MASTERSTROKE
Daniel Kohler, Montblanc’s Head of High Artistry introduced Augustman to the new Patron of Art Homage to Victoria & Albert and Meisterstück Great Masters Pirelli Limited Editions, emblems of how the brand has continued to dominate the genre of writing instruments
ON THE HIGH ARTISTRY COLLECTION, Daniel Kohler, Montblanc’s head of client relations and High Artistry explained that “Until six years ago ago, we never had a strategy for the client to understand what there is to collect and what are the segments of value. We started by defining what high artistry meant to Montblanc, extremely limited and a maximum of 333 pieces. The classical segment is 100 pieces or less, right down to unique pieces which are sold for up to a million euros.”
Objet d’arts rather than mere pens, Montblanc has managed to turn functional instruments into works of high artistry. “With different concepts within the writing instrument segment, collectors started to understand the concept lines. We could then develop the market as enthusiasts would come back each year looking forward to a new series. This generated a lot of interest and business, with more business, we could explore new concepts which are much more creative in terms of storytelling,” says Kohler.
After 30 years, the Patron of the Arts series is coming to a close, culminating in the Montblanc Patron of Art Homage to Victoria & Albert Limited Edition.
The Writers and Patrons series were the Maison’s first two limited edition writing instruments and so with Patrons ending its run, Montblanc will be introducing a new concept.
Is this a decision taken because Montblanc feels like all the great a ists are covered and don’t feel anyone else is wo hy to be immo alised?
[Laughs] That’s a good question because we are covering the patrons rather than the artist and that’s a challenge to be honest. There are many patrons but not many of them are well known and we need famous ones. The other reason is that we wanted to benefit the loyal collectors who’ve been with us on the journey and when the collection ends its production, it becomes more valuable. Finally, we wanted to offer something new after 30 years, it’s been a successful run.
When you do a piece inspired by Enzo Ferrari or Giovanni Ba ista Pirelli, how does Montblanc decide on the ratio of man to his creation?
The Great Characters concept is always about the person and his story but his invention is almost always a big part of his story. It’s then a design decision to distill the core elements that can best be translated to a writing instrument.