History of Montblanc

The modern day Montblanc brand sprung from the Simplo Filler Pen Company founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1906. From the start, the company was an interesting marriage of the various skills and expertise of a stationer, Claus Johannes Voss; a banker, Christian Lausen; and an engineer, Wilhelm Dziambor. By 1909, it became clear that the ambitions of these 3 men for their brand spread far beyond their base in Hamburg, Germany. In this short time they already established boutiques for their products in Paris, London and Barcelona. One year later marked the first of many bold marketing initiatives for the brand. Simplo Filler officially became "Montblanc", named aptly for the tallest mountain in Europe to symbolize the high aspirations that the founders had for the brand and the high level of quality that they built into it.

Only 3 years later, by 1913, in what can, from the perspective of history, be seen as the most brilliant of all marketing steps, the white cap symbol of Montblanc was introduced to the public for the first time. It was, again, an insightful revelation of the founders that the snow-covered peak of Montblanc could so effectively serve as the brand's most recognizable symbol. The Montblanc star was born.

It took nearly a decade more for Montblanc to evolve to resemble the company that we know today. In 1924, the Meisterstück, ("masterpiece") collection was unveiled. This is the collection that we know today in the forms of Montblanc Classique, Le Grand, Doue, Solitaire and Mozart. In a matter of just 2 years following, the brand had established its presence in more than 60 countries, always supported by innovative advertising and marketing campaigns. The year 1924 is especially significant in that it clearly marks the start of the modern day Montblanc styling and brand identity.

By 1930 another small, but important piece, of the Montblanc story was added in the form of the "4810" that is engraved on Montblanc fountain pen nibs. The significance of this designation is to mark the height of Montblanc (the mountain peak) in meters and to celebrate its standing as the highest peak in Europe.

Although there is no specific year to attach to the market dominance that Montblanc achieved as "the" luxury writing instruments brand, it was during the decade of the 1980's that Montblanc made major strides to effectively capture the luxury segment of the market as its sole province. It was also during this decade, in 1986, that Montblanc added its now familiar tag line "The Art of Writing."

In the 1990's, Montblanc took its powerful marketing strategy to an entirely new level with the opening of its first present day boutique in Hong Kong. By 1995, Montblanc established several similar boutique shops in major markets in the United States. The end result is that, as of the present day, Montblanc has celebrated the opening of its 200th boutique worldwide on the internationally famous Champs Elysee in Paris.

With the introductions of leather accessories and Limited Edition/Writer's Edition pens in 1992 to the 1997 debut of its Meisterstück watch line, Montblanc completed the full evolution to become the extensive luxury brand that we know today. It is the World of Montblanc and it celebrates more than "75 Years of Passion and Soul."