Writing from the heart
Montblanc releases the first in its pen series inspired by the story of the Little Prince
INSPIRED by Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s much-loved poetic tale, Montblanc, the German maker of luxury writing instruments, recently celebrated the launch of the Meisterstuck Le Petit Prince Special Edition pen.
With design elements based on Saint-Exupery’s hand-drawn illustrations, the Meisterstuck Le Petit Prince Special Edition evokes the themes of one of the world’s most translated novels –a story about the power of imagination, friendship and the transmission of ideas.
“Who doesn’t know about the Little Prince? This beautiful story about companionship, friendship, and love is available in 250 languages. We show our pride in the storytelling through what we do best, which is the writing instrument,” says Matthieu Dupont, Montblanc’s president South East Asia
“The pens are handmade and features a lot of exquisite details such as the engraving, the fox, and the Little Prince’s quote ‘To me you are unique in the world’ on the cap.”
On the market since April, the pen was officially launched recently in Bangkok at the brand’s revamped boutique in Siam Paragon. The first series of the Meisterstuck Le Petit Prince edition features the inspiring and tender characters of the young prince and the fox who enlightens him about the importance of close bonds and human relationships, revealing the core wisdom learned from his own life’s experiences. Subsequent editions, which are due on the market in the next three years, will highlight other characters from the book and the powerful messages they carry.
In a first for Montblanc, the cap and barrel of the Meisterstuck Le Petit Prince Special Edition are made of night-blue resin evoking the deep blue sky of the universe around the prince. The milled cap is decorated with a fox face pattern, with platinum-coated fittings contrasting with the deep blue of the writing instrument. Before travelling back to his asteroid, the little prince tells the pilot he will be able to hear his laugh any time simply by looking at the stars and remembering. As a reminder of the laughter in the stars, a golden star adorns the clip of this edition.
The delicate character of Le Petit Prince is immortalised along with his friend the fox on the handcrafted 14K rhodium-plated nib. the sentence from the original novel has been laser engraved into the crown of the writing instrument, which is available as a Fountain Pen, Roller Ball and Ballpoint Pen.
The Classique Edition, meanwhile, pairs the deep blue of the lacquer barrel with the luminosity of a platinum-coated cap elegantly decorated with engravings of the fox pattern. The shiny surface of the platinum is repeated on the metal cone, cap and the pen clip adorned with the yellow star. Collectors can |choose between a Ballpoint Pen, a Roller Ball and a Fountain Pen with an 18K bi-colour nib embellished with the outline of the Little Prince and the fox.
The fox pattern covers both the cap and barrel of the Meisterstuck Le Petit Prince Solitaire, engraved on the deep blue lacquer. Contrasting with the blue, the fittings are crafted from platinum-coated metal.
“Traditionally the Meisterstuck collection is in black so we were being adventurous in selecting a dark blue to represent the night sky. The challenge was to get the right blue,” Dupont adds.
“Writing is our DNA and we have been guided by the pioneering spirit since 1906. When you step in the boutique, you can see how much we have evolved into a brand that manufactures different types of luxury lifestyle products. Our products are crafted to the highest standards thanks to the skills of our artisans in Hamburg for our writing instruments, the Swiss Jura in Le Locle and Villeret for our timepieces and Florence for our leather goods.”
“The writing instrument category is still growing. More people still want to write and I don’t think technology will ever truly replace this. And, in any case, one does not prevent the other,” he stresses.
“We take what is good and sophisticated and inject innovations such as the new method of treatment given to, for example, the Montblanc Ultra-black or a modern design that uses a magnet to immediately position the cap and pen,” he says.
To extend the Meisterstuck Le Petit Prince writing experience, Montblanc has created special ink and refills inspired by the fox character in a dark orange colour reminiscent of the fox’s fur. A leather notebook completes the writing experience, bound in fine Saffiano leather featuring a fox print on its cover inspired by the author’s illustrations.
The story of Le Petit Prince has also inspired a selection of Meisterstuck Le Petit Prince men’s accessories including a pair of round stainless steel cufflinks in deep blue lacquer with a fox face design, a stainless steel and blue lacquer money clip, and a contemporary men’s woven leather bracelet with a stainless steel clasp decorated with a yellow star.
