Over 100 manufacturing steps are needed to create a pen. That might surprise you, but not if we are talking about a Montblanc Meisterstück, which in German means nothing less than a “masterpiece”. Created in 1924, this “writing instrument” is considered to be one of the finest expressions of traditional European craftsmanship. Now it is even more special, because here is the Montblanc Meisterstück Great Masters: Pirelli Limited Edition 1872, which celebrates the year in which the P Lunga brand was established.
Rubber: a shared origin
What do Pirelli and Montblanc have in common? Their passion for perfection, their attention to detail, their pursuit of the highest quality and the best performance levels. But there is also another aspect that brings together the two brands, and that is rubber. Pirelli in fact started out by developing various types of products made from rubber, whilst the founders of Montblanc created their first writing instruments using Ebonite, which was obtained from the vulcanisation of natural rubber. Black, the classic colour of rubber, together with red, are the two shades which characterise them both in a significant way.
Meisterstück Great Masters Pirelli Limited Edition 1872: its characteristics
The cap and body of the Meisterstück Great Masters Pirelli Limited Edition 1872 are made from black rubber. The slim red rings add a dynamic touch to the black cone and the top of the cap, which is surmounted by the Montblanc emblem in precious mother-of-pearl. The motif which enriches the cap and the body of the Meisterstück Great Masters Pirelli Limited Edition 1872 draws inspiration from a historic graphic design of the PIRELLI logo, dating back to 1966. That legendary elongated “P” used with effect from 1908 to symbolise the elastic properties of rubber, is also engraved on the nib in Au750 solid gold above the stylised image of a moving tyre depicting the Montblanc emblem at its centre.
The role of craftsmanship
Every nib is entirely crafted by hand, from its engraving to the specialised processing, through to the sound which it produces on paper. A hand-crafting feature which you can also see in the figure of the “scrawlers”, who hand-engrave the treads which are developed virtually on the surfaces of tyre prototypes. In a clear reference to the artisanal flair of the “scrawlers”, on the matt rubber of the pen's cap and body is engraved a motif which contrasts its details, with their ruthenium finish, against the glossy black background.
Created with extreme care and attention to detail, the Meisterstück Great Masters Pirelli Limited Edition 1872 is a tribute to the precision and quality passed down through generations of highly qualified and passionate craftsmen. It is available in a limited edition from September 2021, for those who always want to have the history of Pirelli and the elegance of Montblanc readily to hand.
