MONTBLANC for DUNHILL 149 Meisterstück 18k Barleycorn Fountain Pen by Lefebvre

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MONTBLANC for DUNHILL 149 Meisterstück 18k Barleycorn Fountain Pen by Lefebvre:
$26000.00

MONTBLANC for DUNHILL Meisterstück Barleycorn 149 Fountain Pen Special Order to the Parisian master jeweler PierreLefebvre (triple signed: Montblanc - Dunhill -Lefebvre)

18C – 750 Extra Fine (F) Nib.

Late 1980s.

When you enter the world of watch collecting, one of the very first things you learn is the attractiveness of double signed dials. Well, the same applies, mutatis mutandis, to pen collecting.
With this in mind, what we’re looking at here is actually a “triple signed” piece.

This outstanding MB 149 fountain pen describes in itself a triangulation between Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The German precision and attention to detail, the Parisian charme and savoire faire as well as London international flair and exclusiveness are all packed into this terrific specimen.

The exceptional nature of this 18k yellow gold Montblanc Meisterstück #149 Fountain Pen lies in multiple factors.

First of all, a feature that immediately attracts the eye is the the Montblanc & Dunhill double signature engraved on the cap band. To fully understand the scope of this meaningful detail it is essential to take a step back in time.

In 1977 Montblanc is bought by the British Tobacco and luxury goods company Alfred Dunhill Ltd.

It’s not clear when the companies ‘separated’ but I suppose it was when the Vendome Luxury Group ceased to exist as a separate company and was absorbed in the Swiss firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont(1998).

This handsome 149 is probably datable to the the mid 1980s.

With this special order pen, Dunhill wanted to proudly assert ‘ownership’ over Montblanc.

Second of all we point out the surprising (and never seen before) fine textured barleycorn pattern (grain d’orge in French). The barleycorn pattern is normally found on the regular #146 Solitaire model in .925 Silver or Vermeil while, traditionally, the Solid Gold line only had pinstriped or chevron patterns.

So, here we have something really exceptional: a special order 149 realised by master ParisianjewellerPierreLefebvre. Located in rue Turbigot (Paris, 75003) the Lefèvre Atelier was the flower in the buttonhole of the French jewellery manufacturing.

Not everyone knows that Lefèvre workshop was the place where many creations of the most famous names in the jewellery trade have come to life (Cartier, Boucheron, Van Cliff & Arpels just to name a few).
As in all #149 pens made by Pierre Lefèvre the domed top cap is fully covered with gold and the Montblanc emblem is discreetly hand engraved.
The cap band is imprinted “MONBLANC” “18K” “DUNHILL”. There are also the eagle’s head hallmark (which is the French hallmark struck in gold jewellery) as well as Pierre Lefèvre's hallmark with two little stars, a mask and the initials "PL" inscribed within a rhombus.

Condition report: the concerned pen has beenpreviously used. There is a small ding on the top cap and some light wearcommensurate with use. The ink window shows somecrystallisations. The piston filling works properly. Ebonite feed. 18C Extra Fine (EF) 149 Nib. No box & no papers.

★ Why I would recomend you to buy this pen?

Well, it simply is a piece of history that have been in the shadows to date. A concrete witness of Dunhill’s takeover. Montblanc featuring with Dunhill... a circumstance more unique than rare. Museum piece.

If you are intrigued by this crucial phase of Montblanc history, please read the following extract from “Meisterstuck for the art of writing. A history of the firm Montblanc" by Kurt Grobecker

From Partnership to corporate matrimony -Dunhill becomes owner

The headline signalized a sensation only for those who were not familiar with the writing instrument scene.

Insiders had noticed the approach long before, which had not led to a formal engagement, but indeed to a trusting partnership.

Now, one could read about it not only in the business press; daily newspapers took note of the event in conspicuous headlines: “Dunhill takes over Montblanc”.

Expressed in sober figures, Montblanc meant: a Hamburg plant with about 550 employees, a plant in Wilster with 130 employees, a small operation in Meldorf and the firm Astoria.

Since the early 1970s, Montblanc had come to the realization that its own capital cover was perhaps too thin for the construction of new manufacturing facilities under a single roof and thus began carefully looking for a strong partner who could bear the economic burdens of such as step.

There was, however, another decisive reason for considering the support of a partner.

The reason lay in the structure of a family business.

Dr. Rösler, the son of the man who, together with Klaus Voß and Wolfram Dziambor, had led Montblanc to world success, made a critical review in the late 1970s of the company's prospects and determined that there were no qualified successors in the founding families who could assume responsibility for management.

The company itself was in sound condition, even on an upswing.

The company meeting of June 1976 reported a sales improvement of 30 per cent. At the same time, order backlogs were calculated at over DM 2.1 million. Although productivity was increased by about 30 per cent in the first six months of 1976 alone, such sizable production backlogs could no longer be caught up. Montblanc had reached the limit of its capacities, and it was clear that greater sales could only be achieved with expanded production facilities, which meant considerable capital investment.

Thus, the question of a financially strong partner became acute.

Contacts had already existed between Montblanc and Dunhill for some time.

The two firms were bound.among other things, by a basic tendency of their company philosophy, the emphasis on a highly positioned brand image, high quality standards and a discriminating target group.

Two important factors, in particular, spoke in favor of joining Dunhill.

Firstly, the British group had financial means and international experience with brand articles.

Secondly, delivery contracts had long existed with Dunhill, which supplemented its own writing instrument production in the luxury segment by purchasing from Montblanc.

In searching for new types of production, the two companies had become so close that each could appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of the other.

Dunhill was interested in keeping improved writing instruments under its own name on the market, but did not have the necessary technology for this.

At first, the British company therefore purchased the nib/feed sections and had its fountain pens assembled by other companies.

It was not until later that cooperation was so intensified that Montblanc produced complete writing instruments for Dunhill.

Perhaps it was less the business transaction that aroused attention in Germany than the flair that a union of noble with noble is always good for.

What occurred here was a kind of royal wedding in the high aristocracy of consumer goods.

Also, the fact that a very traditional name from London would ally itself with a not less traditional name from anglophilic Hamburg must have generated additional enthusiasm at least in the Hanseatic City on the Elbe.

The London firm certainly made a good purchase. The preceding year's result at Montblanc had grown by 20 per cent, far above expectations, and the first quarter of 1977 had again brought increases of up to 30 per cent.

Montblanc held market shares of 40 to 80 per cent in the luxury segment.

In Japan, where writing by hand has a special status, Montblanc had become market leader.

Other export markets had also been conquered by Montblanc, so that by the end of the 1970s exports accounted for about 60 per cent of sales.

Even after the merger, Montblanc continued to manufacture its own product range and not only remained independent in the distribution of its products, but at times even took over sales of Dunhill writing instruments in many parts of the world.

The company philosophy also remained firmly grounded in its traditional claim to high quality. The renaissance experienced by fountain pens as the ideal writing instrument in the early 1980s gave this claim new impetus.

Of the 800,000 fountain pens produced by Montblanc in 1981, 130,000, or about every sixth, belonged to the Meisterstück line.

Although production of this writing instrument is extremely labor-intensive, further automatization in the interest of cost reduction has been consistentlv reiected. "If we set up for automatic production," as a veteran Montblanc man once put it, "we wouldn't be able to assure the quality surface finish of our writing instruments, and this would mean losing our leading position on the market."

With the purchase of the Hamburg company, Dunhill was entering new territory. Never in its history had this traditional firm possessed production facilities of this magnitude. Thus, it was also necessary for Dunhill to reorient its objectives.

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