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Fountain pens: the value of an attitude
Amassing fountain pens is one of the most personal types of collecting, and no expert dares give totally reliable guidelines. All of them advise trusting your heart, hand and, of course, pocket.
"Many fountain pen collections start with a present, and thus a sentimental touch is linked to these new objects; the fact that it is a tool also increases its attraction, the budget is essential given that in this industry figures tend to go from 10 to 40,000 € per item.
All experts state that the first question a fountain pen collector in the making must ask himself is: Am I going to collect new or old fountain pens? What is my budget? And, why do I want them?
Brand-new or with history
a modern collection starts in a good counter, weighing the charms of the user’s favourite fountain pens: the distinguished Graf von Faber 2009 Pen of The Year (2.200 €); the legendary Montblanc Meisterstück 149 made of resin and gold (about 350 €), the unbeatable Lamy Safari (17 €), favourite of those who write with fountain pen every day, or the elegant and efficient Pelikan Souverän M1000 (about 590 €), the masterpiece of a firm famous for its nibs.
The old pieces demand more documentation ...and craftiness. There are plenty of books on vintage models where we can educate our taste and learn to value fountain pens.
Shops and experts offer great items on eBay. For a few euros, you can find the legendary Parker 51, launched in 1941 as the “best fountain pen ever produced”, chased by fans from all over the world and essential in any collection.
There are auction houses specialized in high value fountain pens. Bonhams has an incredible range of limited edition Montblancs with prices starting from 250€ for a Scott Fitzgerald to 20,000 for a magical Black Widow.
Do fountain pens gain in value?
A perfect fountain pen can cost little or lots. The prestigious shop Joon in New York has in its online catalogue a Sheaffer Javelin for 12 dollars (10 €). Madrid’s Estilográficas Sacristán offers in its online shop the Parker IM for 23 € or the Waterman Hémisphère for 44 €.
Their catalogues include limited edition items such as Omas Gaïa (31,000 € in Sacristán) or the Caran d’Ache Ganesh (8,440 € in Joon), as well as top models by other excellent firms: Namiki, Visconti, Tibaldi or Montegrappa.
An expensive fountain pen is not a secure investment and experts recommend caution. In the 80s, the launching of limited editions was a strategy that revived an industry that was losing ground against the ball pen. It is difficult to speculate with fountain pens: many items from new firms do fall in value.
The use matters
There are fans who use fountain pens daily and choose them according to what each of them makes them feel. For them, inlet precious metals or gems are secondary values and they are not interested in nibs worn out by former users.
In an era when a machine can write just by listening to a voice and correct the writing, the peculiarity of writing by hand with a fountain pen has a lot to do with attitude. It is an act of supreme elegance at the reach of any mortal."
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Published in Fashion and Beauty by Malena Mangas on 05/05/2010
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