Newsletter archive 2004/2005

Spotting counterfeit products and trading on Ebay

• Patron of Arts 2004 J.P. Morgan
• Identifying features of counterfeit Montblanc writing instruments
• Counterfeit Limited Editions
• The legal position on trade mark counterfeiting
• Liability of auction platforms
• Tips for buyers and sellers on Ebay
• Description and photographs for auctions

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• How is the Montblanc Patron of Arts Edition 2004 in honour of J. P. Morgan made and how large is its edition size?
• Which Montblanc products were counterfeited particularly often around 2004, and how widespread were copies in online auctions?
• Why are the original packaging, the papers and an engraved serial number not a reliable proof of authenticity for a Montblanc writing instrument?
• How does the Montblanc emblem on the cap top of an original differ from that of a fake?
• In which colours does Montblanc offer the Meisterstück and the Bohème in precious resin, and which colour combinations give a fake away?
• Which irregularities on the rings and the cap reveal counterfeit Montblanc writing instruments, particularly on the Meisterstück 144?

and 13 further entries from this issue

Special newsletter on the 16th International Fountain Pen Collectors' Meeting in Cologne

• 16th International Fountain Pen Collectors' Meeting in Cologne
• Programme and staggered admission times
• Range of brands offered by the exhibitors
• Price level and condition compared with Ebay
• Montblanc rarities and coloured fountain pens
• Writers Edition Schiller for 360 euros
• Types of collector: passion and speculation

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• When and where did the 16th International Fountain Pen Collectors' Meeting in Cologne take place, and how was admission arranged?
• How did prices and the state of preservation at the Cologne collectors' meeting in 2004 compare with Ebay?
• What did a Montblanc Schiller from the Writers Edition cost on the collectors' market in March 2004?
• Which brands were represented at the Cologne pen collectors' meeting in 2004, and which were missing?

Online auctions and polishing Meisterstück pens

• Liability of platform operators in online auctions
• Description obligations, warranty and exclusion of liability when buying at auction
• Payment methods, escrow services and fraud schemes
• Polishes and polishing methods for precious resin compared
• Counterfeits of old Montblanc and vintage writing instruments
• New products of spring 2004
• Cultural sponsorship as a marketing instrument

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• Which Montblanc novelties were presented in the spring of 2004?
• Which Bohème and StarWalker variants and which perfume did Montblanc announce in the summer of 2004?
• Which anecdote about wealth links the Writers Edition authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway?
• By what methods are old Montblanc fountain pens faked or subsequently 'enhanced'?
• Which older Montblanc models are counterfeited particularly often, and how does one guard against this when buying?
• Is the operator of an online auction platform such as Ebay liable for the writing instruments offered there?

and 16 further entries from this issue

Special newsletter on the pen fair in Munich

• First pen fair at the Munich Residenz
• Organisation, admission and international participants
• Offerings from the bargain box to the top-class piece
• Repair tools, cork seals and accessories
• Pen boxes as a field of collecting
• Munich stationery shops and Königstinte
• Launch of the Fountainpen community

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• How was the first Munich fountain pen fair on 10 July 2004 at the Residenz organised?
• What is offered at a pen show besides the writing instruments themselves, and in which price ranges?
• What is the Schreibmayr Königstinte, and where was it available in 2004?

Factory tour in Hamburg and new products of 2004

• Bohème Jewels with gemstones in the clip
• Limited Unicef editions of the Meisterstück 149
• Writers Edition Franz Kafka and Limited Edition Ancient Games
• Precious resin, injection moulding and nib production at the Hamburg factory
• Test laboratory with pressure chamber, climatic chamber and writing robot
• Artisan shop, Montblanc Academy and museum
• Retailer profile of Dörrbecker Schreibkultur in Bremen
• White Pearl as an edition never delivered

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• What distinguishes the three limited Unicef editions of the Montblanc Meisterstück 149 of 2004?
• What appointments and what edition size does the Montblanc Limited Edition Ancient Games of 2004 have?
• When did the Montblanc Writers Edition 2004 Franz Kafka come on to the market, and where was it first to be seen?
• How does a solid gold strip become a finished nib for a fountain pen at Montblanc?
• Why does every gold nib carry an iridium tip, and what purpose do the nib slit and the breather hole serve?
• How are Montblanc nibs rhodium-plated, and which further parts pass through the electroplating shop?

and 10 further entries from this issue

Tilburg Pen Show and the Hamburg pen fair

• Tilburg Pen Show at the Museum Scryption
• Supply and price level of old Montblanc writing instruments in 2004
• Factory tour and company museum at Montblanc
• Handmade wooden fountain pens by Stefan Fink
• Hamburg pen fair on 3 October 2004
• Writing ink with 24-carat gold
• Philarmonica with music nib and two breather holes

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• How are the handmade wooden fountain pens by Stefan Fink produced, and which woods are used?
• Which nib and which filling system do the wooden fountain pens by Stefan Fink have?
• What is the Scryption museum in Tilburg, and what is shown there for collectors of writing instruments?
• Which Montblanc writing instruments and which prices were to be found at the Tilburg Pen Show in 2004?
• What was the demand for old and for new writing instruments at the Hamburg pen fair in 2004?
• What lies behind the writing ink made of 24-carat gold presented in 2004?

and 1 further entries from this issue

Montblanc promotional items and rare nib widths

• Montblanc promotional items and collectibles
• Christmas tins (Santa Claus Box) 1998 to 2004
• Art to Go shopping bags from 2002
• Incentives for staff and specialist retailers
• Rare Montblanc nib widths (6B, S, ball and manifold nibs)
• Left-handed nibs and music nibs
• OMAS Filarmonica with music nib
• History of the Füllfeder-Zentrale Dortmund

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• What is the Rouge-et-Noir leather case from Montblanc, and how did one obtain this promotional item?
• How is the Montblanc wall clock from the 1950s recognised, and what was it worth in 2005?
• What were the Montblanc "Art to Go" shopping bags of 2002, and how large was their edition size?
• What are the Montblanc Christmas tins ("Santa Claus Box") and to whom were they distributed?
• Which Montblanc umbrellas were there, and on what occasions were they issued?
• What was the Montblanc mini ink bottle of 1991 made for, and which fountain pens is it suitable for?

and 14 further entries from this issue

Special newsletter on the 17th International Fountain Pen Collectors' Meeting in Cologne

• 17th International Fountain Pen Collectors' Meeting in Cologne on 5 March 2005
• Staggered admission prices of 30 and 3 euros
• Montblanc rarities: No. 12 safety pen, 139, striped 144
• Octagonal Safety No. 2 with gold overlay
• Omas Filarmonica with music nib
• Old Montblanc inks and ink collecting
• Price level compared with Ebay
• Price-quality irradiation and the free-rider problem

Knowledge base entries from this issue

• What did admission to the International Fountain Pen Collectors' Meeting in Cologne in 2005 cost, and how did the day proceed?
• Which writing instruments are actually bought at collectors' meetings, and how do the prices compare with Ebay?
• Which sizes and versions of the Montblanc safety pen are regarded as particularly rare?
• Which Montblanc fountain pens were regarded as particular rarities at collectors' meetings in the mid-2000s?
• Why are old Montblanc inks sought after among collectors, and how extensive can ink collections be?
• What does price-quality irradiation state, and which example from the watch industry demonstrates it?