Montblanc Generation (Platinum)

[ZeissIkon]

First Impressions (7/10)

Nice looking pen, but nothing really stands out compared to, say, my Sheaffer Imperial VIII or even Osmiroid 75. On the large side, but not too thick for comfort, and balances well unposted. Writes very broad and wet for a Medium.

 

Appearance (7/10)

Black with silver-tone (platinum plated, it says here) furniture and nib, jewels on both ends that appear to be the same material as the barrel and cap. Fairly plain, which is okay with me.

 

Design/Size/Weight (8/10)

The overall design is fine -- the barrel has a little more taper than I prefer, but not enough to be obnoxious; the cap seats snugly without a loud “clack” or undue effort, and posts securely if someone wants to do that. The pen is on the large side, as noted above, but not huge; it’s comfortable for my hand and quite light for its size.

 

Nib (8/10)

Platinum plated 14k nib, M stroke (writes very broad and wet for that stroke, though the wetness may be more about the White Forest cartridge I loaded or detergent left from factory cleaning or a prior test and flush). Smooth, but not exceptionally so; no better writer than my numberless Hero with a similar appearing, but unplated nib, nor my Huashilai 2375 (the latter of which was $8 new from a U.S. seller).

 

Filling System (6/10)

Ordinary C/C system, piston converter screws in for security, has a “smoked” converter barrel, which isn’t dark enough to interfere with seeing ink levels. I haven’t tried the converter yet, selecting a cartridge for first ink. The pen does handily accept two cartridges back to back, a nice way to carry a spare, but I prefer bottle filling in general and picked the cartridge because it was a color I haven’t seen.

 

Cost and Value (3/10)

I received the pen as a gift, but the retail price when these were last offered (it’s a recently discontinued model) was apparently between $300 and $400, which in my opinion is five times a reasonable level for a quality C/C, resin body pen. The extra cost, of course, pays for the Montblanc warranty service -- but that service may not be available to someone who received the pen as a gift without receipt and possibly years after initial purchase. Hopefully, I won’t have reason to find out, since out of warranty repair for Montblanc tends to run high.

 

Conclusion (39/60)

I won’t quibble; this is a nice pen, but it’s nothing like as nice as the price tag on even this low-end Montblanc might lead one to expect. I have several Chinese pens that write about as well and look almost as good, and overall I still prefer my Sheaffer Imperial VIII (which cost under $15 new in the 1970s, equivalent to $85 or so after adjusting for thirty years of inflation -- I paid $60 with a reground fine stub) -- the nib is just as nice, the pen looks just as good, and the Touchdown filler really trumps things for me.

[breaker]

pics?

[sirtoti]

Well, I don't know about the regular retail price, but I got mine some years ago from a stock clearance for 80 euros. And I think it's simple and quite elegant. Feels good in hand, the stroke has quite some character, it's very smooth and has a good balance on wetness.

Personally, I also think that sometimes you can find cheap pens that are better than the more expensive ones, but I had 2 heros and 1 Jinhao, all "recommended", and they were just fine, but not as good as I expected them to be (and even though both Hero's were the same model and bought together, they were completely different -"dryness" more than wetness, scratchy, ...-; I could almost say I had bought 2 different pens).

I also happen to like C/C's (if the converter provides ink enough xD).

I agree with you, though, that I wouldn't have paid the amount you say it was worth while being produced. But I'm more than happy with mine.