149 In Bordeaux?

[max dog]

Both bordeaux and burgundy are colors used by Montblanc in their main product lines over the years, but not to be confused with one another. Burgundy is darker; bordeaux is redder. I used to have examples of each, but no longer. I'll try to locate photos to post for comparison.

 

And no, the 149 has never been sold to the public in a color other than black (demonstrator aside), celluloid and resin. But I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in the bowels of Montblanc Hamburg there a resin bordeaux 149 hidden in a drawer.

 

Fred

 

P.S. Correction, I have a bordeaux 114.

Thanks for the clarification on bordeaux vs burgundy. When I first got my bordeaux 146 and posted pictures of it, there were a few people in this forum adamant their bordeaux was not as red as mine and I was mis-representing it. Now it makes sense. I had the bordeaux, and the others had burgundy that they thought was bordeaux.

 

Montblanc 146R (bordeaux or R for red)

 

Would love a bordeaux 149R. Montblanc rolled out the 149 in platinum trim as well as rose gold recently due to popular demand, so maybe if we scream for a bordeaux 149 loud enough, MB will listen.

Edited July 1, 2016 by max dog

[Chrissy]

I believe that all of the modern pens are bordeaux. To my knowledge, Montblanc didn't have two different red coloured resins available at the same time.

 

I was advised that they no longer have parts available for bordeaux pens because they don't have that resin anymore.

[gwgtaylor]

I have a Bordeaux 147R and love it to bits. I'd buy a matching 149 in a heartbeat. Montblanc really missed out on an opportunity here. Pelikan does the same thing with the M1000. I'd buy a vibrant blue or white tortiose in a flash. What's wrong with these companies? Why don't they give us what we want? Why is it so hard for them to figure it out?

[Valdair]

Probably because the number of people who would shell out the money for those special version of already expensive items wouldn't outweigh the cost of getting the extra molds and any other necessary re-designs.

[gwgtaylor]

Probably because the number of people who would shell out the money for those special version of already expensive items wouldn't outweigh the cost of getting the extra molds and any other necessary re-designs.

Not sure if that argument holds too much water--companies like Parker do limited run pens of a hundred pieces that cost less than a standard black 149 and I'm confident the manufacturing process for a Duofold is no less sophisticated. Would the molds have to be changed when the only thing changing is the colour of the resin? Also people like me would buy both the black and the red so they will actually increase sales overall. I've already got two 149s. I'm likely not going to buy another until they do something different with it.

[Barkingpig]

I have a Bordeaux 147R and love it to bits. I'd buy a matching 149 in a heartbeat. Montblanc really missed out on an opportunity here. Pelikan does the same thing with the M1000. I'd buy a vibrant blue or white tortiose in a flash. What's wrong with these companies? Why don't they give us what we want? Why is it so hard for them to figure it out?

 

I suspect because "the longer we want what we cannot have, they may believe we will pay MORE, when they make it available.

 

"I paid the premium to snag a M800 Brown tortoise, when they discontinued it & swearing I WOULD not buy anything smaller than a 800, finally settled for a M600 in white tortoise, because I was afraid to wait to see IF/WHEN they would ever make one in a larger size. Surprisingly I "manage just fine" with the smaller pen, so I am not a candidate for a larger white or brown, especially since I could no longer have a nib larger than a B, when I already have a BB & OBB in my existing torts.

 

I also gave up & bought a second Black MB 146; I HATE a BLACK pen, but didn't think I could afford the extra cost for the Burgundy. "And truth be told," I am NOT THAT fond of Burgundy, just prefer it to the black. A coral colored one, like the Heritage series, would surely cause me to "give in!" AND I know I will NOT live long enough to see one of those.

 

I am just not thinking companies manufacturing pens are as responsive to customer's wishes as they are to profits. And perhaps they are right to do so, as evidenced with Omas's demise which surely was related to insufficient profits.

[Chrissy]

 

I suspect because "the longer we want what we cannot have, they may believe we will pay MORE, when they make it available.

 

"I paid the premium to snag a M800 Brown tortoise, when they discontinued it & swearing I WOULD not buy anything smaller than a 800, finally settled for a M600 in white tortoise, because I was afraid to wait to see IF/WHEN they would ever make one in a larger size. Surprisingly I "manage just fine" with the smaller pen, so I am not a candidate for a larger white or brown, especially since I could no longer have a nib larger than a B, when I already have a BB & OBB in my existing torts.

 

I also gave up & bought a second Black MB 146; I HATE a BLACK pen, but didn't think I could afford the extra cost for the Burgundy. "And truth be told," I am NOT THAT fond of Burgundy, just prefer it to the black. A coral colored one, like the Heritage series, would surely cause me to "give in!" AND I know I will NOT live long enough to see one of those.

 

I am just not thinking companies manufacturing pens are as responsive to customer's wishes as they are to profits. And perhaps they are right to do so, as evidenced with Omas's demise which surely was related to insufficient profits.

 

I agree that a bordeaux is quite nice, just as a different colour than black. Not because it's a particularly special colour. When these were issued they would have been the same price as black pens, but I assume they made fewer, and then they ran out when people bought them. Now everyone wants a premium for them, and as long as they can get a premium, the prices will hold steady.

[FredRydr]

I have a Bordeaux 147R and love it to bits. I'd buy a matching 149 in a heartbeat. Montblanc really missed out on an opportunity here. Pelikan does the same thing with the M1000. I'd buy a vibrant blue or white tortiose in a flash. What's wrong with these companies? Why don't they give us what we want? Why is it so hard for them to figure it out?

 

The 149 is the mainstay of their tradition, so black it is. Only recently did the German company relent and produce a version with platinum plating instead of 65 years of gold plating.

 

Fred

[David In Austin]

I have it on fairly solid authority (nothing official, but fairly solid - 2 independent sources on 2 different continents) that Montblanc is reissuing a full Burgundy series, I am assuming including the 145, 146, AND I am pretty certain about the 149, probably this year! I will try to provide more information as it becomes available.

[Lam1]

2 hours ago, David In Austin said:

I have it on fairly solid authority (nothing official, but fairly solid - 2 independent sources on 2 different continents) that Montblanc is reissuing a full Burgundy series, including the 145, 146, AND 149, probably this year! I will try to provide more information as it becomes available.

 

Oh, that would be great news. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Sign me up for a 149!!

[jchch1950]

I wait, see and buy.

[Opooh]

So, I am not the only one waiting for a burgundy 149. Meanwhile I found this NOS 146 on Catawiki.

[senceryan]

The friend at the store said he saw a new burgundy pen in the reference numbers table,

but he didn't share body information.

[Opooh]

22 minutes ago, senceryan said:

The friend at the store said he saw a new burgundy pen in the reference numbers table,

but he didn't share body information.

There is recently JFK Special Edition Burgundy , Fountainpen and ballpoint.

[Arcadian]

On 8/3/2025 at 1:18 AM, David In Austin said:

I have it on fairly solid authority (nothing official, but fairly solid - 2 independent sources on 2 different continents) that Montblanc is reissuing a full Burgundy series, I am assuming including the 145, 146, AND I am pretty certain about the 149, probably this year! I will try to provide more information as it becomes available.

 

I have heard the same, and specifically the 149, with expected arrival in autumn. 

 

 - P. 

[meiers]

Thanks for the heads up.

[PAKMAN]

I have the 144 and 146 and would love a 149 in Bordeaux. I just can't imagine it being available at a 'reasonable' price. Maybe I can find one used in 10 years that I can afford. 

[Pennenut]

I can confirm that Montblanc will be re-releasing the 146 and 149 in burgundy. This was confirmed by the Montblanc boutique on Bloor Street but my source was not able to provide a time frame.

[InkyProf]

Montblanc's migration from Bordeaux to Burgundy is surely explained by the outsized influence of Parker on the Bordeaux market since 1982. Wait, what forum is this? 😉

[Michael R.]

regarding the burgundy vs. Bordeaux discussion:

From my observations modern (1980s 1990s) Montblanc called the dark red color "bordeaux" or "Bordeauxrot" in their German & English language catalogues. Older models (1950s) were called e.g. Mahagonirot.

 

Only more recent special editions (e.g. the Petit Prince & the Planet or JFK SE) are called burgundy in the catalogue.

 

However, in real life e.g. both original bordeaux 146R and burgundy Petit Prince & the Planet look alike in terms of color (only very, very minute difference in shading).

 

 

PS: Montblanc discountinued the bordeaux colored Meisterstück series of pens c. end of 1990s. At that time they were considered kind of "old fashioned" and out-dated. Most stores put them on sale for really low prices. Today they seem to be sought after variations.

 

PSPS: the dark red resin seems show fairly large differences in appearance depending on the type of lighting! 

 

...

 

I real look forward to the new 149 in dark red! Maybe that's another issue of the Orient Express?

Cheers

 

Michael

 

P1000659 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1000487 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1530884 by pensninks, auf Flickr

 

P1000975 by pensninks, auf Flickr