The present day Montblanc was formed from the Simplo Filler Pen Company of Hamburg, Germany founded in the year 1906. The company began as the marriage of expertise and skills of an engineer, Wilhelm Dziambor, a banker, Christian Lausen and a stationer, Claus Johannes Voss. Within a span of 3 years, the company had its boutiques established in London, Paris and Barcelona. One year more and the company became serious about marketing its brand. The company was renamed as “Montblanc”, after the talent European mountain symbolizing the high aspirations of the founders for the brand and its quality.
And, it took a decade more for the brand to evolve into the company that is respected today for the masterpieces of timepieces created by it. 1924 saw the unveiling of its “Meisterstuck” collection that is famously sought-after today in the form of Le Grand, Montblanc Classique, Doue, Mozart and Solitaire. The brand soon established itself in over 60 countries with its campaign being marked with innovative forms of marketing and advertising. The year 1930 saw another story being added to the Montblanc history with the addition of the ‘4810′ being engraved on the Montblanc fountain pen nibs.
The Montblanc story has a close association with leading celebrities from both sides of the Atlantic. Eva Green, the French actress is the international Ambassador of the watches and jewelries promoted by the brand. She is part of the global Montblanc campaign that focuses on promoting its craftsmanship and products, and also expressing its continuous commitment towards cultural and charitable projects spread across the world. She also participates in different events and initiatives of Montblanc in direct support of its culture and arts projects. The Casino Royale actress remarks that she has always appreciated the history, tradition and philosophy of Montblanc. And, she admires the cultural initiatives of the brand, especially its work surrounding UNICEF.
Montblanc also has a story with the Oscars. This year too the brand returned to the Oscars and co-hosted a star-studded cocktail event at Soho House, West Hollywood. The event was a celebration of the Weinstein Company’s Academy Award nominees along with Montblanc’s announcement of its charity partnership that would benefit the Princess Grace Foundation-USA. The event was celebrated by a number of international stars including Tom Hooper, Colin Firth, Jennifer Lopez, Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Walsh, Adrien Brody, Emma Stone, Taylor Swift and many other Montblanc.
Every year Montblanc announces its year-long charity project on the eve of the Academy Awards. The present year collaboration between Montblanc and the Princess Grace Foundation-USA is dedicated towards identifying and helping budding talent in dance, film and theatre by awarding grants as apprenticeships, scholarships and fellowships. The Princess Grace Foundation displays Princess Grace of Monaco’s dedication to help promising artists to realize their potential.
An interesting story relates to a Laker’s game where actors Adrian Brody and Gerard Butler were seen enjoying the game court-side, enjoying their McDonald’s burgers, while wearing Montblanc timepieces. Brody wore a Montblanc Star Sport watch, a classic watch themed on sport that has a Swiss ETA Valjoux automatic chronograph, and a few dial colors. While Butler wore a Timewalker Dual Carbon Chronograph that has 2 coatings of Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) matched with golden accents. The 43mm wide watch is also powered by the Valjoux chronograph movement.
In its honor to Prince Rainier III, Montblanc celebrated a gala evening in Monaco in November. The event was attended my 250 exclusive and top stars and personalities including Eva Green, Christopher and Gitte Lee, Helena Christensen, Franziska Knuppe, Michael Stich and Italian actress Luisa Ranieri. The occasion marked the world premiere of the “Montblanc Prince Rainier III Limited Edition 81.”