Fine Writing - Stylus Magazine

Montegrappa enriches the Symphony collection with
a superb dark blue that is accentuated by the unique
brillance of celluloid. Available in fountain pen,
ballpoint and rollerball, with finishing parts in
sterling silver, the Symphony boasts an 18-karat
gold nib with ebonite feeder and comes in red,
pearl, turquiose, yellow and black.
entire wing of the facility. by 1947,
the tenacious company was producing
pens in many unique styles, but
it placed its focus on precious metals
rather than celluloid and continued
this tack until relatively recently. the
company officially changed its name
to montegrappa Srl. in 1947.
In the latter part of the 1970s,
Gianfranco Aquila purchased montegrappa.
the brand was not new
to Aquila; his family had had interest
in the company for decades,
and his father, Leopoldo, had been
32 october/november 2003 s t y lu s
purchasing private-label pens from
elmo-montegrappa since the 1930s.
Gianfranco maintained operations
in the bassano building that had
housed the company for decades;
thus the environs spoke tradition,
but the vision was entirely new. With
the introduction of the reminiscence
pen in 1983, a reproduction of a 1915
design, montegrappa was launched
into new markets and began a new
chapter in its history.
Aquila’s longer-range business
plans included his sons, and one
by one, over a period of years his
dream was realized. taking on the
creative, production and administrative
roles necessary to a company
with its sites on global distribution,
Leopoldo, ciro and
Giuseppe joined their father at
montegrappa. “I have worked
in the pen business all my life,”
says the elder Aquila of his devotion
to and knowledge of the product.
but making pens a family affair
transcended his vast experience and
brought freshness to the company,
as well as a series of exquisite limited
editions heralded by the 80th
Anniversary Pen in 1992.
In 1995, montegrappa introduced
the Dragon, whose striated celluloid
body is covered with a three-dimensional
1.5-mm precious-metal dragon
overlay. the molds for the overlay
were created by Italian sculptor
Federico monti and took ten months
to complete. the pen was introduced
in both sterling silver and 18-karat
gold; 1,912 pens were produced in
silver, 100 in gold. Another limited
edition of note is the Luxor, an
egyptian-themed pen introduced in
1996. these were also crafted of celluloid
and were offered with either a
sterling or 18-karat gold high relief
overlay. In 1997, the company produced,
in this writer’s opinion, its
piéce de resistance of the decade—the
Aphrodite. the pen has an ebonite
body and a precious metal faceted
overlay displaying a sensual rendition
of the goddess of love designed by
Federico monti. the hefty yet balanced
pen is embellished with mother-of-pearl
inlays, further raising the
bar both in creativity and production
capabilities of the company.
In 2000, montegrappa was purchased
by the richemont Group,
naming Sergio de bon the president
and ceo shortly after the company’s
acquisition. De bon’s experience
with other luxury brands, including
his role as managing director
of officine Panerai marketing and