Help Authenticating MB Limited Editions

[theodore94]

I bought this lot of 7 MB Pens and some inks (for $1000). The seller is a reputable person (but not a dealer) and says that he purchased all of these in stores (the boutique and an authorized dealer). I'm hoping to confirm that they're authentic so that I can file a (timely) claim if they are not. To me, everything checks out -- I'm quite familiar with the 146s for example, and that pen checks all of my boxes. However, I'm not so familiar with some of the limited editions. Does anything here scream fake? They are definitely beautiful, and all are barely or never used.

 

 

[meiers]

I don’t recognize the very first pen. The others I have seen and handled… it’s hard to spot fakes by looking at photos. You are assembling quite a collection. There are some very nice-looking pieces here. I really like the James Dean and the Starwalker. Why so many rollerballs? 

[theodore94]

@meiers The first pen is the 90 Year Meisterstuck Solitaire. The photograph of that pen, in particular, is not very representative... in person it's a deeper blue, and the vertical lines are harder to see. I couldn't find a better picture online (everyone seems to have the same problem), but this is the model (in BP): https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/montblanc-meisterstuck-solitaire-90th-1895877939

 

It's tough to tell looking at photos, but is there anything that sticks out as obviously fake?

 

I prefer fountain pens, but this lot was too good a deal (at least I think?) to pass up. Also, I will (ashamedly 😄) admit that I do also like ballpoints and rollerballs -- I use them for class when I need something very reliable that'll keep up with the lecture slides! The Starwalker is actually a fine liner. I don't know what I'll do with that one -- I probably wouldn't have bought that on its own, but it was a package deal. And now that it's here, I'll have to give fine liners a fair shot!

 

And thanks! I really enjoy sharing my collection on here... I don't have anyone I know personally who appreciates fine pens, so it's always very nice to hear from you!

[theodore94]

I also love the James Dean. I like the symbolism, James Dean is iconic, the pen is beautiful and heavy... very nice texture in my hand.

 

On the lighter side of things, my roommate and I jokingly call my cat "A Rebel Without a Cause" or "Don Quixote" because he likes to think he's much more fierce and serious than he really is, and so I'm glad to have both the James Dean and the Cervantes pens (=

[meiers]

Your starwalker fine-liner accepts standard mb rollerball refills. MB ballpoint pen refills are the best. Particularly the B Refills. I think you’re building a fun collection. 

[meiers]

8 hours ago, theodore94 said:

I also love the James Dean. I like the symbolism, James Dean is iconic, the pen is beautiful and heavy... very nice texture in my hand.  AGREED. 

[ak47]

Congrats!!!

Could you post other pictures of heritage fountain pen red? Thanks

[AcLondon]

I don't want to be the naysayer but I think at least a few of these are fake. It's the heritage rouge et noir I don't like the look of. I've seen a few of these faked. Also, the odd looking one that seems like it could be a blue hour I've seen as a fake. I'm not certain but this looks too good to be true to me. My utmost apologies if I'm wrong. 

[AcLondon]

The closer I look the more fake I think they are. Do any have a serial number something like lwl 888666? Or some combination of that? Very commonly used fake number. 

[theodore94]

@AcLondon please don't apologize -- it's always better to be safe than sorry! I very much appreciate you looking critically!

 

I'm adding some closer pictures of all of the pens (and the heritage @ak47), as well as pictures of their serial numbers and their manuals/boxes. The serial numbers generally seem to line up, though a few of them are very tough to read (i.e. the Heritages). None of them start with IW or end with 666 or anything like that (I'm aware of those fakes... they're *very* sneaky. I've actually reported a few when I saw them online!). From Googling the serial numbers, nothing comes up.

 

The booklets that have a print are all stamped with Montblanc Dallas and Timeless Luxuries, which are the two retailer that the seller told me about. I called Timeless Luxuries, and they do, indeed, sell Montblanc pens. Many of the boxes also have the serial numbers, and they seem to match as well. 

 

My concerns might be:

- All of the serial numbers start with MB (even though the serial numbers are not the same). I don't know if that's a newer trend, but it seems a bit strange.

- Some of the booklets don't have all the information written in. I've seen that before, but I think it's odd. 

- The refills all look right to me, except that the fineliner refill looks quite old. It's possible that it's not the original refill... he did say that he used some of these occasionally and one of these commonly.

- The Heritage serial numbers are VERY hard to read. Is that true for other Heritage pens?

- I haven't seen much about the 90th Anniversary Solitaire (the purple pen) online, so it's hard to find examples of how it should look. Also, it seems to have a pearl snowcap -- I don't know if that's correct.

 

@AcLondon Could you tell me what about the Heritage and the Blue Hour look fake to you so that maybe I could inspect them or add clarifying pictures?

[Dione]

I don't see any obvious fakes in there

[AcLondon]

I think MB is a very common genuine beginning for newer serial numbers. Tell be about the purple pen. What model is it? I don't recognise it. I would go with the more experienced collectors' opinions over mine!

[theodore94]

Here are the closer pictures:

 

 

[theodore94]

@AcLondon The purple pen (the pen in the picture below) is the 90 Year Meisterstuck Solitaire. It doesn't photograph too well... it's actually a bit more blue. But you can see it has the rose gold trim.

 

 

 

There's not a lot of examples online, but here's what I could find:

 

https://chatterleyluxuries.com/product/montblanc-meisterstuck-90-years-special-edition-classique-fountain-pen/

 

[theodore94]

15 minutes ago, Dione said:

I don't see any obvious fakes in there

Thanks for looking!

[theodore94]

Update: I called Montblanc with the serial numbers for the two Heritage pens, the 90 year Solitaire, and the Blue Hour, and they confirmed that those serial numbers were issued to the appropriate pens. That may not be conclusive -- a faker could just copy legit serial numbers -- but it's at least a good signal.

[theodore94]

4 hours ago, meiers said:

Your starwalker fine-liner accepts standard mb rollerball refills. MB ballpoint pen refills are the best. Particularly the B Refills. I think you’re building a fun collection. 

This is good to know! I will use a RB refill then! I love MB ballpoint refills. I really like the fine refills because most fine refills are kind of scratchy but MB makes them very smooth. I'm having a lot of fun building my collection!

[meiers]

41 minutes ago, theodore94 said:

Update: I called Montblanc with the serial numbers for the two Heritage pens, the 90 year Solitaire, and the Blue Hour, and they confirmed that those serial numbers were issued to the appropriate pens. That may not be conclusive -- a faker could just copy legit serial numbers -- but it's at least a good signal.

In my opinion that means those pens are legit.

The serial numbers for the two brand-new  Montblanc pens I purchased in 2020 start with "MB" in the warranty booklet.

[theodore94]

Thanks @meiers! If you think that's a good validation technique, maybe I'll ask about the other three serial numbers as well.

 

If they're all authentic, then I think it was a pretty good purchase! They are really beautiful, and as someone who typically buys used, it's really neat to have them all in their original boxes in brand new (or close to it) shape!

[meiers]

I think they are. This is my James Dean purchased from a Montblanc boutique.