Review Montblanc Patron Of Art Karl Der Grosse; Picture Heavy!

March 21, 2016

Introduction

It has been a while, since I reviewed a pen. I was falling back to a patern of lurking around on this beautiful forum. So now it’s time to contribute again. I’m doing so in reviewing this “Hommage à Charlemagne”; a beautiful pen from the Montblanc Patron of Art series. With this series Montblanc honors people who have devoted their lives to the promotion of art and culture.

Montblanc started the release of this series in 1992 with the Medici pen. These limited editions only consist of a fountain pen in a lacquered wooden box and are released in spring. Two versions of this series are issued: a 4810 version (limited to 4.810 pieces) and an 888 version (limited to 888 pieces), made of more precious materials. The pen under review here is the 4810-version. Issued in 2000 it is the ninth in Montblanc's Patron of Art series, paying tribute to one of the great figures of world history: Karl der Grosse. In that year it was 1200 years ago Karl der Grosse – Charlemagne / Charles the Great – was crowned Holy Roman Emperor at Old St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Called the "Father of Europe", Charlemagne united most of Western Europe for the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire and laid the foundations for modern France and Germany. The expanded Frankish state Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire. His rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. Charlemagne died in 814. He was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen, Germany.

His reign and the era it ushered in are often referred to as the Carolingian Renaissance because of the flowering of scholarship, literature, art, and architecture which characterize it. Charlemagne, brought into contact with the culture and learning of other countries due to his vast conquests (especially Moorish Spain, Anglo-Saxon England, and Lombard Italy), greatly increased the provision of monastic schools and centre’s for book-copying.

He took a serious interest in scholarship, promoting the liberal arts at the court, ordering that his children and grandchildren be well-educated, and even studying himself (in a time when even leaders who promoted education did not take time to learn themselves). He also introduced reforms in the field of (organization of) church, writing (standard grammar and the famous Carolingian minuscule, a more efficient writing system) and politics.

Well, history is nice, but a pen is nicer. So up to the pen now!

Appearance & Design (9/10)

The (sealed) Charlemagne pen comes in a lacquered wooden inner box with booklet, an outer box with a picture of a peacock mosaic (on the booklet there is another part of the same mosaic) and a white cardboard box sleeve. On the dark green wooden box there is the signum (signature) of Charlemagne (KAROLUS) and the Montblanc logo.

peacock showing the box

I was wondering about that peacock mosaic you find on the outer box and booklet. I didn’t find anything about it, let alone that I could relate it directly to Charlemagne. I could only find something about the peacock in medieval Europe in general: The peacock was a symbol of immortality because the ancients believed that the peacock had flesh that did not decay after death. The bird, which replaces its feathers every year, also became a symbol of renewal and resurrection in early Christian and Byzantine culture. Peacock imagery appears in early Christian tomb paintings and mosaics, especially concerning the resurrection. In the original home of the peacock, India, peacocks symbolized royalty and power.

pen in the box

The barrel and cap of the pen itself (Edition 4810) are crafted from faceted 925 sterling silver with a gentle spiral twist. The silver has a satin finish. The openwork gilded motifs on black resin of the mountings on cap and barrel are made to the bronze doors (from the 9th century) of the octagonal "Palace Chapel" of Charlemagne, which was built between 796 and 805.

The hand-worked, rhodium-plated, two-toned nib in 18 karat gold is decorated by an engraving of an early Medieval pattern and the emperor’s monogram. Right under the monogram are the numbers 4810, the Montblanc logo with the year of issue of the pen and “montblanc”. The engravings “750” and “18k”can be found resp. at the left and right side of the nib.

cap and nib cap and barrel band

The number of the pen is on top of the cap, just beneath the upper gold plated ring, next to the clip. The silverstamps are placed on the cap as well, just above the lower gold plated ring.

The clip is bejeweled with an onyx sphere.

silverstamps clip and gold plated rings

Construction & Quality (9/10)

The pen feels very solid and capped / posted it is rather heavy. The pen opens / closes with a ca. 1,5 turn of the cap. The piston works very smoothly as well. So nothing to complain here for me. When closed, the cap shifts over de top barrel ring; the pen then seems smaller than he really is.

the cross how far will the cap go?

Weight & Dimensions (8/10)

Some pen-statistics:

Length capped: app. 13,9 cm
Length uncapped / unposted: app. 12,4 cm
Length posted: 16,3
Length pen cap: app. 6,6 cm
Diameter: pen: app. 1,7 cm on the barrel, on the grip: 1,0 cm, on the top of the piston knob 0,9 cm
Weight capped: 58 grams
Weight uncapped: 30 grams

When using it unposted, it is not a very large pen. But the pen can be posted and the cap then adds some weight and length to the pen. I prefer writing it unposted: I don’t need the extra weight – although I could use the extra length – and the balance is imho better unposted. It is better for the pen as well (you could damage the lower barrel ring when posting).

Nib & Performance (7,5/10)

The pen on review here has a rhodium-plated, two-toned 18k – 750 golden fine nib. Montblanc gives his POA’s standard from factory a fine or medium nib. If you want a different line on your paper, the pen has to go on a holiday to Hamburg for a while for a nib exchange. This could be a disadvantage for some of us. But for me it’s ok.

With this nib I manage to get a line on the paper between fine and broad, depending of the pressure. So, the nib didn’t decide yet what it should be. However, it writes it’s lines smoothly with just a little feedback. The line the pen writes is a little on the wet side. You can use the nib backwards for an extra fine line (sometimes I do that, when making notes in a text).

f-nib

Filling System & Maintenance (8/10)

The pen has a piston-filling mechanism for use with bottled ink. It is what I expect with this kind of pens. I use this pen frequently and the piston still runs very well. It holds a middle amount of ink: I can write just over a couple of days with this pen on one fill (Yes, I don’t write very much ).

Cost & Value (9/10)

Always worth discussing. I like this pen very much and I enjoy writing with it. And imho: that counts a lot! I think the pen gives good value for money given the used materials and finishing as well (not only for the pen but for its box as well), even for the original retail price.

Conclusion (Final score 8.4)

So, we have to come to a conclusion now. In short: I like this pen. I like it a lot. Maybe I should say: I love it. It is the twist that I like the most; it makes it special and makes I want to hold it, play with it (yes, I do that sometimes with some of my pens J). Furthermore: It writes very well.

peacock showing pen

This is a pen that definitely will stay in my collection for a long, long time. It has made some serious writing hours already and there are more to come. Yes, it is a very nice not to heavy silver pen, well balanced and an easy writer, this pen with a twist.

March 21, 2016

Excellent review but the pen does nothing to me

March 21, 2016

Nice review and one of the better efforts from Montblanc.

March 22, 2016

God this is really big. Looks amazing for sure though.

March 22, 2016

Thanks for excellent review.Congrats on having a nice mb pen .It looks great but hefty but overall beautiful and collectible .

March 22, 2016

Thanks for the review. The nib seems to give variation, be wet and write upside-down. Why the low score?

March 23, 2016

Thank you all for your reactions and compliments!

@zaddick: Thank you for your remark! I think a lot of people would give this nib a higher score indeed, because of the extra's. I realize maybe I'm a little too harsh here.

Why this score for me: I'm lefthanded and I like a f-nib being a real f-nib, not too wet (because that gives a lot of ink on my hand, independently of the ink used ). Furthermore: the choise in nib-sizes without sending the pen to Germany is limited.