Montblanc Poa Gaius Maecenas 4810

[sny]

Review of the Montblanc Patron Of Art Gaius Maecenas (2011) - 4810 Edition

 

Introduction

Since I love ancient Romain culture and always enjoyed Latin at school I immediately called my boutique to order my Gaius Maecenas 4810; I bought this pen without ever have seen it before purchase but I have to tell I didn't regret it.

 

 

Appearance & Design (10)

The design of the pen is obviously inspired by the ancient Roman culture.

 

The cap is made of sterling silver (925) and is the most interesting part of the pen. The first lines of a poem dedicated to Maecenas by Horace are engraved onto the cap in the typical Romain style. It says: "Maecenas atavis edite regibus, O et praesidium et dulce decus meum, Sunt quos curriculo pulverem olympicum, Coleggisse iuvat metaque fervidis, Evitata rotis palmaque nobilis."

 

The model that was waiting for me at my boutique was affected by an error in the Latin text, instead of "curriculo" it was written "curricOlo". I noticed the error when seeing the pen for the first time an reading the Latin text. While this is an interesting detail, it was important for me to have the correct text, since I understand it and knew these verse before buying this pen so I asked for the corrected version. At the top-end of the cap there are some laurels (symbol of the emperors) and at the bottom-end of the cap it says "Gaius Cilnius Maecenas".

 

The clip resembles a Roman sword. It's a nice touch, and one of the first details you notice when seeing the pen.

 

The body of the pen is made of white marbled lacquer and ressembles a Roman temple's column. I find this lacquer of very good quality, it's pleasing to the touch, a bit shiny, lightly marbled and the edges aren't that sharp. All in all, even if this part of the pen isn't the most interesting, I find it very well designed.

 

At the end of the pen you'll find the piston-nob (blind-cap). It's also made of sterling silver and decorated with a Roman pattern. At the bottom of it you'll find a portrait of Gaius Maecenas engraved into the silver blind-cap. It's also written: Gaius Maecenas - MMXI.

 

 

Construction & Quality (10)

This pen feels very solid and is very well built. You would definitely expect this type of quality for a pen that costs this much.

 

 

Weight & Dimensions (9)

The sterling silver cap and blind-cap make the pen quite heavy. It's still very comfortable to write with; those who appreciate heavier pens will like this feature. The Gaius Maecenas feels noticeably heavier than any resign & gold Meisterstücks. It's more comparable with Solitaires Meisterstücks.

 

The pen is based on a MB 146 but the cap it larger and has greater girth. While not being as large as A MB 149, this pen is definitely on the large side and thus more suitably to the who have larger hands.

 

All in all I find it very pleasing to write with this pen. I like the added weight, you feel that you have something that's very well built in your hand. I can write with it for several hours without any complaint.

 

 

Nib & Performance (10)

The Nib is made of 18kt gold and is rhodium plated to match the body’s sterling silver fittings. On the nib you can see some laurels, the legendary 4810 (height oft he Montblanc), MMXI (for 2011), the Montblanc M, 18kt and 750. I chose a BB-Nib.

The nib performs amazingly good; it’s very smooth, wet and it lays down a fat line of ink. All in all I would say without any hesitation that this is by far my best writer.

As with all Montblanc pens, the nib can’t be removed.

 

Filling System & Maintenance (8)

Since the pen is based on a MB 146 it’s a piston filler. The piston moves smoothly and the pen holds a very decent amount of ink (even with a BB nib you can write quite some pages before having to fill it again).

 

I give this pen an 8 because there is no ink-window (I know it would ruin the design, but it’s still useful to know if one is running out of ink), and because you have to send the pen back to Montblanc for any Maintenance. Montblanc does the job very well, but you’ll have to give your pen away for quite some time… Also to clean the pen, you’ll have to repeatedly suck up ink and expel it until the water comes out clear (which can take some time…).

 

Cost & Value (10)

The pen isn’t a bargain at all, it’s actually my most expensive fountain pen. However the pen is such a joy to use and look at that it’s worth every penny I spent on it.

 

Conclusion (9.7/10)

You surely already notice that I love this pen : the design is stunning and it writes like a dream. The only drawback being that you’ll have to send it back to Montblanc for any maintenance, I highly recommand the purchase of this pen and think I’m gonna keep mine a very long time…

 

I hope you'll enjoy this review and forgive my poor English...

 

Regards,

 

S.

Edited July 17, 2012 by sny

[vondauster]

Great review of a very impressive piece of pen art, excellent photos, and I love the (your?) writing under the pen. And I assure you your english is far superior to my latin!

 

Will

[Tonight]

Great review!

What ink did you use to write the review?

[breaker]

excellent review and pics!

thanks!

[sny]

Thank you for your comments. It's my handwriting under the pen, it's the Poem dedicated to Maecenas by Horace. This sample was written with Montblanc Midnight Blue ink.

 

Regards,

 

S.

[Ghost Plane]

[ianmedium]

The details on the limited edition Mont Blanc's never cease to amaze me and this pen is no exception! Is that your handwriting using the pen, if so.. Wow! Beautiful writing!

[Blade Runner]

Wow, what an grand pen! Somehow I can't see it being used for grocery lists or any mundane tasks. : - )

Beautiful handwriting too. That BB looks like it has a stubbish flair.

[Laura N]

What a lovely review. I so enjoyed reading it. Your excellent photos and beautiful handwriting really shine. It sounds like this pen is a perfect match for your interests and inclinations.

[Tonight]

Thank you for your comments. It's my handwriting under the pen, it's the Poem dedicated to Maecenas by Horace. This sample was written with Montblanc Midnight Blue ink.

 

Regards,

 

S.

 

Wow, my Montblanc Midnight Blue doesn't look anything like that.

If anything, I thought that it was PR Midnight Blue or Diamine Majestic Blue.

Gotta get my bottle checked out.

[Inked]

Great looking pen! Doesn't seem to bother your handwriting one bit.

 

Enjoy and thanks for sharing.

 

Inked

[jandrese]

Like wow, thanks for sharing. Unique for sure.

[Truman]

Congratulations on your beautiful new pen!

[sny]

Thank you for your comments. I'm happy to see that this review can be interesting for some of you...

 

Wow' date=' my Montblanc Midnight Blue doesn't look anything like that.

If anything, I thought that it was PR Midnight Blue or Diamine Majestic Blue.

Gotta get my bottle checked out. [/quote']

 

What does your MB Midnight Blue look like? I find that the Midnight blue really shines with B or BB nibs, with which the ink can express itself better than with finer nibs.

 

Regards,

 

S.

[el.Fakir]

Congratulations. :clap1:

 

This is a very special/gorgeous pen indeed and your handwriting is quite a match for this pen.

 

Thank you also for sharing these excellent photos.

[leod]

nice handwriting and that midnight looks good on BB nib.

Is the barrel a roman column? (_{this barrel looks nice on a Pelikan white tortoise, shh...} )

Edited July 20, 2012 by leod

[Scylax]

What a beauty, and a lovely review! I love Roman history, and this is a pen I could only dream of owning, so I was longing for someone to put up some proper pictures I could drool over, but your writing is as much a work of art as the pen

[Montblanc owner and lover]

very nice pen and nice hand writing too

[KJY]

Thanks for sharing your pics and your penmanship.

WOW!

[Michael R.]

Many thanks for your wonderful review. I'm glad you can enjoy this pen so much.

 

To be honest, the pen never looked so nicely to me as lin your photographs! Very tasteful and elegant.

 

Just as a small side note: modern Montblanc nibs are removable but you need to know how and also most likely will need some special tools. I have done this on multible Meisterstücks, PoAs and WEs but still do not recommand this in case you are not familiar with this procedure.

 

Cheers

 

Michael