A Tale Of Two Manufactures

Upon visiting Montblanc’s manufactures, it becomes abundantly clear how the watchmaker has developed into one of today’s leading names.

- Melissa Lim

THERE IS AN undeniable propensity within haute horlogerie to produce historical tales that stretch far back and bear unique themes – the further back and the more fascinating, the better. There are, on the other hand, more nascent names which make up for what they lack in historical roots with their daring innovations. Fuse together a celebrated narrative with impressive, state-of-the-art technology, and let’s face it, you have yourself a winning combination. One such brand that is able to marry these two elements through its ethos, roots and locations, is Montblanc.

The Montblanc name stems back to 1906, funnily enough, with a pen, when a banker from Hamburg named Alfred Nehemias and Berlin engineer August Eberstein, both sensitive to the signs of time, saw the opportunity to bring the fountain pen to its technical and commercial success. The mission was passed down to Wilhelm Dziambor, Christian Lausen and later Claus Johannes Voss, who would go on to create fountain pens in Hamburg, where for three years, it took the name Simplo Filler Pen Co. GmbH, represented in London and Paris first, before it was converted to Montblanc. Taking inspiration from the highest peak in Europe, it was symbolic of the company’s objective to reach its creative and technical heights. The snow-capped Mont Blanc emblem as we know now, dates back to 1913 and remains a symbol of excellence, one that is close to this brand’s heart.

Not satisfied to stay only in pens, the company decided to expand its repertoire in 1935 when it took over a leather goods producer in Offenbach, Germany, and it would continue with this focus until 1997, when it added watchmaking to its list, establishing Montblanc Montre S.A. in Le Locle. While technically only 20 years on the market, despite its still in its adolescence and has had to make strides in a short amount of time in order to stand up next to its rivals.