Citroën Montblanc Fountain Pen

[Lucas2name]

Hello,

My father bought a Citroen fountain pen at a Montblanc store in Miami in 1992 for $500, apparently it was a special edition pen back then m, it was the larger size (fat one) with a full gold nib on 24K if I’m not mistaken, but when I was a little kid I broke the nib and till this year we kept that broken pen along with the original box that is on the pictures here but this year we decided to get it fixed so I shipped the pen to Montblanc and when they received it I have them a call and they told me it would take 4weeks to be repaired, 2 weeks later I call them again to ask about payments and updates when they told me it was a special edition pen and would need the parts from Germany so it would take 13 weeks to get the pen, I made the payment through the phone and a week later I received the pen that’s is in the pictures but is a completely different pen, is smaller than what I sent and without the Citroen engraving in it so basically they sent me a normal basic pen back and I called them and they said they don’t know about the pen because they don’t keep records for that long so after months of back and forth calls with them they told me it was a special request from Citroën with only one lot made and for that reason they did not kept a copy of the pen and even if they had when a special pen is sent to repair they said they fix it with parts of a basic pen which I was never notified of and I asked for the broken parts back and they said it was destroyed like they do with all other pens and now all they are offering me is a refund of what I paid, meaning I’m losing a rare collective pen. I was wondering if you guys could help with 2 things. 1- has anyone here ever heard or seen this Montblanc Citroen pen? I can’t find anything about it online but I know I’m not crazy cuz I still have the box 
2- what you guys advise me to do next?

 

thank you

 

[FredRydr]

There is a robust history of commentary regarding Montblanc's service centers replacement of original parts with modern parts without respecting historical integrity.  Had you made specific instructions to preserve as much of your pen as possible, you might have protected your pen's originality.  

 

IMHO, you should accept Montblanc's offer to fully reimburse you and treat it as a tardy lesson learned; you are not alone in that respect.

 

I wish Montblanc service centers would offer a standard choice to customers: (1) new parts without regard to original condition, or (2) preservation to respect originality, even if the latter might incur additional time and labor expense.  In hindsight, you would have been better served by one of the independent repair persons who specialize in Montblanc, some of whom have a hoard of used historically correct Montblanc parts.

 

Meanwhile, like the rest of us who yearn for a certain pen to satisfy a memory, or to replace a broken or lost pen, join in the task of the fountain pen hunt.

 

P.S.  Alternative: Have a look at the pinned thread (above) on dating a 146 to see the dimensions and attributes for a 1992 pen.  Buy a used pen, and if you are satisfied it is as you remember, have it engraved in the same fashion as your former pen (got any photos of its engraved side?).

 

[Nurmister]

15 hours ago, Lucas2name said:

Hello,

My father bought a Citroen fountain pen at a Montblanc store in Miami in 1992 for $500, apparently it was a special edition pen back then m, it was the larger size (fat one) with a full gold nib on 24K if I’m not mistaken, but when I was a little kid I broke the nib and till this year we kept that broken pen along with the original box that is on the pictures here but this year we decided to get it fixed so I shipped the pen to Montblanc and when they received it I have them a call and they told me it would take 4weeks to be repaired, 2 weeks later I call them again to ask about payments and updates when they told me it was a special edition pen and would need the parts from Germany so it would take 13 weeks to get the pen, I made the payment through the phone and a week later I received the pen that’s is in the pictures but is a completely different pen, is smaller than what I sent and without the Citroen engraving in it so basically they sent me a normal basic pen back and I called them and they said they don’t know about the pen because they don’t keep records for that long so after months of back and forth calls with them they told me it was a special request from Citroën with only one lot made and for that reason they did not kept a copy of the pen and even if they had when a special pen is sent to repair they said they fix it with parts of a basic pen which I was never notified of and I asked for the broken parts back and they said it was destroyed like they do with all other pens and now all they are offering me is a refund of what I paid, meaning I’m losing a rare collective pen. I was wondering if you guys could help with 2 things. 1- has anyone here ever heard or seen this Montblanc Citroen pen? I can’t find anything about it online but I know I’m not crazy cuz I still have the box 
2- what you guys advise me to do next?

 

thank you

 

 

I've never seen a Citroën Montblanc 146 either, but I am sure Montblanc never installed a 24K nib on a 146. It was likely a normal nib from the era. That said, as you noted there were probably special engravings on the pen that are now lost. As the previous poster has mentioned, I would take the reimbursement.

[KAC]

That's a very unfortunate transaction. However, respect for historical integrity by some companies (Rolex comes to mind) is absent. Indeed, some businesses will simply seize an item they consider to have "non-original or counterfeit parts".

 

In this case, I think MB was delinquent in not informing you of the service plans. I'm sure the company considers they've done you a favor by junking the original and giving you a new pen in replacement, but the choice should have been yours to make. Given that it's now too late to rectify the matter, the reimbursement might be partial solace for the loss. It's really too bad...

[CS388]

Sorry to hear this.

You say that the pen they have sent you is smaller than the pen you sent them?

Significantly smaller? Or just slightly smaller? The 146 pen has changed in size (slightly) over the years. The only bigger model is a 149 - but I feel certain that MB would have replaced like for like, model wise.

You could find this out if there is any information on your boxes - there's often a label on one end, or underneath the inner, or outer box?

 

Meanwhile, as others have said, the reimbursement is probably your only recourse, if the original has been destroyed.

As has also been said, you could go for a replica engraving/dedication, to mimic the original pen?

I know it's not the same, but probably as close as you're going to get.

 

Good luck.