Montblanc (company)

Montblanc International GmbH
Subsidiary of Richemont Group
Industry Luxury goods
Founded 1906 (1906)
Headquarters Hamburg, Germany
Number of locations
 449 Boutiques (2012)
Key people
 Nicolas Baretzki (CEO)[1]
Products Pens, Leather, Watches, Jewellery, Sunglasses, Perfume, Cufflinks
Parent Richemont
Website www.montblanc.com

Montblanc International GmbH (pronounced: [mo(n) blaw(n)] or [mon blaan(k)]) is a German manufacturer of luxury writing instruments, watches, jewellery and leather goods, often identified by their "Snow peak" logo.

History

A Hamburg banker, Alfred Nehemias, and a Berlin engineer, August Eberstein, produced simple pens in 1906. After a short period of time Wilhelm Dziambor, Christian Lausen and later Claus Johannes Voss took over the business. Their first model was the Rouge et Noir in 1909 followed in 1910 by the pen that was later to give the company its new name, Montblanc. The Meisterstück name (English: "Masterpiece", the name used for export) was used for the first time in 1924. Today, the Montblanc brand is on other goods besides pens, including watches, jewellery, fragrances, leather goods and eyewear.

The company was acquired by dunhill in 1977, following which lower price pens were dropped and the brand was used on a wide range of luxury goods other than pens.[2]

Today, Montblanc forms part of the Richemont group. Its sister companies include luxury brands Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chloé, and Baume et Mercier. Montblanc is owned, through Richemont, by the South African Rupert family.

Branding

Meisterstück 146 (top) and 149 fountain pens

A trademark identified with Montblanc is the white stylized six-pointed snowcap with rounded edges, representative of the Mont Blanc snowcap from above, the symbol being adopted in 1913. The number "4810," the mountain's height in meters, is also a commonly recurring theme.

In January 2014, Hugh Jackman was announced as Montblanc's Global Brand Ambassador, outside of US.[3]

Characteristics

Montblanc makes several models of pens, with the Meisterstück (fountain pen) representing the cornerstone model. Each model is slightly different, however models created after 1990 have a serial number located on the ring at the top of the clip. Under the clip is usually the words "Made in Germany" and often "Pix". Moreover, the barrel of the pen will reveal a reddish hue under strong lighting. If the pen in question does not have these attributes then it is possibly a fake.

Website blocking

In October 2014 the first blocking order against trademark infringing consumer goods was passed against the major UK ISPs by Richemont, Cartier International and Montblanc to block several domains selling trademark infringing products.[4]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "New CEO for Montblanc", Prestige Magazine, 2016-11-24
  2. ↑ "Penspotters :: Montblanc pens". rickconner.net.
  3. ↑ "Montblanc announces Hugh Jackman as Global Brand Ambassador". The Gentlemans Journal.
  4. ↑ Little, Trevor. "Landmark judgment handed down in dispute between Richemont and ISPs". Retrieved 17 October 2014.
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