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
The soon-to-be-released White Night’ nib is embellished with the St. Petersburg coat of arms.
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