Louis Vuitton Cargo ?

[carlosviet]

About I was visiting my favorite antiquities boutique to service a watch, and I saw in the pen section, among the 4 or 5 Montblancs available, one overthick FP wrapped in leather. I thought it was just a 149 with a custom made leather "jacket", but today I asked to see it in detail, and I was surprised to see that it was a Louis Vuitton, made in crocodile leather.

 

Checking the net, I found out that it is a rare pen, Louis Vuitton Cargo. I didn't see any mention here, and actually there are very, very few places where it is documented. One is here. http://www.luxuryexchange.com/shop/louis-vuitton/authentic-louis-vuitton-alligator-cargo-fountain-pen-le/prod_4701.html

and another one is here http://howtospendit.ft.com/personal-luxuries/31343-swellboy-on-the-louis-vuitton-cargo-pen

 

But not so much info... Does anyone know anything about it?

 

The thing is really huge. It makes a MB149 look unnourished. And the grip is metal... Cannot be posted... It is really a very, very, uncomfortable thing. The only point that is tickling my mind, it's that they sell it for one third of its retail online, those who had it, and it is really a unique, albeit kind of useless, thing. But I am not a collector, I like my pens to be of service...

 

Anyone has any reference or review of it?

 

BTW, here is a pic of it from another web. The one in the shop is just the same...

 

[Azura]

Nice finding, you should claim it with no hesitation!!!

[shuuemura]

IIRC, I've seen this pen (or a similar model) before in the Louis Vuitton boutique in Ngee Ann City, Singapore. Don't think they sell too many copies of this pen. Wonder who makes their nibs for them...S.T. Dupont?

[carlosviet]

IIRC, I've seen this pen (or a similar model) before in the Louis Vuitton boutique in Ngee Ann City, Singapore. Don't think they sell too many copies of this pen. Wonder who makes their nibs for them...S.T. Dupont?

 

According to this link, yes...

 

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Plush/Story/A1Story20121121-384972.html

[balson]

sorry to hijack your thread but i have never seen anyone else post about Louis Vuitton pens so i thought this is as good a place as any to ask. i have a fountain pen that i got in a lot from france that i have been curious if it is a Louis Vuitton pen. the seller knew nothing about it, i thought it might be a waterman because it has a waterman style lever box with P.S.F in the waterman logo.

 

the inscription is really faint so i made a quick copy of what it says. the LV is not in the style of the modern logo. any idea what this pen may be?

 

 

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IPiK7vF6Pks/UiDNL5SV9_I/AAAAAAAAAns/6Dejm59I44s/s1600/LVandCo.jpg

[Tancred]

Louis Vuitton actually make some very interesting fountain pens. The reason that they are so little known is Vuitton's insistence on selling all their items themselves.

 

The Cargo leather is a bulky and heavy object, as well as being very (and unjustifiably) expensive. The lacquer Ebene and Glacier versions of the Cargo style are a bit cheaper and lighter (though still heavy at 70g), and also much more attractive in my opinion. It's also worth bearing in mind that in the current 2015/2016 production the Cargo pens' nib section seems longer and more comfortable to grip than in the above model. The threads are now closer to the barrel.

 

Another attractive pen currently made by LV is the Spirit - a metal pen that is offered in gold or palladium plate; this one is cheaper than any of the Cargo types but is still oversized at 15cms long and 69g in weight. I particularly like the gold version (personal taste).

 

http://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/products/fountain-pen-cargo-glacier-ael-acc-n00-007593

 

http://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/products/fountain-pen-cargo-ebene-ael-acc-n00-007594

 

http://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/fountain-pen-spirit-gold-007589

 

http://us.louisvuitton.com/eng-us/products/fountain-pen-spirit-palladium-006502

Edited December 26, 2015 by Tancred

[alveryn]

LV ink cartridges look a bit Japanese-ish to me.

Edited December 26, 2015 by alveryn

[gerigo]

I have both the Cargo and the Spirit. They are quite lovely pens and very unknown in the fountain pen world. There are a few reasons why:

- The pens are only available at certain LV stores. Not even all of them. Primarily Paris, Tokyo and the New York flagship stores.

- The sales people have NO idea how to sell the pens. They know nothing about the nibs, fillings systems, inks etc. Nor do they know what papers are best suited for the pens. It's quite laughable how ignorant they are compared to the knowledge they have of their bags.

- People who buy LV aren't going in to the store for the fountain pens. At most they might pick up a ball pen or roller when they are completing their bag purchases.

- They are freaking expensive.

 

Some interesting information about the pens.

 

- They are indeed very heavy as others have pointed out. However contrary to how the Cargo appears, it's one of the more comfortable pens I have because the pen grip is very long, and the fat body settles nicely in your hard. Yes it does not post but these are enormous pens.

- They have all metal construction, probably brass with either rare leathers or lacquer finishing on the pen bodies, which is what I personally would consider very ST Dupont in finish and flavor.

- They use no 6 German Boch nibs, and their pens come only in medium. Their medium nibs are very wet, well tuned and quite springy, giving a great writing experience. You can get fine and broads if you ask the right sales people. My Cargo is a medium and my Spirit is a broad.

- Their filling systems are proprietary. They have a VERY unique converter design that's quite thick a round and has a sac inside a plastic cylinder. The action is quite unique but the filling system is not too efficient as I have only managed to fill half the sac.

http://eu.louisvuitton.com/eng-e1/products/converter-pen-palladium-006513

My cargo is a piston fill though.

 

Very nice pens but very expensive.

Edited December 27, 2015 by gerigo

[Tancred]

In the UK the Spirit Gold is GBP 725 and the Palladium GBP 685 - not cheap but on a par with Montblanc Solitaire prices, so not unusually expensive. I am considering buying the gold as it looks stunning and I love heavy pens. Unfortunately the Cargo is not available for sale in the UK which means that I would need to travel to Paris and buy it from the LV writing boutique at Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

The Cargo costs GBP 985 in UK money - not sure in Euros.

 

I adore Dupont pens, especially the extra-large Olympio type which is now sadly only used for limited editions. The nibs are from Heaven.

 

Questions - do the pens come supplied with converters or do you have to buy them separately? Can you fit Dupont converters in the pens/

[gerigo]

Nope, the Spirit I believe does not come with a converter. I think they expect people to use cartridges. The converter itself is over a hundred USD And Nope the system is proprietary. The opening to the cartridge/ converter is super wide compared to the usual ink channel opening we are used to in the standard international converter system.

 

I will snap some pictures tomorrow to show the difference.

 

I was quite lucky and managed to get a piston filling Cargo in grey lacquer with silver trim when I was traveling through Asia. I showed it to the sales people here at the NYC Flagship store at 5th ave and they said they have never seen it before

[Tancred]

Nope, the Spirit I believe does not come with a converter. I think they expect people to use cartridges. The converter itself is over a hundred USD And Nope the system is proprietary. The opening to the cartridge/ converter is super wide compared to the usual ink channel opening we are used to in the standard international converter system.

 

I will snap some pictures tomorrow to show the difference.

 

I was quite lucky and managed to get a piston filling Cargo in grey lacquer with silver trim when I was traveling through Asia. I showed it to the sales people here at the NYC Flagship store at 5th ave and they said they have never seen it before

 

 

Not good, not good at all. There goes my dream of owning a Vuitton pen - sigh.

[Tancred]

The converter costs £69 in the UK. A pack of cartridges are $10 in the US, so I guess £7 in the UK - I could live with that.