Montblanc

Montblanc is a well-known German pen and watch manufacturer founded in 1906. In 1926, it established its first leather goods factory. Its current products include writing instruments, leather goods, watches, jewelry, perfumes and glasses. The brand logo is a "white rounded six-pointed star" , which symbolizes the snow on the top of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe.

· Brand History ·

Montblanc , formerly known as Simplo Filler Pen Company , was originally a manufacturer specializing in fountain pens. It was co-founded by German banker Alfred Nehemias and engineer August Eberstein in 1906. After German businessman Claus Johnannes Voss joined, the company's headquarters was officially established in Hamburg, Germany .

"Montblanc" was first registered as a trademark in 1910 and used for all the company's writing instruments. The name is said to have originated from a card game in which a relative of a shareholder compared a fountain pen to Mont Blanc, saying that the two were similar in that one was the pinnacle of writing instruments and the other was the highest peak in the Alps.

The white dot on the fountain pen cap evolved into a "white rounded six-pointed star" , which officially became the logo of the Montblanc brand in 1913, symbolizing the snow-capped crown of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe.

In the 1920s, Montblanc launched the Meisterstück fountain pen series , which became an important milestone in the history of writing instruments. In order to produce leather accessories for fountain pens, Montblanc's first leather factory was established in 1926, located near the town of Offenbach, Germany , which is famous for its leather craftsmanship . Simplo was officially renamed Montblanc Simplo GmbH

in 1934. The following year, it acquired a leather manufacturing company in Offenbach, Germany, and began to produce leather goods such as pen bags, notebooks and pen cases.

During World War II, the Montblanc manufacturing plant was destroyed and the company's products were produced in Denmark . After the war, Montblanc immediately rebuilt the factory and re-established overseas agencies.

Montblanc pens have appeared in the belongings of royal nobles, politicians, businessmen and socialites many times. The most famous example occurred in 1963, when Federal German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was about to sign the "Cologne Golden Book" and fell into an embarrassing situation because he had no pen. Seeing this, US President JF Kennedy handed over the Montblanc pen he carried with him to help him out of the predicament.

Since 1977, Alfred Dunhill Ltd. of the United Kingdom has become the parent company of Montblanc. Under the management of Dunhill , Montblanc abandoned the low-priced fountain pen product line and focused on the needs of the high-end market . With the popularization of computers, fountain pens gradually changed from basic writing tools to commercial status symbols, and the luxury market became a new development direction for the Montblanc brand.

Montblanc's headquarters moved to its current location in 1989, settling in a modern building that integrates design, production, management and museums. Since the 1990s, Montblanc has expanded rapidly, expanding its business in Asia, Europe and North America. The first modern boutique opened in Hong Kong in 1990, and the first boutiques in Europe also opened in Paris and London, marking the beginning of the establishment of a global sales network.

The Montblanc brand gradually entered more luxury goods industries, such as leather goods, jewelry, watches, etc. In 1992, Montblanc acquired the German Seeger leather goods company and launched a new product line "New Dimensions" , which included small leather goods, handmade paper and office supplies.

In 1996, Montblanc entered the men's jewelry industry and launched the Meisterstück jewelry series ; in 1997, Montblanc opened a watch factory in Le Locle , the center of the Swiss watch industry, and then made its debut at the Geneva International Haute Horlogerie Salon (SIHH) and launched the Meisterstück watch series .


Vendôme Luxury Group SA acquired Dunhill in 1993 and became the parent company of the Montblanc brand. It was not until 1997 that Vendôme was privatized by Richemont SA and Montblanc became one of the brands of the Richemont Group .

Since the 1980s, Montblanc has actively participated in art and culture. In order to reward outstanding art patrons, Montblanc has awarded the "International Art Patron Award" every year since 1992. Montblanc also invited internationally renowned modern artists to interpret the Montblanc six-pointed white star logo through art. The works were included in the "Montblanc Avant-garde Art Series" and displayed in the Montblanc headquarters building, leather goods factory and watch factory.

In 2012, the Montblanc leather goods factory moved to Florence, the leather craft center of Italy . To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Meisterstück series , Montblanc launched a special commemorative edition writing instrument series , Meisterstück Heritage watch series and Montblanc Extreme leather goods series in 2014 .

Currently, Montblanc's products include writing instruments, leather goods, watches, jewelry, perfumes and glasses, with sales covering more than 70 countries and more than 360 boutiques worldwide.

· Chronology of major events ·