Thanks to everyone that already helped me out. I'm looking to get my wife a montblanc for a present and know very little about them. She has small hands and fingers so I'm guessing she'd benefit from a small pen. Is the 145 and 163 #s below the pen size? does it represent an acutal unit? the 163 being larger than the the 145. Are rollerballs usually thiscker than fountain pens? I was hoping to get her a rollerball. And finally are those prices good? Do they actually sell for the MSRP at the montblanc stores?


Classique series:

Black with Platinum Accents Chopin Fountain Pen #P145/2859 MSRP: $410 Our Price: $328
Black with Platinum Accents Roller Ball #P163/2865 MSRP: $300 Our Price: $240

no one?

As far as I know, the Mont Blanc stores sell at list price. Other people may be more help with purchasing hints; I haven't bought a MB new since 1979.

The 145 (fountain pen) and 163 (rollerball) appear to be the same size. You might want to make sure that you can return a pen if it's the wrong type of writing instrument for your wife. The 3-digit model numbers are somewhat related to MB's old model numbering system:

First digit: product line in descending order of quality (1, 2, or 3)
Second digit: model number within the line
Third digit: size of the pen (originally, size of the nib)

With this system, the 149 uses 1 for Meisterstuck line, 4 for fountain pen, 9 for the largest size. The 146 is the same pen in a slightly smaller size. The flat-top models they replaced were the 139 and 136. If you spend a while exploring the vintage pens at http://www.maxpen.de you'll be able to get a feel for the model numbers. The system has changed over time, and doesn't always make sense; for example, model numbers starting with 7 were the all-metal pens for a while. For the current pens, the second digit is a 4 for fountain pens and a 6 for rollerballs, ballpoints and pencils.

The best and quickest way to get a price is to submit a price request on one of the pen sites (stylofinepens, joonpens.com, fahrneyspens.com, etc). Usually on the product page for montblanc you're interested in, there will be a button called "request price" or something similiar.
Most of these sites send an email instantly with the MSRP price and their selling price.