2017 Montblanc: New P3Ns

[shines_lover]

Hi

I guess the title is self-explanatory.

Finally, the Beatles caught MB's attention.

 

[jmccarty3]

Popcorn!

[benbot517]

I'm excited to see what that purple will be like! Thanks for the pictures!

[Mastiff]

Yes.. Unfortunately none of this year's new releases interested me when I saw them so I've been buying other brands this year.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Antoine De Saint-Exupery, who was shot down in WW2, was a better writer than flyer. Even though he did exploration, he was not up to better fighter pilot standards.

He was too old, depressed, and unarmed.

 

Back in the dark ages of B&W TV, I'd read translations of his works. It was a generation later I found out he was not a great flyer.

 

It appears I only read a small portion of his work that was translated into English.

[Scribs]

I guess the grown-ups at MB deny ever having read, or the value of The LIttle Prince... a pen shaped like a snake digesting an elephant would have been different, if not clunky.

[shines_lover]

Here's more

 

 

[mulrich]

I'm not a Beatles expert but I'm surprised at the design of this pen. When I think of the Beatles my mind does not go to rainbows.

[SoulSamurai]

Heh, OK, that "riveted steel" pen amuses me a little.

[AMarkAbove]

I'm not a Beatles expert but I'm surprised at the design of this pen. When I think of the Beatles my mind does not go to rainbows.

Seeing as how this album is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary I think the color scheme seems pretty spot on.

[TheRealMikeDr]

I'm not a Beatles expert but I'm surprised at the design of this pen. When I think of the Beatles my mind does not go to rainbows.

 

I like the John Lennon pen they did much better. Most of these don't do much for me quite frankly.

 

That said - I did get a chance to hold the Sciophene Borghese model a few weeks ago in a Las Vegas Boutique and it was pretty impressive!

[mulrich]

Seeing as how this album is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary I think the color scheme seems pretty spot on. Sgt._Pepper's_Lonely_Hearts_Club_Band.jpg

Ah, well now that makes much more sense.

[BillH]

Ah, well now that makes much more sense.

 

 

indeed it does... still doubt I'll buy it though. now, if they came out with a jefferson airplane edition, I may consider it... maybe based off what they already have going with the little prince pen

[sems]

Looking forward to see how the inks will turn out. Too many limited edition purples coming out recently.

[PS104]

Too many limited edition purples coming out recently.

Not just purple inks. LEs EVERYTHING. Pens, inks, you name it.

LEs have become the manufacturers stock and trade. Make a killing in 6 months then get out. No need to keep anything in constant production.

​With the advent of LEs the pen and ink scene has become a miniature eBay.

Buy it now or fuhgedaboudit. Then if you don't have the latest and greatest all your 'friends' will see you as a loser .

Don Draper would love this arena. ​Marketing psychology at its best

[BillH]

I would suggest that limited editions are not the mainstay for most manufacturers. Pilot also sells a ton of Metros, etc. Pelikan also sells a planeload of green red blue stripe pens. Montblanc has sold the same basic black cigars since the 1950's. Lots of "constant production" going on there... LE and SE pens suit a segment of the market, but it's a broad market and like I said, I don't think the LE and SE market sustains most of the successful manufacturers. It IS a funny market though.

 

Willing to be proven wrong though... anybody have data?

 

Of course, if a company can be successful selling mostly LE and SE pens at $1500-8000 a pop, who are we to criticize?

Edited May 31, 2017 by BillH

[flipper_gv]

These all look like Jinhao's. Montblanc is about as clueless design wise as is Montegrappa. Both try enough times that they get some good designs out once in a while.

[Tom Kellie]

~ Have the Beatles SE pens been selling well?

Tom K.

[Bo Bo Olson]

At my B&M, there is a couple small MB in two colors, I didn't remember the name nor price. I saw the Shakespeare. Not my taste...I do have a Woolf and there are a couple other Writer Editions I like....should six numbers show up in my Speculative Investment plan.

There was a slightly clunky but very nice looking hammered mat sterling silver that had a touch of class for E1,500.

The one that took my eye was a skeleton demonstrator. I asked the boss, it was brass plated with ruthenium......not rhodium. E7,500.

He told me on German Ebay they go for E 8,000-8,500.

Sigh cubed what is MB coming too, couldn't they have used silver to plate with ruthenium?

 

I have to admit, I'd never heard of ruthenium before.

My B&M is over 125 years old and in the same family.

[Uncial]

I have to confess to being deeply underwhelmed by a lot of Montblanc's latest offerings. Pens that don't post, pens with steps as sheer as a cliff face and heavy metal bodies that look like some kind of mash up between Jinhao and Cross. Not really my thing, but I guess it's a matter of personal taste. My preference lies in instruments that write well and are crafted with this in mind; so editions like the Voltaire, the Schiller, the Dostoevsky and perhaps even the Fitzgerald are all rather beautiful to me and a joy to use. I just can't imagine getting any enjoyment out of some of the very heavy pens in production currently, finger placing being an issue and caps rolling over the desk. I do hope that given time they will come back to somewhat more restrained designs. The REN was a good attempt and mine posts too, but I suspect this was a manufacturing anomaly. Perhaps the collectors market is where it is at and us users don;t get a look in anymore. Bit sad really.