountain pen for fear that he'll buy something I don't like/want. He does sort of freak out sometimes at the prices I've paid for a few of the *really* expensive ones (like the two Pelikan M405s -- even though I saved money on both of them by getting them on eBay from Rolf Thiel at Missing Pens) -- but knows that I'm often just as happy with a vintage pen that I've found at some estate sale for super cheap if it's something I really want (like the Parker 51 Vac and Parker 45 I found last weekend along with the box for the 45 and two spare press bar converters -- in addition to the one installed in the 45). Five bucks for everything and I let the estate sale people do what they wanted with the little silver color Cross(?) ballpoint because I didn't want that even though it was technically included (I didn't want it -- as much as anything because I wasn't sure whether I could find replacement fills that size easily). And I do discuss the more expensive purchases with him first.

Now if he could JUST figure out what he's done with the blue Safari he wanted me to buy him a year or so ago, so I can have my blue Snorkel with the EF nib back.... :wallbash:

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

October 8

12 hours ago, inkstainedruth said:

My husband has flat out said he won't buy me any fountain pen for fear that he'll buy something I don't like/want. He does sort of freak out sometimes at the prices I've paid for a few of the *really* expensive ones (like the two Pelikan M405s -- even though I saved money on both of them by getting them on eBay from Rolf Thiel at Missing Pens) -- but knows that I'm often just as happy with a vintage pen that I've found at some estate sale for super cheap if it's something I really want (like the Parker 51 Vac and Parker 45 I found last weekend along with the box for the 45 and two spare press bar converters -- in addition to the one installed in the 45). Five bucks for everything and I let the estate sale people do what they wanted with the little silver color Cross(?) ballpoint because I didn't want that even though it was technically included (I didn't want it -- as much as anything because I wasn't sure whether I could find replacement fills that size easily). And I do discuss the more expensive purchases with him first.

Now if he could JUST figure out what he's done with the blue Safari he wanted me to buy him a year or so ago, so I can have my blue Snorkel with the EF nib back....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Sometimes a kind-hearted person thought of getting a fountain pen for the boss that collected them.

They came to me for advice and I told them what something un-insulting would cost; often their budget was a mere fraction of a decent pen purchase.

It is a gracious world, many other things to buy as a gift.

The best way to buy good FPs as gifts is 10 MB LEs at a time off your December bonus, a much appreciated gesture and a thank you for the 6-figure.... as if that has happened since 1993..