The Sterling Silver Collection
I decided to give the sterling pieces a polish this morning.
Left to right: MB Charles Dickens WE with B nib, Montegrappa Extra 1930 Turtle Brown celluloid and Ebonite feeder with M nib, MB F. Scott Fitzgerald WE with BB nib, MB LeGrand Solitaire Pin Stripe with B nib, MB Barley with B nib and a 0.035ct G VVS2 channel set diamond in its Platinum/PT950 plated clip (not Rhodium plated).
Here's a close up of the Montegrappa. This brand is not that well known, and is quite similar to that of Patek Philippe in comparison. One could compare Montblanc to Rolex in terms of popularity.
Montegrappa's roots are quite Italian, as is its design. The clip in particular is very similar to even some of the designs used by Visconti; the little roller is quite classically of Italian design. It also features an authentic Ebonite feeder; this is not very common among modern FPs. Of course, Richemont are the owners of the Montegrappa brand and as of late they are manufactured in the Montblanc ateliers in Germany.
I think I was one of the lucky few to pick up my MG when I did, before Richemont started to shift all their production over to MB, as there have been reports of low QC standards in their more recent models. Thankfully, the Extra 1930 is the only MG model that ever caught my eye and my piece does not have the horrifying 'Made in Germany' marking.
That's as bad as Panerai's faux history; invented for the Italian Frogmen aiding their skirmishes against allied vessels. The part Panerai conveniently leave out is that those pieces had Rolex movements, and therefore all PAMs since with ETA movements - including their so-called in house movements - are just tributes to the real deal.
Personally, I cannot stand fakes; pretending to be the real deal is...well...just as fake! I'd therefore take an in-house developed Rolex movement over anything ETA and the Swatch group has to offer...but I guess, I'll reserve my ranting for a different post.
What I enjoy most of this sub-collection of mine, is that each nib writes quite differently. One could say that each nib has its own "soul", thanks to the way the nibs have been ground. Some are rather stubbish B nibs - this is a particular trait of MB B nibs that always has me going back for more. The BB nib on the Fitzgerald is silky smooth as the greater surface area allows for greater lubrication by the increased ink flow.
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