Dating a Montblanc 4810

[soapwench]

My boyfriend's dad gave me a Montblanc Meisterstuck that had stopped working. I cleaned it and it works beautifully, of course. It has a serial number, which started in 1991, but it also says W Germany, which didn't exist after 1990. I did several Google searches and even searched the serial number, but couldn't find anything to help me date it. I'm really just curious, more than anything. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it. It does have the 14K bi-color nib. 

 

I apologize if the answer is here somewhere and I oveooked it. Thank you in advance for your help. 

 

[carlos.q]

Pictures will help. 

[KAC]

Possibly a clip manufactured in 1990, stamped "W. Germany" then had the SN applied and sold shortly thereafter: a "transition" clip, so to say.

[bunnspecial]

Photos would help a lot.

 

A couple of things:

 

1. "4810" isn't actually the model number, although this is an easy mistake to make. It's tied to the company's branding, and is the height of Mont Blanc(the mountain in France) in meters...or at least close enough to its height(I think actual measured height now is about 4809 meters, but who's counting?). This marking has been used on the 14x series Meisterstück nibs I think pretty much since the beginning.

 

2. Sometimes the dating stuff can get a bit fuzzy, and there weren't hard cut offs on stuff. My favorite MB is a 146 marked W. Germany and with a serial number. I'm not sure exactly when serial numbers appeared, but I've seen enough W. Germany pens with one to guess it was probably at least a year or two before the transition to Germany.

 

3. These pens are identified by a 3 digit model number that, in a very broad sense, designates the size. Actually, more properly, "1" indicates a Meisterstück pen, "4" originally meant telescopic piston(which hasn't been used in a really long time, and not all "4" pens now are even piston fillers) and the last digit means the nib size. Things have gotten a bit mixed up over the years.

 

With it being a W. Germany pen, I'm guessing you could narrow it down to one of 3 models-the 144, 146, or 149. The 144 is a slip-cap pen that uses an ink cartridge or converter. The 146 and 149 are screw-cap pens with a piston mechanism. The 146 is a big pen(technically "oversize" by old definitions) and the 149 is giant. The nib composition isn't a great indicator since around 1990 both the 146 and 149 would have normally had 14K bi-color nibs. As far as I know, all 149s have a "striped" ink window(alternating clear and black areas parallel to the pen body). A lot of 146s have this same style ink window, but my favorite W. Germany SN 146 has a clear ink window-just above the section there's a translucent blue section of the barrel all the way around to allow you to view the ink level.

 

There again, a photo will help, as will measurements. The 149 is almost immediately recognizable in photos because the MB star has looks small relative to the cap finial, while on the 146 and smaller the star actually looks like the snow-capped peak it's supposed to represent.

[soapwench]

I'll post pics. I didn't because the writing is so worn that we had to take pics and blow them up to make out the numbers. It's a slip cap so it's probably a 144. I don't see that number on it anywhere. 

[bunnspecial]

42 minutes ago, soapwench said:

I'll post pics. I didn't because the writing is so worn that we had to take pics and blow them up to make out the numbers. It's a slip cap so it's probably a 144. I don't see that number on it anywhere. 

 

Read the perimeter of the cap band. At least my W. Germany 146 is marked "MONTBLANC-MEISTERSTÜCKNo146" I'm too lazy now to get up and get my pen case to look at others, but I seem to recall that marking the model on the cap band has come and gone at various times.

 

Also, what do you mean by "writing so worn." On a pen of this age, aside from the clip ring where you found the W. Germany and SN, the other markings are the nib engraving and the cap band. I can't imagine the nib engraving being worn-it's rarely handled, and I've never seen one that's illegible. That's true even on my 147 where a good bit of Rhodium plating is washed out. If the cap band is hard to read...that pen has led a hard life.

[Dione]

2 hours ago, soapwench said:

I'll post pics. I didn't because the writing is so worn that we had to take pics and blow them up to make out the numbers. It's a slip cap so it's probably a 144. I don't see that number on it anywhere. 

You're right. If it's a slip cap with a gold plated band on the end of the section next to the nib and it fills using a converter or a cartridge then it's a 144. That model wasn't marked on their cap bands so you only have the information on the clip band and the nib to check out.

[dhanvantari]

I have what appears to be a 144 Solitaire Vermail (Gold on Silver????) but not sure if it is genuine? Any opinion would be very much appreciated? 

[soapwench]

The cap band where the serial number and W Germany are engraved are very worn. My boyfriend had to take pictures and blow them up to see it. Attaching his photos (the first 2) and mine, for the overall look, etc.  Sorry the nib looks dirty, I have the pen inked as I love writing with it. 

 

Thank you for all your help. I appreciate it. 

[Eric Lyu]

Hi Soapwench:

 

It looks like the Mont Blanc 144 to me, which was produced at exactly that time period. 

 

The exact model can be confirmed via measurements. 146and 149 are piston fillers, and can be easily crossed out. I haven't seen a 144 in person so I would suggest you to measure the girth/length of the pen and compare to the parameters online to confirm. It's a nice pen anyways.

 

Best wishes,

Eric