If the masters of industry or politics were to sit down to sign some big merger deal or trade treaty, only to pull out a yellow Bic, a sense of the inappropriate might strike even the most ardent fan of disposable pens. In distinct contrast to the kind of pen found by the box-load in office stationery cupboards, the Montblanc Meisterstück, one of the largest fountain pens on the market, is often referred to as the Power Pen, given its use for signing important documents by various leaders.
Part of the appeal of the fountain pen is that it is symbolic – and enduringly so. Other pens may be much less expensive, lighter, require less maintenance and would be less sorely missed if lost (if missed at all). But the reason to buy and use a fountain pen is more psychological than practical. The fountain pen, which has seen sales growth of 18 per cent from 2001 to 2005, embodies a desirable degree of ceremony and prestige that lesser pens forego.
“I use a pencil at work because I make too many mistakes, a ballpen for checking finances but a fountain pen when I need to sign anything personal or of importance,” says Mark Ivory, director of sales for pen brand Cross.
The image of the fountain pen as temperamental, fragile and prone to spills no longer holds true. Technology has led to more free-flowing inks and less likelihood of blockage or leakage, with new materials meaning the modern fountain pen is able to operate, for instance, in the pressurised cabin of an aircraft.
“Getting out of a plane with a big blue spot on your shirt is not good for the reputation of the brand – or the man,” says Wolff Heinrichsdorff, chief executive of Montblanc. Indeed, he is happy to point out that the brand’s “new” Rouge et Noir – a pen designed in 1908 and reissued as an exact replica to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary last year – is likely to leave your fingers inky. But it is a testament to the fountain pen’s popularity that the industry’s steady flow of limited editions is snapped up by a healthy collectors’ market.
Designs have moved on too, refreshing a market that risked being perceived as offering only the big black statement pens of the more dominant brands. Omas, for instance, has created pens enamelled with early Japanese manga artwork. Caran D’Ache has teamed up with architect Mario Botta to design a minimalist Bauhaus-inspired pen crowned with a real peacock feather. It also has models made from woven steel. Faber-Castell has designs with pear or coconut wood barrels, with a laser-finished black crocodile texture, or made from fossilised mammoth ivory. Pelikan has created a multicoloured model while Montblanc has one made from granite. The result is that the fountain pen has found a new role – not only as statement but also as style accessory.
“Cross is making fountain pens to match the fashion season’s colours, deleting the old range with each new season. Just a few years ago that kind of product would have been unheard of,” says Colin McClymont, managing director of The Pen Shop, Europe’s largest chain of writing instrument shops. “Now fountain pens come in all colours, materials and sizes. Men and women are now buying them in almost equal numbers.”
Chloe Mercer, marketing manager for Stone Marketing, a writing instrument specialist distributor for the UK, says the huge gift market has boosted fountain pen sales. However, it is its image as an individualistic luxury object – one that, like a bespoke suit, needs to be broken in, and whose nib over time moulds to the grip and pressure of the individual who writes with it – that is now encouraging some customers to make multiple purchases. Provided you’re not after the Pen Shop’s black diamond-and-ruby-encrusted Fulgor Nocturnus fountain pen at £65,000, the prices of even top-of-the-range pens makes one an affordable luxury too.
Certainly, the fountain pen also speaks of an appreciation for the finer things in life, which is suggestive of maturity. According to Mintel’s report, under-25s are happy using paper and (mostly disposable) pen in a digital age, but 25- to 35-year-olds are the most resistant to re-engaging with top-end writing instruments. The new emphasis on style may yet turn them.
Rather than mismatch their pen with their PDA, the converted are already buying into the whole package: “A fountain pen and fine stationery tend to go hand in glove – they’re both investments and you don’t want to have fine paper and then use a Bic,” says Paddy Byng, chief executive of Smythson. “With the electronic revolution, a lot of people thought: ‘That’s it for paper-based luxury.’ But notebooks, diaries and pens remain covetable items.”
In times of Biros and BlackBerrys, it may well be tempting to dismiss the fountain pen as anachronistic. But it is precisely in reaction to the prevalence of the high-tech in people’s lives that “nostalgic” products are now so popular.
“The fountain pen is about deceleration – it helps you to think deeper and move more slowly,” says Heinrichsdorff. “And we all need that sometimes. Goethe described ink as ‘liquid thoughts’. And I think he was right.”
...........................................................................................................................................
The write choice
