Laura, I read such great interest your blog post about Montblanc. Like many “special” prizes, my first Montblanc, the first real pen in my collection was given to me by a very special person, who bought the pen at the Harvard Coop perhaps 45 years ago. I still write with my Diplomat most days as well as my 146, 145 and ballpoints. Like other precious things in my universe, I do not think the meticulous engineering but the beautify of the instrument and the beautify of giver and the time. Thank you for this. Beautiful and your love for the pen leaps from the words.

Fantastic article, Laura. I’ll never be able to afford a Montblanc, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading the history and the current state of Montblanc (the same way I enjoy reading about a Ferrari). I guess it’s likely true of all fountain pen enthusiasts that there is no such thing as too much information or too many good photos. As I was reading, I thought: Laura gets to constantly ogle and handle fountain pens, as well as constantly write with them and write about them … what a blessing! Thanks for all your good work!

An exceptionally thoughtful and informative article. Your review was quite meticulously done. As an owner of a few Montblanc writing instruments over the years, in my humble opinion, a Montblanc is the finest writing instrument one can own. Thank you for your outstanding article and review!

It’s interesting and very well written. I have a 149 with a 14k nib, purchased about 40 years ago and a 146 with a 18k nib. How times have changed.

I thought your article was very detailed and even though I’m a Montblanc fan and pen collector, I did learn a few things. One of the things that’s sad to see now is the fact that some of the fake Montblanc pens are getting to be really good at passing for real Montblanc pens. They are getting better at putting more of the markings or details into the pens to defraud buyers. Fortunately I have been able to purchase a few genuine Montblanc pens on eBay at very good prices, but I’ve also got a few that were fakes and had to return those and get a refund. I have also contacted Montblanc directly to provide them with the sellers information of these fake pens so that Montblanc could take action to get these sellers banned from selling on eBay.
The only thing I’d change in your article if I’m to mention it to you is what you wrote about the precious resin glowing red in the sunlight. Although you can see the red glow that way, there’s a better way to see it which I’m sure you know. It’s by shining a light down the barrel or the cap, which is a better way of seeing the reddish glow. This is my opinion but I really feel you can see that better if done that way.
Aside from my last comments regarding the precious resin, I really felt you did a great job with your review and felt you did a great job all around showing the differences in all the different Montblanc pen models. And even though I feel that shining a light down the barrel or cap of the pen shows the reddish glow better, I like that you covered that as one of the ways to tell if the pen is authentic.
Thanks for your review and I’m sure it’s been a helpful source of information to those just getting into purchasing their first Montblanc pen. Like I said, I’ve been collecting Montblanc pens for a little while now and I learned a few things from your article as well.
Tony Lutynski

I thought your article was very detailed and even though I’m a Montblanc fan and pen collector, I did learn a few things. One of the things that’s sad to see now is the fact that some of the fake Montblanc pens are getting to be really good at passing for real Montblanc pens. They are getting better at putting more of the markings or details into the pens to defraud buyers. Fortunately I have been able to purchase a few genuine Montblanc pens on eBay at very good prices, but I’ve also got a few that were fakes and had to return those and get a refund. I have also contacted Montblanc directly to provide them with the sellers information of these fake pens so that Montblanc could take action to get these sellers banned from selling on eBay.
The only thing I’d change in your article if I’m to mention it to you is what you wrote about the precious resin glowing red in the sunlight. Although you can see the red glow that way, there’s a better way to see it which I’m sure you know. It’s by shining a light down the barrel or the cap, which is a better way of seeing the reddish glow. This is my opinion but I really feel you can see that better if done that way.
Aside from my last comments regarding the precious resin, I really felt you did a great job with your review and felt you did a great job all around showing the differences in all the different Montblanc pen models. And even though I feel that shining a light down the barrel or cap of the pen shows the reddish glow better, I like that you covered that as one of the ways to tell if the pen is authentic.
Thanks for your review and I’m sure it’s been a helpful source of information to those just getting into purchasing their first Montblanc pen. Like I said, I’ve been collecting Montblanc pens for a little while now and I learned a few things from your article as well.
Tony Lutynski

Fabulous comparisons & observations. I just ordered a MB 145 (from Japan. Eveidently a discontinued burgundy OBB) and your report put all of my apprehensions to rest. Thank you.

Fantastic article, thank you.

I guess, if you live long enough, you will collect stuff – intentionally or unintentionally. That said, I prefer to be intentional. So yeah I am that guy who spends more time deciding which watch to wear when riding which motorcycle than the ride will probably take.

Now it’s writing instruments. A Pilot Metropolitan here, a Rotring there. A few years ago I would have considered a Mont
Blanc to be pretentious. Now thanks to your well written article I want one. You only live once.

Thank you for this article. My teenage son bought me a second hand montblanc pen when he got a job. I thought he’d been scammed as it came with no paperwork or box. I was sure it has no serial number until I showed it to someone with clearly better eyesight than me but I was still unconvinced as I believed it should be a screw on cap. Reading your article I realise it’s a 144, it has all the genuine features you describe and I’ve even found the cursive script under the clip. A really informative article. Many thanks.

Thank you for writing such an insightful article. I knew very little about Mont Blanc pens until I read this article. I have always loved fountain pens since my childhood days. The most precious one that I own and use now is the Pelikan Souveran. I have been thinking about upgrading to a Mont Blanc. This article definitely helped me make the right choice!

Thank you so much for an informative post. I was recently given a 146 from a beloved friend after her untimely death. The gift brought me to tears not because it was a Montblanc, but because it’s clear she loved it (and several other pens). The only ask was that I continue to use them and love them. Since she was a huge supporter of my writing endeavors, I will be using her 146 often in my rhetorical adventures. Thank you, Laura, and thank you to my beloved Kathy.

Thank you for your contribution… a newbie, yet in love with fountain pens as a young child, my father entrusted me to his Father’s fountain pen. I’m hungry to learn and these pens have me captivated. The history amazing.

This was so informative especially being a newbie. I purchased a vintage pen I believe a 145 model. I will take it to a Mont Blonc store this weekend to have them look and verify. I feel more comfortable and knowledgeable because of the information I received from you. I thought the pen was kinda small however it has a great feel. The nib is all gold in color as well as the section that unscrew. Looking forward tobseeing what is said once I take it to the store. Thanks again. I’m going to read this article again.

As an owner of some Montblancs I found the article a pleasure to read and very informative. I’ve even learned many things that I didn’t know about my pens.

Really interesting and informative post. It’s made my appreciation of this lovely instrument much greater. Thanks a lot from Edinburgh.

Back in 1998 a friend gave me a Montblanc clip top rollerball. I broke it when working on a mine site in Ghana. Devastated I vowed to replace that pen not with another roller ball but a fountain pen. Now I have 4. A Johannes Brahms, Carlo Collodi, one with a diamond in the cap and a rose gold 149. As well a 0.9 mm mechanical pencil. The pens all have a different nib and consequently a different use. The 149 has a fine nib and so I use it for signing engineering drawings. The Brahms and Collodi are for making notes. I love them all. Thanks for the background.

This is a great post, and I appreciate the research! It helped me to figure out that I have two 144 “Classique” pens. Both passed along when different friend’s found them among their grandparents’ things and knew I’d appreciate it.
Does the Montblanc converter work in the 144? I’ve used cartridges, but would rather have the converter.

I love the pens. Great German engineering. However, I have now been buying Italian pens, such as Leonardo and Armando Simonie which have celluloid bodies, piston fillers, 18K nibs and they are so beautiful. To be fair, I have sent a few pens (Armando Silvonie) to a place where they fine tune the nibs and flow mechanism. ($25 per pen.) Resin an a totally black pen loos great but check out celluloid.
Any chance you will do a blog on the question of whether we need to use MB ink in a MB pen, and whether I can use my MB ink in a non MB pen?
Again, I really enjoyed the post.

Laura,
Thank you for a well-written and informative article on Montblancs. Will you write about other makes of fountain pens?

HI Laura, Thank you for this deep dive into Montblanc. So very interesting.

Several decades ago, as a groomsman at my brother Richard’s marriage, he gifted me my Montblanc 144, according to your information. It is burgundy trimmed with gold vs exclusively black specimens you picture. It is a delightful writer, with elegant appearance. Dwelling in San Luis Obispo, California wine realm, it is inked akin to Zinfindel. My hands require size nine gloves, so this pen serves to write about half an hour, otherwise something bigger is more comfortable. Thank you for a very informative report.

Congratulations on such a well written and researched article about such a desired writing instrument. You are 100% correct that the two companies that have done a brilliant job on their marketing of their “luxury” goods are Rolex when it comes to watches; and MB, when it comes to writing instruments! However, if you ask any true watch collector/ watchmaker, they will tell you that a Rolex is not the best, i.e. in terms of horology.
Instead, brands like Patek, AP are much more storied , but don’t nearly do the great job of marketing that Rolex does. ( I am not “hating on” Rolex. I have their watches and know that I won’t lose money in resale!
Unfortunately, with fame comes a sense of “letting your guards down” and quality suffers as you begin to slap your five pointed star /MB “snow cap” on EVERYTHING!! Belts, wallets, bags, colognes, etc! MB started as a true “fountain pen” company! However, since being purchased by Richemont, they have lost their way!
I purchased two 146 MB, 18knib, fountain pens; within 6 months apart. One in rose gold, the other in sterling silver. Both of the pens were sent to the manufacturer for nib repair/ replacement for skipping, baby’s bottom and non starts, following their purchase. Each pen was $1,800. How both pens could have had such poor quality control is beyond my comprehension!
Meanwhile, I bought a $150 Penlux, La Grand , and not a single issue. Since then, I have purchased 8 more, in different colors! The MB fountain pen experience was a bust for me! While I do have their roller balls in different styles, I also know that being more expensive is not always better! For the total MB cash outlay/ investment I made, i could have had many of the other excellent brands, Pelican, etc. (Don’t get me started on paying $18. for two pen refills either! I guess the logic goes, if you are willing to pay $800.+ for a roller ball, with the limited editions/ special editions being $2,000+, paying $18.00 for refill is a non-issue?)
Sometimes, you may falsely believe that you cant be happy with a "lesser’ brand! I thought I “needed” the MB fountain pen to have a great writing pen; in reality, I only needed a great out of the box, steel nib, $150. pen.
In the end, the desire to be part of some elite/ exclusive luxury brand makes us feel more special! While quality does have a “cost” i.e. better material etc. you end up paying for the marketing rather than the cost for the material.
I will leave you with this last point. Louis Vuitton started their company as trunk makers for ocean travel aboard great ships! The majority of the ladies hand bags are now made from “canvas”, i.e. PVC rubber! NOT supple lamb skin leather! When a consumer is paying $2,000+ for a hand bag, they are paying for $50. worth of PVC rubber. The “value” is in the name LV and the exclusiveness of being able to pay for/ afford the item! Meanwhile, a coach bag is made from actual leather and has a great brand history/ legacy at a fraction of the cost. Coach was and continues to be a bag maker!
Once you realize what true value is and what you are paying for, then you can actually get a lot more value, without having paid a significant amount to a have it. =)

Caveat Emptor. I purchased the Rudyard Kipling writers series from Pen Boutique in 2019 ( it is built on a 146 frame) and it is all you say it is. Unique, beautiful, and writes wonderfully. You have somewhat restored restored my faith in Montblanc. Thank you. In 1982, although writing very nicely with another well respected brand I had my heart set on a Montblanc, but $ was an issue until I found one on sale. Very shortly thereafter while showing it off at the hospital where I worked I bent over and it fell about 2 feet from my shirt pocket onto a marble floor and shattered into hundreds of shards. No possible fix or refund. I’m sure this was not “high quality resin”. Was it a “knock off”? I’ll never know because I didn"t realize there were such things and did no checking. Caveat #2; 38 years later as I now have more $ than years left in life I decided to show off a bit and bought 6 Montblancs ( one for my wife) over the past 4 years. A writers series model’s (for >$1000 and not purchased at Pen Boutique) piston broke the first time i used it. $350.00 to fix it. Not broken when received so not under warranty. Your warranty ends as soon as you open the box. Read the warranty carefully. Everything you described about Monntblanc is true aesthetically. I actually love the ones I have, including my 149. But they do not travel away from my desk (sitting on a carpet) and they do not get much use for fear of breakage. They do write very nicely, but no better than any of several other brands I have in the same price range. I would be interested in knowing if Pen Boutique has had any experiences with breakage of Montblancs or am I the Black Swan.

Laura, my Montblanc is a 147 Traveller, which you might look into. It carries two cartridges in a specially designed metal frame, one in use and one as the spare. I do not believe it is made anymore, but it is a nice option, roughly the size of a 146, but I believe just a tad larger. Smaller than a 149. Very smooth writer. The only downside to a Montblanc to me is my sensitivity to “putting on airs”, or appearing to hold myself out as ‘better’ than the next person. Hence I rarely take it out in public, since people may make the wrong assumption, that I am a status seeker. :-)

Enjoy your blogs! I’ve always loved fountain pens and at one point had a Montblanc then somehow over the years it disappeared. Needless to say I’m still crushed by that but reading your blog was both insightful and left me yearning for a new one.

I feel that I have made an expensive investment with the right provider. Thanks for even more information at this point in my buying experience. I have written with a variety of other fountain pens for decades, and have even purchased a few “knock-offs” in Asia, all proving themselves to be inferior. I have used other Montblanc fountain pens, but for the most important job in my writing career ahead of me, it’s time to go with the best. Thanks for validating my confidence and trust that I would get an authentic fountain pen of exceptional quality, from people who “geek out” on these kinds of things—like I do. I will write back in a few months with my impressions, which I sure will be thankful for this choice. Sincerely, Rick

Hi, I enjoyed your blog – I’ve had a Solitaire for two years now and am still learning about the brand. It helps me to appreciate what I have!

Very well done. History, utility and promotion all successfully rolled into one.

I have several Montblanc pens – a couple of ball points, a beautiful Meisterstück platinum banded roller ball that I bought from y’all last year, but most important is the big fella. That is the 149 I inherited from my late father whose centennial birthday was this past April. My mother bought the beast for my Pop as an anniversary present in the early 1960s and had his initials engraved on it.

That pen is truly impressive and writes most fluidly; an amazing testament to engineering, fit and finish. I am sixty-six years of age (and, by the way, for whatever it’s worth, while I have lived in the Atlanta metro area for many decades, I was born and raised in Bethesda, quite near your shop) and Pop’s pen is barely ten years younger than I, but it writes and feels like it was manufactured yesterday.

And, yes, there is a “But” coming here: I was very interested to read your commentary about showing customers more-than-worthy alternatives but so many reflexively opting for the Montblanc because of the brand power. I mention this because while I love my Pop’s big fella and the other Montblanc items I own, my real favorite fountain pen brand is the mighty Pelikan. Their offerings just suit my hand and style better than any other I’ve used.

So, this would only underscore the importance of having options – competition! There are many different avenues of expression available and the trick is to find the one that best suits your needs.

I have been using a 149 for more than 40 years, yet I still learned a few things about Montblanc from your carefully written blog, as always. Keep up the good work.

Excelent reading material. My MB 149 with the correspondent ball point was the graduation gift from school of law back in 1983. Still have as the crown jewel of my colection.

Thanks for posting this description of MB pens. I have had one for many years and I was never sure about the model number. Based on what you posted, I have the now no longer made Model 144, and it has PIX in cursive under the clip for authenticity. It also has a serial number which is MX 1249742. The specifics are exactly as you describe.
Regards,
Peter

Is it possible to retrofit a smaller nib to a 146? I have a 35 year old 146 with a
“narrow” nib and its like writing with a paint brush.

Absolutely splendid information on Montblanc fountain pens. And I love it. Thank you very much!

Thank you, Lena, for this article! You answered my questions about the different models, and your added impressions were very helpful. I’m intrigued by the brand. I’ve not yet made the plunge, but I’m saving up & looking forward to my ‘Montblanc Day’!

A great article! I learned many new things about my 149 that I never knew. In fact, it made me fall in love with the pen all over again. Since mine is older, it made me wonder about what appears on these older nibs. Mine has both 585 (now I know what that means) and 14C, which I am deducing means the same thing. Thanks again for the wonderful article.

Really appreciate this article. I recently bought an MB Writer’s Edition used. I cherish it but it was a high price. This article made feel better about that however knowing if I care for it well, it will appreciate in value! Can’t say that for all fountain pens! Nice details in this article that are very helpful to buyers.

Prices?

Thank you so much for this detailed and really informative essay. I have a (somewhat) vintage 144 although my dimensions don’t exactly match what you have in your chart. It’s a great writer. The size is a bit small, but the nice thing is that I have matching sized ballpoint, roller ball and pencil.
At some point I would love to have a special edition 146 as that would be a better size for me.
Again, thanks for the research.

This is just a wonderful description of the brand, the models and all the reasons one spends their hard earned dollars on fountain pens. Especially one from Montblanc. I have to say, although I purchased a vintage model, you can still send to the company for repair for a relatively modest fee decades later. What customer service. And who doesn’t love the iconic white logo/brand mark?

I want to thank you for this interesting and informative piece. You make things so understandable for neophytes like me. You anticipated and answered one of my burning questions; that is, if I buy one, what am I paying for? Now I truly feel like I know. And with the weight specs. and photos, I think holding them in my hand is all I would need to do (because I’m a dart thrower and know my preferred weight). And information like what a piston filler is, the fact that they have iridium tips and how that metal cooperates with the gold to produce the feel and durability. Yeah, just tons of stuff. When my older brother left Ritz-Carlton for Fairmont Hotels, years ago, he gifted me his S.T. Dupont rollerball and bought himself a Montblanc. I wanted many times to try it, but you wouldn’t play someone’s Martin 12-string without permission, would you? I finally asked and tried it once. I don’t know the model, but the feel was distinctive. I still like my Dupont but, maybe, someday. Thanks so much for helping me learn. It’s cool that they had a “Chopin” model because everything he wrote included the piano. Master something and remain dedicated to it.