Buying a Montblanc fountain pen should be one of the happiest days of your life. You are choosing a partner for life. Our hopes and expectations for quality, materials and finishes are high. Along with brands like Rolex and Rolls Royce, the brand holds a special place in our psyche. Those who own one speak highly of it, and few hear ” Aaargh, my Montblanc has let me down again”.
If you’re planning on buying one, my advice is to start checking out the official Montblanc website. Here, for the Meisterstuck (Masterpiece) range, you can view the entire current range along with its specifications and prices. Broadly speaking, there are three main sizes, 145 Montblanc Meisterstück Gold-Coated Classique Ballpoint Pen (Classic), 146 (Le Grande), and 149 (seemingly called only 149), plus the extra small Mozart size. Filtering down to show just the fountain pens, there are still 31 models to choose from, and that’s just the Meisterstuck series. You can then think calmly at your leisure and then best fit your preferences and budget before hitting the shops.
I was fascinated by a Montblanc 145 (Grand Classics) coated in platinum that she showed me. It is slightly thinner than the 146 and has a smaller nib. And it’s a cartridge conversion pen, not a piston filler. The platinum-plated fittings look very smart compared to the black resin.
Take the pen, the body is not too slim for me. Uncapped, at about 122mm, is a bit short for me to use the unposted ad, but that’s not a problem because it’s posted beautifully, reaching about 153mm, making the device very comfortable and balanced. Overall, it weighs 21.7 grams. I mostly post pens and hold the nib away from the nib.
As morbidly prepared as I was, I at least had a magnifying glass for me and looked closely at the tip of the pen. That’s what brought me the help. I see a perfectly formed 14k beautifully polished gold nib, two-tone rhodium plated, with just a hint of daylight between the nibs as the gap from the vent to the nib narrows. The tipping material is art. Completely symmetrical, cut the top of the tip into a circle, and cut and flatten the sides to blend perfectly into the cusp. The pointed teeth are, of course, perfectly aligned. It’s a joy to see, and all indications are that it will be written very smoothly and effortlessly. The tip of the pen is medium.
The pen comes in a simple black hinged gift box, but not too big. It is protected by a white cardboard outer box with a self-adhesive label for identifying the model number, nib grade and serial number. There is a service guide that looks like a mini-checkbook, which also contains a guarantee.
The pen is made of precious resin. It appears to be black, although in direct light you may see it as a translucent dark red. The lid rotates about a full circle. The replica mont blanc pen grip section tapers slightly towards the nib and ends with a raised lip of black material, and there are no metal “rust rings” that reflect on the paper when writing in the sun. The pocket clip and three barrel rings are platinum plated. The inscription on the cover ring reads Montblanc Big Ben. A nice touch is that there is metal wire inside the barrel of the gun.
Each pen has its own serial number around the pocket clip ring. You may not notice that the bottom of the clip reads “Made in Germany. Metal”.