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TOP 5 WRITING INSTRUMENTS |
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Montblanc:
Montblanc International GmbH is a German manufacturer of writing instruments, watches and accessories, easily identified by its "White Star" logo representing the snowy top of the Mont Blanc mountain in the Alps.
Founded by Claus-Johannes Voss, the banker Alfred Nehemias and the engineer August Eberstein in 1908, the company began as the Simplo Filler Pen company, producing high-end pens in Hamburg. Their first model was the Rouge et Noir (red and black) in 1909, followed in 1910 by the pen that was later to give the company its new name, Montblanc. The first pen known as the Meisterstück (Masterpiece) was produced in 1924.
Despite its founder, August Eberstein, fleeing to the US to avoid prosecution for stealing company funds in 1909, it has always been successful. In 1934, the company changed its name to Montblanc-Simplo GmbH. The same year, it introduced its first piston filler.
In 1977, Dunhill bought Montblanc, lowering significantly the price of the pens and adding to the brand a wide range of luxury goods.
Today, Montblanc offers other items besides writing instruments, including watches, jewelry, perfumes, eyewear and other leather goods.
Montblanc now is a part of the Richemont group, which includes other luxury brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Chloé, and Baume & Mercier, among others.
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TOP 2 |
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Visconti:
Visconti is an Italian manufacturer of fine writing instruments. The company was founded in 1988 in Florence by Dante Del Vecchio and Luigi Poli, long time collectors of fountain pens.
Their product line reintroduced celluloid as material for fountain pens. In 2009, Visconti has concluded an agreement with Coles of London (actually based in Florida), whereby Coles became the official distributor of Visconti products in the U.S. Together, they have recently launched a range of new products, including the Rembrandt Collection, Divina Royale line, and the limited-edition Templari.
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TOP 3 |
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Caran d'Ache:
Caran d'Ache is a Swiss manufacturer of high-end writing instruments. It was founded in Geneva in 1924 when Arnold Schweitzer purchased the Ecridor Pencil Factory. Arnold Schweitzer named his new company after Caran d'Ache, the nickname of a French satiric political cartoonist from Russia (карандаш, karandash meaning pencil in Russian).
In 1929, Carl Schmid invented the Fixpencil, one of the first clutch pencils which has been trademarked by Caran d'Ache.
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TOP 4 |
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Tibaldi:
Founded on 20 October 1916 in Florence (Italy), Tibaldi is one of the oldest Italian companies to manufacture complete fountain pens. At that time, the company was called Tibaldi & Co.
Designed to be immediately recognizable as Tibaldi, the ornament is one of the distinctive features of the pen: crowned with a pyramid cut mother of pearl or tiger’s eye embedded into a silver frame, it has a square section at the top. The mechanical precision and reliability of Tibaldi’s innovative filling system looks like the winding mechanism of a luxury Swiss watch. The distinctive tie-shaped clip is reminiscent of Tibaldi pens from the early 1900s; the elaborated snap mechanism and roller make it easier to insert into a pocket.
Tibaldi fountain pens allow customers to check the ink level through a transparent window on the barrel. The unique filling mechanism has a tank that holds the amount of ink (0.9 ml). A pen with a fine nib, for example, writes approximately 555 metres per fill.
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TOP 5 |
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Aurora:
Aurora pens and writing instruments are among the finest ones from Italy since 1919. Aurora is well-known for its fine craftsmanship and technology.
The company, which produces fountain pens, paper and leather goods, was founded by a rich textile merchant. Their products are still manufactured in the original factory in Turin, northern Italy, which employs about 100 people.
The Verona family, which owns the company, has been involved in writing business for more than four generations.
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