Montblanc fakes are improving

[drgriz]

There have been countless threads on site if a pen is a fake or not.  In the past, fountain pens were very easy to spot for several reasons. Years ago, a poster made a bold statement to the fact that the fakes would continue to be bad and that we were a long way off from the days when an internal piston filler would be faked.  
 

That day has come for the internal piston filler MB fake.  See the attached pictures.  There are many glaring issues, but it does have an internal piston filler, nib is not steel (magnet does not stick to it) writes okay. 
 

Back story, pen was listed on an auction site for $450.  Being a person who is willing to take a risk, I bought it.  Canadian seller shipped it, before pen could arrive the auction site already banned the seller.  Once pen arrived, I saw it was a fake, opened case, case was decided in my favor.  
 

I own a real Blue Hour, love it.  But this fake is an okay knock around pen.  
 

Respectfully submitted for your entertainment and discussion.  

[lionelc]

thanks @drgriz, the blue hour fake is a looker - i dont think i will be able to tell it apart from the real thing without actually holding it in my hand.  if it wasnt for the suspiciously low price point would have been tempted to have a 2nd look at it on auction site.

[encremental]

Fake it may be, but it's nice to see a Montblanc with a proper fine nib!  My F nibs are at least medium, with the exception of the Egyptology and a Montblanc M.

 

John

[AcLondon]

I couldn't agree more. I got caught out by a version of this exact Blue Hour pen. First time I think I've bought a fake in five years.  Not only did I buy it but passed it on thinking it was real. Weight was good, nib specialised enough to pass without a direct comparision next to it. 

 

The key to spotting a fake is the section collar - they've yet (yet being operative word) to find a way of mimicking the collar precisely. Also, the nib shape is not quite right. I handle hundreds of MBs a year though and I think for the average buyer that's not going to be very helpful. 

[Leonardo_Writing]

Good heads-up, the counterfeits are off the charts on Ebay since couple of months, at same time the Chinese copies become better, I saw recently that there is a copy of the 149 now, pretty close. 

Also, the magnet test is not 100% accurate, as some stainless steels alloys are not magnetic. 

[a student]

 

4 hours ago, Leonardo_Writing said:

Good heads-up, the counterfeits are off the charts on Ebay since couple of months, at same time the Chinese copies become better, I saw recently that there is a copy of the 149 now, pretty close. 

Also, the magnet test is not 100% accurate, as some stainless steels alloys are not magnetic. 

 

This is precisely the point, that fakes are improving fast as the technology involved is not insurmountable- rather it is pretty straightforward! 

 

Not quite sure how MB can continue to protect its product against counterfeits, more so regarding the basic "precious resin" versions. Evidently, there is a very large margin between the cost of production and the selling price, once the sunk cost have been written off

 

The odd thing is that I have never heard of fake GvFC, Namikis, Conids, Pelikans, Montegrappas, etc. 

Edited October 14 by a student
typo

[ak47]

How much was the price?

I use it to understand if i am seeing a true or a fake mb.

[ZeroDukE]

4 hours ago, Leonardo_Writing said:

Good heads-up, the counterfeits are off the charts on Ebay since couple of months, at same time the Chinese copies become better, I saw recently that there is a copy of the 149 now, pretty close. 

Also, the magnet test is not 100% accurate, as some stainless steels alloys are not magnetic. 

 

I agree. The new Chinese replicas are actually very accurate. And now the replicas have entered the field of Montblanc's "Limited" and "Special" editions. There's a Jane Austen replica that looks too similar to the original... I think you'd have to have an original nearby to notice the difference, which is quite difficult because not everyone can afford it.

 

[AcLondon]

30 minutes ago, ak47 said:

How much was the price?

I use it to understand if i am seeing a true or a fake mb.

The one I bought was about 70% of what you'd expect a used one to cost. Pretty clever way of bypassing the 'too good to be true' rule: charge almost full price for your fake.

[Leonardo_Writing]

1 hour ago, a student said:

 

 

This is precisely the point, that fakes are improving fast as the technology involved is not insurmountable- rather it is pretty straightforward! 

 

Not quite sure how MB can continue to protect its product against counterfeits, more so regarding the basic "precious resin" versions. Evidently, there is a very large margin between the cost of production and the selling price, once the sunk cost have been written off

 

The odd thing is that I have never heard of fake GvFC, Namikis, Conids, Pelikans, Montegrappas, etc. 

 

Mainly MB because of the luxe and status symbol perceived by the general public. 

 

42 minutes ago, ZeroDukE said:

 

I agree. The new Chinese replicas are actually very accurate. And now the replicas have entered the field of Montblanc's "Limited" and "Special" editions. There's a Jane Austen replica that looks too similar to the original... I think you'd have to have an original nearby to notice the difference, which is quite difficult because not everyone can afford it.

 

Yes, if you go on Ebay and type on of the following : Montblanc petit prince, jfk, rouge et noir,  st exupery and many other limited editions you will see many for sale around 110-140$

[drgriz]

2 hours ago, ak47 said:

How much was the price?

I use it to understand if i am seeing a true or a fake mb.

I've noticed several of these listed, they tend to be listed around $450 or in one case, I saw one from China listed low i.e. $200 with $300 for shipping.

[drgriz]

6 hours ago, Leonardo_Writing said:

Good heads-up, the counterfeits are off the charts on Ebay since couple of months, at same time the Chinese copies become better, I saw recently that there is a copy of the 149 now, pretty close. 

Also, the magnet test is not 100% accurate, as some stainless steels alloys are not magnetic. 

Oh I agree on the magnet testing.  What is sad is that it writes better than some of my authentic MBs. One case in point is my new solitaire calligraphy nib pen, writes like it is rusty nail.  Fake, so smooth.

[ak47]

I understand. We have to be aware

[drgriz]

When I created this thread, I did not want to do the side by side comparison, but changed my mind ever so slightly.  On the left is the Blue Hour Skeleton (OBBB), middle Blue Hour (OBB), right Fake.  Most obvious is the depth of the engraving on the nib as well as the lack of consistency and lack of hallmarks.  Great discussion.

 

[Seney724]

2 hours ago, Leonardo_Writing said:

Yes, if you go on Ebay and type on of the following : Montblanc petit prince, jfk, rouge et noir,  st exupery and many other limited editions you will see many for sale around 110-140$

It's ridiculous.

There are more fake Prousts and JFKs currently on eBay than were produced in Montblanc's production run of that specific series!!

One is best advised to not buy either one, no matter how good it looks.

 

The other question is why eBay allows this reckless, fraudulent activity to continue on, unchecked?

Actually, that's an easy question; we all know the answer.  

[Gabhain]

I was in my local MB boutique recently and a man came in to see if the store would be interested in reselling his limited edition pens. All but one was fake. I don't know why but the fake ones all had metal sections when their real counterparts didn't always. I got to handle a fake Jimi Hendrix and it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be.  

 

If the chinese factories are capable of making pretty decent knock offs like that, they could easily have good original designs. 

[jchch1950]

The fake MB pens are everywhere where from street stalls to certain level stationary stores. The better they made them, the more we should buy from the MB boutiques and reputable dealers.

[ZeroDukE]

In my opinion, MB has built its product based on the perception of social status. Today, its prices seem geared toward creating an image of status rather than the reality of the product's cost and quality. From my perspective, replicas don't primarily seek to copy the design, but rather to exploit the core product sold alongside the fountain pen. Replicas don't seek to replace sales to buyers of the originals, but rather to those who can't afford them but still want to acquire the most important product: demonstrating status. And that's the true success of replicas. Someone wrote that you don't see that many replicas (if any at all) of other major brands, but these don't sell MB's status. In other cases, those who enjoy the special-edition designs and wouldn't even think of buying them get away with replicas. I'm not trying to justify producing replicas at all; it's simply an analysis of what I think may be happening, hence why they continue to be produced, especially with this brand. Of course, there are the true lovers of design, quality and the pleasure they get from an original MB.

[AmandaW]

Does the status seeking backfire if Montblanc becomes associated with "it's probably a fake"?

[ZeroDukE]

7 minutes ago, AmandaW said:

Does the status seeking backfire if Montblanc becomes associated with "it's probably a fake"?

 

Absolutely.