There used to be times - dark times - I may add, where PuristSPro did not yet exist. And where Montblanc was a manufacturer of fine writing utensils and leather goods but little else. Neither of the two states of affairs exist anymore, otherwise this post would not be possible. And while the majorit
There used to be times - dark times - I may add, where PuristSPro did not yet exist. And where Montblanc was a manufacturer of fine writing utensils and leather goods but little else. Neither of the two states of affairs exist anymore, otherwise this post would not be possible. And while the majority of writing these days happens with the help of a keyboard or touchscreen, the love of fine writing instruments seems to be just as strongly embedded in humankind as that of mechanical watches.
And in spite of Monblanc's watch journey only commencing in 1997, it has had a profound influence on the watch landscape long before the first watch graced with the six sided glacier entered ADs / boutiques. It was back in the dark days of the early 1980s, when mechanical watchmaking seemed consigned to the dustbin of history, when a young man with a vision demonstrated to Credit Suisse bankers that they, as well as him still wrote with fine Montblanc pens, in spite of much cheaper, mass produced alternatives being available. He got his money, Blancpain could employ the first 20 or so watchmakers, the rest - as they say - is history
Now to my personal part in all this. Writing - being left handed - has never been my strong suit. My penmanship has often been compared to various things but few of these were to be seen as complimentary, even by a kind observer. Hence the joy, when a keyboard started serving as the main instrument for recording my thoughts. Which it has largely remained - possibly for most of us (whether a physical one, or a virtual one on a touch-screen).
Still, there are times, where writing by hand - and not only signing contracts or invoices - retains its place. And writing Christmas cards over the past days for me remains one of these times. I find it horrible to receive anonymous, printed Xmas cards, where the sender at best signs their name by hand (or at worst has that printed, too). And adhering to the 'do unto others...' principle, I have written a very, very large number of them lately - these probably representing 80% of my annual manual writing output.
Which brings me to the writing instrument of choice - the Montblanc M. A rather fresh and untypical design by Marc Newson, who is better known for his past successes with various things 'fruit' and Athmos related. As my penmanship has still not reached any more sophistication, I went for a rollerball instead of a classical pen but many of the elements are comparable.
The cap uses a magnet to click shut and there is only one way around it will do so (as magnets are fond to do) - namely exactly pointing in the same direction as the MB logo on the other side of the pen. A very neat touch. The top of the cap has the six sided glacier, as common on MB pens, too. Apart from that the end of the pen is flattened, which means that you cannot attach the cap to it when writing, which is not an issue for me but may be for some.
As for writing, I can tell you that it went much smoother than with regular pens I use otherwise - even after 50-60 cards, I still did not get an indentation on my middle finger and the ink dries in an instant, so smearing - a potential issue for left handed people - is not possible, irrespective of how fast you write. The result looks lovely; perhaps not with the unique character of a conventional pen but as close to it as possible, with none of the hassle.
Given the positive experience, there may be more than just Xmas cards written in the future. As I have seen several posted here in the past, care to share your favourite pens?
