Montblanc

Founded in Hamburg in 1906, Montblanc took its name and its white-star emblem from Europe's highest peak — the star a stylized snowcap, the number 4810, the mountain's height in meters, engraved on nibs ever since. The Meisterstück fountain pen of 1924 became the twentieth century's definitive writing instrument: the black-resin, gold-trimmed 149 has signed treaties and contracts for a hundred years and remains in continuous production, its nibs still finished by hand in Hamburg. The house extended into leather goods and, through its Minerva manufacture in Villeret, into serious watchmaking. But the pen is the soul. In an age of screens, a Meisterstück has become more distinctive rather than less — the Florence boutique on Via de' Tornabuoni places it among the city's luxury row. The 149 is the canonical object; the smaller 146 the practical choice.

Have the nib matched to your hand at purchase — the boutique will test widths and flex, and a fitted nib is the difference between owning and using the pen.