Montblanc — The Symbol of Beautiful Penmanship

Peering closely through a jeweler’s loupe, Olga inspects the finished nib she’s holding in her hand. She turns it slowly to the right, then to the left and back again. Suddenly she produces a small pair of pliers and gently tweaks the nib. After three slight adjustments and more close scrutiny, Olga makes a last refinement to the nib. This time with her fingers. Then the young woman nods to herself and wordlessly places the nib into a small box that contains another 99 nibs, neatly standing at attention.

These characteristics have lent Montblanc pens their legendary status. The Meisterstück model, launched in 1924, is considered by many to be the gold standard of writing instruments. The black, slightly rounded fountain pen with its hand-engraved golden nib has a global following. Even Jérôme Lambert, chairman of the board since the summer of 2013, is surprised by the brand’s international name recognition. “Wherever I travel, everybody knows Montblanc. That never happened at my former employers.”

Previously Lambert worked for luxury watchmakers Jaeger-LeCoultre, which like Montblanc is a part of Richemont, the billion-dollar luxury brand consortium.

Originally from the French Jura, the black-haired Frenchman is known in the trade as a watch specialist. He is also considered the man to dust off traditional companies and boost sales figures. His core task at Montblanc is to stimulate the luxury watch division located in Switzerland. Even so, the father of two children deliberately chose to relocate to Hamburg. There, where Montblanc started its business in 1906 and where its headquarters are still situated today – at the site of its core business: the production of writing instruments.

“It was the Americans who invented the fountain pen, but their invention was useless; the pens simply didn’t work. Montblanc, operating under the name of Simplo GmbH, succeeded in making the fountain pen a user-friendly product — in accordance with their slogan: ‘Simple of Use.’ That’s how it all started. Today, nearly 100 years later, these fountain pens have become the symbol of beautiful penmanship.” Jérôme Lambert proudly looks at the Montblanc in his hands, absentmindedly twisting the cap bearing the iconic white star.

Why company founders Alfred Nehemias and August Eberstein changed the company’s name to that of the highest mountain in Europe has never been explained. Several anecdotes exist, most of them involving a lively card game. One thing is certain, however: The white, star-shaped emblem was inspired by Mont Blanc’s six snow-covered peaks. And the figure 4810, carved on the nib of each Meisterstück since 1929, refers to the altitude of the mountain.

The nibs are produced in a single, light-flooded space on the first floor of the headquarters in Hamburg’s Bahrenfeld district. All is quiet in the production facility – and sparkling clean.

The floor is covered with parquet because the wood absorbs the valuable gold dust sent whirling through the air during polishing. Every few years, the parquet is sanded down to reclaim the gold that has stuck to it. Gold, along with the other platinum metals, are the only resources that are bought externally. All the machines used in the production hall are in-house developments; as such, the company achieves a 90% production depth that includes employee know-how. Because most of the manufacturing steps continue to be pure artisanship, Montblanc trains its own employees. Even when it comes to precision, more faith is placed in the visual judgment of the staff than in the measuring equipment.

Loupes are therefore the most important accessory in producing the nibs, and they travel along from one workstation to the next.

Most of the employees have been working here for decades and know exactly what it takes to roll out the gold to the right thickness, then cut and stamp it. Soldering the point on the end of the nib requires such precision it takes about six months to learn. The point, an iridium bead, has to be placed exactly at the center of the nib. Then, using a diamond-cutting disc, the nib is slit open from the iridium bead to the “heart.” Employees who perform this operation call themselves “soul makers” because, after a brief flicker of light, the soul enters the nib and the ink can start to flow. Montblanc nibs come with a lifelong guarantee.

The range of tolerance is practically nil, with hardly any waste – or none at all. Every single work step is monitored before proceeding with the next one. The final inspection takes place in a soundproof room where transparent ink is used to test the finished nibs for scratching noises and perfect ink flow. The testers can tell just by listening and feeling how a nib glides over a piece of paper whether it fulfills the high standards or whether it needs to be sent back for repolishing. But how can such an effort be justified in this digital day and age? Hardly anybody writes with fountain pens anymore. Jérôme Lambert grins; he’s obviously prepared for this kind of question.

Writing with a fountain pen has become an extremely personal decision. It’s mainly about enjoyment and the physical sensation of effortless penmanship on paper. A delight more people indulge in than most of us would think. Despite rising demand for watches, leather products, and perfumes, roughly 45% of Montblanc’s total turnover is still generated by its writing instruments, though Montblanc pens are anything but cheap. The starting price for a Meisterstück Red Gold Classic is 470 euros. Serial models can cost up to 7,600 euros and custom-made pieces reach 250,000 euros and above.

Business is booming and the chairman could be excused if he simply directed his attention to the watch division, but that’s not Lambert’s modus operandi. In fact, he has a lot of ideas for the traditional fountain pen business. “In our house, it’s not just our policy to hand down tradition, but also to enhance it with a new dimension. Breaks in tradition must be permitted in order to drive forward innovation and creation. A product should be allowed to re-invent itself occasionally.” A man of his word, it was only a short while after the new chief executive came on board that he hired Australian star designer Marc Newson to design a new fountain pen.

“M,” the new edition’s short, concise name, was released in September 2015 and has been lauded by the press as “the perfect balance between function and form.” The innovative cap that uses an invisible magnet to automatically align with the Montblanc emblem has received especially high praise. And taking into account modern demands and customer wishes, Montblanc has released the black M not just as a traditional fountain pen, but also as a rollerball, ballpoint, screenwriter, and even an ultra-thin fineliner aimed at winning over graphic artists, architects, and engineers.

The collaboration with designer Marc Newson is a unique undertaking at Montblanc. And that’s how things will remain for the time being. “We’re not planning on hiring a new designer every year,” says the chairman. “Our customers expect us to create new emotions and go with the times, while still remaining true to the philosophy and the core values of the house. We must continue along Montblanc’s quintessential clear lines without losing sight of the brand’s heritage. Next year, after all, we are celebrating our 110th anniversary.”

Dozens of black-and-white portraits of famous customers hang on the walls of the headquarters’ conference room. Whether it’s the Dalai Lama, Winston Churchill, Hillary Clinton, or Peter Ustinov, each holds a Meisterstück or another prestigious model displaying the white star.

“My favorite anecdote is the one with John F. Kennedy and Konrad Adenauer,” Lambert tells us so enthusiastically that he almost trips over his words. A few months before his assassination, the American president visited the city of Cologne and signed his name in the city’s Golden Book. When Adenauer, then German Chancellor, wanted to sign as well, he realized he’d forgotten his pen. “Here, use mine,” Kennedy reportedly said to Adenauer and handed him his Meisterstück. Lambert’s blue eyes sparkle: “On the photograph, it looks as if Adenauer is handing his fountain pen to Kennedy. But actually it’s the other way round!

The conqueror gives the conquered an object that reflects the values and know-how of the defeated country. This gesture symbolizes respect for the cultural heritage of Germany as well as the nation’s return to independence. This picture is emblematic of world politics in those days.”

Stories like this are the stuff of legends and attract collectors. And Montblanc has many collectors. “Thirty percent of our business comes from collectors,” Lambert tells us. He personally owns 30 fountain pens and can wax lyrical about the colors of ink. Collectors who order nibs custom-made to their personal handwriting style or who even make requests for the ornate and outrageously expensive objets d’art from the in-house Artisan Atelier not only fill the company’s coffers, they also open doors to new markets. Ambassador-like, these customers bring the precious fountain pens home from their trips and coincidentally advertise the brand. This is how Montblanc took hold in countries like Brazil and even Bolivia. “Clients like this constitute less than 0.1% of the population, but they love the elegant penmanship and appreciate the excellence of our products.”

Many owners of a Montblanc fountain pen associate the brand with a key experience. The chairman, too, has his own, personal Montblanc story to relate. His first encounter was at the age of ten, when he and a friend sneaked into the office of the boy’s father. On the desk lay a fountain pen. His friend cautioned: “That’s my father’s Montblanc! Whatever you do, don’t touch it!” Jérôme Lambert: “The name sent a wave of emotion through me. I knew about the mountain and I knew about Mont Blanc chocolate cream in a can. But that a fountain pen could have a name like that, too, was news to me. It really impressed me, and I’ve never forgotten.”