Headline, December12, 2013

''' MONTEGRAPP​A : 

ALMIGHTY GOD'S -PENMAKER '''

!WOW! :  A standing ovation and the honour of respectful dedication to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, The Honourable Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhary on his retirement

See You, Sir, On !WOW!  the World Students Society Computers-Internet-Wireless : ''' Your Vision Prevails '''

And now back to the tale:

Handwriting is a charming, almost folkloric activity,, symbolic and ceremonial rather than particularly practical. For transmission of information, the Keyboard is better, but there are times when a pen, particularly a fountain pen is appropriate.

When the Pope marked the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ,  he choose to commission a special Montegrappa, a move that, I suppose,  entitles Montegrappa to call itself God's penmaker.

Well, I suppose, that if i were to search for a horological equivalent to Montegrappa, it would be something such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin or Girard Perregaux.

I mention this as a pure delight, as the blessed ones who do get to tour the factory in the Italian town of Bassano del Grappa, just north of Viccenza, are struck by the similarities with the watch business : the chief designer working patiently with his CAD programme, 

The CNC machines fashioning components before being passed to the polishers and the engravers. Even the quality-control department is similar; the pens, some costing thousands of pounds, are dropped from height onto a stone floor, subjected to the ministrations of a torque machine and

Rigged up to apparatus that twangs the clip  20,000  times to replicate some kind of a jack-in-a-box penmanship.

But what makes a Montegrappa different at a glance is its materials -in particular its signature use of lambent, iridescent celluloid for the barrels. Celluloid is apparently made from cotton fibres mixed with, among other things, powdered mother-of-pearl in a process that takes about two years. This involves a lengthy curing process, during which time the celluloid can be rather volatile.

In Montegrappa's 98 year history the factory has experienced two major explosions when the stocks of celluloid went up in smoke. So today the curing takes place in a separate secure building. The resultant lengths of celluloid, looking like polychromatic sticks of rock are stored on another premises.

Another peculiarity is that Montegrappa uses Ebonite feeders to convey the ink from the barrel to the end of the nib. Ebonite is a hard vulcanised rubber, something like Bakelite, apparently superior to plastic as it adapts to the owner's handwriting over the course the first few weeks of use.  

And it is this peculiarity that accounts for the old-fashioned reluctance among those owning decent pens to lend them to others.

But what sets Montegrappa apart is the range of its limited editions  -the brand has made pens to celebrate everything from  150 years of the Red Cross  to city anniversaries ; given Putin's fondness for St Petersburg and Montegrappa  it was natural that when the former celebrated its  300th  anniversary

The Latter was commissioned to to make a pen to mark the occasion. Obviously, Italian pensmith Montegrappa's signature creations have caught the eye of the high and mighty and of course, the lovers of beauty and craftsmanship

And....... Nothing is  better than positive INKING.

Good Night & God Bless!

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless