Montblanc Vintage 1960–1989 Meisterstück 12 and 14 and the gold versions 72 to 94

With the forms attributed to Albrecht Graf Goertz the Meisterstück got a new look in 1960. It was the 12 in the small and the 14 in the large size; gold versions, the 72 to 94, were added.

The new design

The new Meisterstück pens were slimmer than the 142, 144 and 146 of the 1950s and had a cap ring shaped like a “bishop’s mitre”, the stylised mountain (forum post of 2 March 2005). The collaboration with Graf Goertz was official (post on Penexchange (thread “Die ‘kleinen’ Geschichten zu und hinter Füllhaltern”)). All fountain pens of the 1960s came in the same two sizes; the lines differed only in the cap rings, the quality of the nib and gold applications (forum post of 13 February 2007).

12 and 14

Otherwise the 12 and 14 hardly differ; the 14 is just slightly thicker (post on Penexchange (thread “Unterschied MB 12 und 14”)). For export the 12, 14, 72 and 74 also came in burgundy, dark green and grey.

The gold versions

Both sizes came in gold versions:

• 72 and 74 with a rolled-gold cap
• 82 and 84 entirely in rolled gold
• 92 and 94 in solid gold — 14 ct, from 1961 also 18 ct

The 92 and 94 differ only in the length of the barrel (forum post of 29 August 2006). The 72 is always a plastic pen with a gold-plated cap; a “72” entirely in rolled gold has a swapped cap (forum post of 18 April 2006).

Star and market variants

Two deviations from the star occur on pens of this series: a white dot instead of the star for the Arab markets, and a star with a black centre line dividing it into two halves (Fountain Pen Network post of 7 February 2017). From 1969 all Montblanc pens carried the six-pointed star (Fountain Pen Network post of 22 April 2016).