Cracks in precious resin, especially on the mechanical pencil in the area of the screwed-on clip mount and on the ballpoint at the point where the metal tip is screwed in, are reported in individual cases from the 1980s but are not typical of models produced since. Collectors with stocks from very different decades and with Meisterstücks made after 2000 have neither observed this phenomenon themselves nor regularly found it documented in auction listings. Solitaire writing instruments, due to their metal barrel, are crack-free by design and today significantly more expensive than the precious-resin variants. Spare parts and repair are still possible only via Montblanc itself; in the 1980s defective components were frequently exchanged free of charge, later only against the repair flat fee, which depending on the model can reach about a third of the new price.