The first Montblanc pen turns 90 this month

The preferred pen of President Obama, Pope Benedict and the Dalai Llama has this month turned 90 years of age.

Although pens get something of a silent press in the age of mobile phones, laptops, iPads and Google Glasses, Montblanc has made an astonishing claim; that with every iPhone that is sold in the stores, the Montblanc pen rises in value.

“It’s a strange thing, but maybe not too hard to understand,” said Christian Rauch, Montblanc International managing director for writing culture, leather and jewellery, at the Montblanc headquarters in Hamburg.

The company stresses that the age of the pen is far from over, as the more that people use text, email and Twitter, the more people feel the need to communicate personally with the written hand for special occasions.

Rauch said:

“More and more people are discovering that. It’s not a mass phenomenon, and we are not a mass manufacturer.”

Indeed, Montblanc is one of the most well regarded pen manufacturers in the world, rising above all others since the company designed and created its first pen in 1924.

It is clear, like many things in the world of Montblanc, that Rauch himself has a very personal affection with the company that he now works for, having been gifted a Montblanc pen upon his graduation 20 years ago.

“It’s worth more than ever before. Whenever I do something important in my life, like the first letter to my wife, I wrote with that.

“Every important document that I have to sign—and believe me, I have so many fountain pens now after all these years, from which I can pick—but for the important things, I always pick this one. It had increased in emotional and economic value.”

The history of Montblanc is also quite remarkable, having been founded in 1906, the manufacturer has gone from strength to strength, priding itself on a number of values including quality, customer service, the ability to provide bespoke goods.

Rauch says that although Montblanc didn’t create the fountain pen, “we created a fountain pen that our founding fathers said had the quality level that can be compared with the highest craftsmanship standards in Europe, the highest mountain [Mont Blanc].”
The current face of Montblanc is Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman, who advertises a range of the manufacturers products, including both pens and watches.