Montblanc 146 Solitaire Hematite Review

[jamesgibby]

Design and Build

 

At first glance you cannot fully appreciate this pen. The reason for this being that in bright light the hematite and polished stainless steel just seem to blend into one. I find that the hematite gives this pen a subtle elegance that is quite welcome. I also own a gold and black (reviewed here) and when compared to this very obvious and bold pen, the hematites design is based on blending the two materials and not contrasting them as we can see with the gold and black.

 

The pen is a standard 146 with a stainless steel barrel with a steel piston mechanism (as opposed to brass. The nib is a standard 146 two tone nib and has a precious resin grip section and 'panelled' ink view window (like 149's). Where this pen stands out is obviously with its hematite cap. At first glance you could be fooled for thinking its all one solid colour but on closer inspection you can see the 'organic' property of the stone. The hematite is covered in small darker dots which in strong light sparkle somewhat. In fact if you rotate the cap slowly under direct light such as a lightbulb it almost looks as if there are small bits of glitter in there!

 

The cap is topped with the usual black resin snow cap and the typical meisterstuck clip

 

This pen writes VERY well, it has a stubbed medium nib and i find it is the perfect width for me. I normally like standard F nibs as my writing is quite small. I find the my Copernicus with its M nib is a tad bit too thick but this stubbed M nib is just write.

 

Value

 

I did not actually purchase this pen. As with my Copernicus this pen was one of several pens i traded for a website. However even at full retail price (if they were still produced) i would be more than satisfied that i was getting great value for money

 

This pen gets a great 9/10 for value

 

Summary

 

I cant find anything bad to say about this pen, perhaps the hematite could be a bit darker in order to add a little bit more contrast under stornger light. Some may find that the pen seems to 'blend' in too much and wont make a statement when compared to other solitaires but for me this makes this pen is just great. Its not a normal Solitaire either and if you are looking for a solitaire that is different and NOT GOLD then this pen is made for you. The only bad news is that they dont make them anymore!

[Pfhorrest]

I wonder how they fashion the cap out of that stuff.. A most beautiful pen! I envy you

[jamesgibby]

I wonder how they fashion the cap out of that stuff.. A most beautiful pen! I envy you

On a lathe i suppose? drill it through and then use the lathe to shape it?

 

I was really lucky Bryant had this pen and that i am creating this new site for him so i snapped this one up as part of the trade we had agreed on. It a shame they dont make them anymore. Im looking for a citrin also as its also a great looking pen

[Ed Ronax]

Great review, thanks, and a striking pen.

[Blade Runner]

I'm always impressed by the heirloom quality of the Solitaires. This is a very nice one. Congrats!

[Faulkner]

Apart from the cap, is this the same as the carbon -steel Solitaire?

I reckon hematite might be heavier, right?

In other words: did anyone have the chance to compare both?

[jamesgibby]

yes the cap is heavier. I have compared to my black and gold solitaire.

[georges zaslavsky]

a very modern and pleasing design congrats on the pen

[Montblanc owner and lover]

it looks very nice but personaly i prefer the black and gold (de coloribus et ...)

[NedC]

Gorgeous pen! One Montblanc I'd be happy to own.

[Tom Kellie]

Design and Build

 

At first glance you cannot fully appreciate this pen. The reason for this being that in bright light the hematite and polished stainless steel just seem to blend into one. I find that the hematite gives this pen a subtle elegance that is quite welcome. I also own a gold and black (reviewed here) and when compared to this very obvious and bold pen, the hematites design is based on blending the two materials and not contrasting them as we can see with the gold and black.

 

The pen is a standard 146 with a stainless steel barrel with a steel piston mechanism (as opposed to brass. The nib is a standard 146 two tone nib and has a precious resin grip section and 'panelled' ink view window (like 149's). Where this pen stands out is obviously with its hematite cap. At first glance you could be fooled for thinking its all one solid colour but on closer inspection you can see the 'organic' property of the stone. The hematite is covered in small darker dots which in strong light sparkle somewhat. In fact if you rotate the cap slowly under direct light such as a lightbulb it almost looks as if there are small bits of glitter in there!

 

The cap is topped with the usual black resin snow cap and the typical meisterstuck clip

 

This pen writes VERY well, it has a stubbed medium nib and i find it is the perfect width for me. I normally like standard F nibs as my writing is quite small. I find the my Copernicus with its M nib is a tad bit too thick but this stubbed M nib is just write.

 

Value

 

I did not actually purchase this pen. As with my Copernicus this pen was one of several pens i traded for a website. However even at full retail price (if they were still produced) i would be more than satisfied that i was getting great value for money

 

This pen gets a great 9/10 for value

 

Summary

 

I cant find anything bad to say about this pen, perhaps the hematite could be a bit darker in order to add a little bit more contrast under stornger light. Some may find that the pen seems to 'blend' in too much and wont make a statement when compared to other solitaires but for me this makes this pen is just great. Its not a normal Solitaire either and if you are looking for a solitaire that is different and NOT GOLD then this pen is made for you. The only bad news is that they dont make them anymore!

 

~ This review was helpful in clearing up several misconceptions I had about hematite.

The images and the systematic explanation were especially appreciated.

Another treasure of a review.

Tom K.