Montblanc sells its writing instruments through a tightly managed network of authorised specialist dealers and its own boutiques, and sets great store by the recommended prices being observed. Open online selling well below that level is not something the manufacturer wants. Offers of that kind, experience shows, come from dealers clearing residual stock or trading outside the intended distribution channels; such ranges usually vanish from the shop in question after a while, because Montblanc regulates who is supplied. A low price therefore does not necessarily make a seller disreputable, but it is reason to look at him more closely.
What should raise doubts is a shop that also lists pens not available through the ordinary trade at all. The Solitaire Diamond, for instance, priced at the time at around 107,500 euros including VAT, is made only to order and sold exclusively through the boutiques; no dealer keeps such a writing instrument in stock. Anyone wanting to buy online does best to choose an established specialist dealer and, in case of doubt, to ask the manufacturer whether the seller is authorised.