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Home > NEWS > A Rich History of MONTBLANC Watches
A Rich History of MONTBLANC Watches
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Founded by the stationer Claus-Johannes Voss, the banker Alfred Nehemias and the engineer August Eberstein in 1906, the company began as the Simplo Filler Pen company producing up-market pens in the Schanzen district of Hamburg. The company initially dealt with producing top quality fountain pens. A stationer, Claus Johannes Voss; a banker, Christian Lausen; and a designer, Wilhelm Dziambor, followed the same ambition and goal: to become successful in manufacturing excellent quality goods and make their company well-known and respected by everybody. It became clear that the ambitions of these 3 men for their brand spread far beyond their base in Hamburg, Germany by 1909. They started bringing up many boutiques in the main fashion cities like Paris, London, and Barcelona.
One year later marked the first of many bold marketing initiatives for the brand. Simplo Filler officially became "Montblanc", named aptly for the tallest mountain in Europe to symbolize the high aspirations that the founders had for the brand and the high level of quality that they built into it.
Only 3 years later, by 1913, in what can, from the perspective of history, be seen as the most brilliant of all marketing steps, the white cap symbol of Montblanc was introduced to the public for the first time. It was, again, an insightful revelation of the founders that the snow-covered peak of Montblanc could so effectively serve as the brand's most recognizable symbol. The Montblanc star was born.
It took nearly a decade more for Montblanc to evolve to resemble the company that we know today. In 1924, the Meisterstück, ("masterpiece") collection was unveiled. This is the collection that we know today in the forms of Montblanc Classique, Le Grand, Doue, Solitaire and Mozart. In a matter of just 2 years following, the brand had established its presence in more than 60 countries, always supported by innovative advertising and marketing campaigns. The year 1924 is especially significant in that it clearly marks the start of the modern day Montblanc styling and brand identity.
By 1930 another small, but important piece, of the Montblanc story was added in the form of the "4810" that is engraved on Montblanc fountain pen nibs. The significance of this designation is to mark the height of Montblanc (the mountain peak) in meters and to celebrate its standing as the highest peak in Europe.
Although there is no specific year to attach to the market dominance that Montblanc achieved as "the" luxury writing instruments brand, it was during the decade of the 1980's that Montblanc made major strides to effectively capture the luxury segment of the market as its sole province. It was also during this decade, in 1986, that Montblanc added its now familiar tag line "The Art of Writing."
In the 1990's, Montblanc took its powerful marketing strategy to an entirely new level with the opening of its first present day boutique in Hong Kong. By 1995, Montblanc established several similar boutique shops in major markets in the United States. The end result is that, as of the present day, Montblanc has celebrated the opening of its 200th boutique worldwide on the internationally famous Champs Elysee in Paris.
The Montblanc Writers Edition "George Bernard Shaw" is the newest member of Montblanc's Limited Writers Edition series. Since the year 1992, Montblanc has dedicated one writing instrument a year to a great author in history who has been recognized world-wide for their literary genius. As a most important landmark, in 1997 the first Meisterstück wristwatch was presented to the public. Montblanc try their best to become world-renowned luxury brand. Montblanc celebrates more than "75 Years of Passion and Soul."
