History of Montegrappa 
The Facade of the Historic Montegrappa Factory
The art of penmanship or writing is for those, who feel the need to
connect heart to heart, soul to soul through the fountains of rapturous
emotions and deeds that continue to live after us. And it is only for
such that a fine writing instrument takes pride of place to cherish the
noble art of writing.
It is indeed for the connoisseurs of such
art that Montegrappa creates pens that are reserved to cherish the
emotions inspired by the feel of a beautifully crafted writing
instrument, bringing back the stories of the land known for drama and
love, and prolific writers, who have penned innumerable masterpieces
that are a testament to the strife for all things beautiful.
The
Montegrappa manufacture since 1912 stands in the same historic building
on the bank of the River Brenta, in one of the most picturesque areas of
the historic town of Bassano del Grappa, in the prosperous northeastern
part of Italy. Born out of the war struck area of Bassano, which was a
major war zone during World War I, Montegrappa, established as a
manufacturer of gold nibs and fountain pens, soon became the chosen one
for many soldiers stationed there to write back home. A child of the
country's turbulent emotional struggle, Montegrappa and its writing
instruments are a part of history and those who have made history such
as Vladimir Putin, Benito Mussolini, His Holiness John Paul II, Michael
Jackson, Paulo Coelho, Michael Schumacher and more. Whether it is the
colours reminiscent of the master painters or the ornaments of Baroque
palaces, Montegrappa's collections are inspired by great moments of
history and the most ancient passions of mankind.
Left: Giuseppe Aquila, CEO,
Montegrappa; Right: The first 500 Batman limited edition pen sets were
made available with cufflinks and a wristwatch
Italian Roots"Italian
heritage and pride is at the heart of all of Montegrappa's work,"
Giuseppe Aquila, CEO, Montegrappa, proudly mentions. The company is
named after the mountain on which the Italians made their final stand
and successfully repelled the Austrian and German forces during the
World War I and therefore, represents the fighting spirit and heroic
acts of valour of the brave Italian soldiers. The Grappa Massif, the
range of mountains with the Monte Grappa at its peak, was the last
strategic position before the plains of the Veneto region, and had
25,000 Italian soldiers not laid down their lives in the defence of
their country, a lot would have been lost. This region of North East
Italy, between Vicenza and Venice is extremely rich in metal working and
handcrafting traditions, handed down through generations. Montegrappa,
located in Bassano del Grappa, directly under the Monte Grappa mountain,
is in the heart of this important region and benefits from a great
wealth of talent and resources.
Speaking about the inspirations
at Montegrappa, Aquila is quick to add, "Most often we take inspiration
from the wealth of beautiful and cultural riches that we have in Italy,
but we increasingly are inspired by ideas and themes from our
international customers, who ask us to design products based on concepts
from their regions. We take it as a great source of pride that people
from all over the world have come to appreciate Montegrappa's unique
capabilities to take an idea from concept to design to final
production."
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Techniques Galore One cannot help, but see the
prolific use of varied manufacturing techniques and exquisite materials
used in Montegrappa pens that truly make them one-of-a-kind and elevate
them as superior pieces of art. As the only existing company to have the
ability to process materials such as celluloid and ebonite that require
a specific know-how, which has been developed and preserved over 100
years of history, the brand also brings out the best through other
unique technologies like deep-drawing and low-relief engraving.
Montegrappa also goes down as the first pen company to introduce the
jewellers' technique of lost wax casting in the writing industry and one
of the few to have a skilled team of in-house engravers, enamellers,
stone setters and miniature painters. "We at Montegrappa are proud to be
able to say that we do not really face any direct competition as there
is no one who is able to do the sort of work that we do. On some
technical levels, our pens are superior to other pens in the luxury
writing instrument category, where we have preserved some techniques and
use of materials that other manufacturers have abandoned in favour of
cheaper, modern alternatives, such as the use of celluloid in parts of
our pens, and the use of real carved ebonite for the ink feeders. These
are some differentiators, however, the real difference comes from the
unique talent pool that we draw from our region, giving us design and
style that is truly special," adds Aquila.
What started from
scratch, quite literally, as a manufacture for making only fountain pens
and nibs, a specialised area, and is still renowned as the best, they
have seen a very successful diversification in recent years, with the
introduction of watches, men's accessories and jewellery, leather goods,
and most recently, a collection of fragrances. However, not losing
focus on the writing instrument business, the brand continues to develop
their core area of limited edition products that they are well known
for. "While our design ideas and inspirations used to be drawn from
classical arts and literature, we have more recently started to also
develop some limited editions dedicated to more mainstream iconic
figures in contemporary history, such as the great Muhammad Ali, Bruce
Lee and Frank Sinatra," Aquila further elaborates.
Standing the Test of TimeThe
most important question that comes to mind when on the topic of writing
is how does a fine writing instrument fare in this age of technology
and e-mails? To answer this, Aquila explains, "We are often asked this
question. As we get more sophisticated gadgets and devices, it would
seem that the need for a traditional pen is disappearing. However, we
are surprised and pleased to find that the opposite is true. As people
are getting more used to sending e-mails and text messages, a
handwritten note is a great differentiator and really stands out, and is
a good way to actually engage someone's attention when they are being
bombarded with an onslaught of electronic and completely impersonal
forms of communication. We also find that writing by hand is not a need,
but a joy and an art, which can be greatly fulfilling and gratifying."
Explaining further, he mentions how recent research in brain science
shows that the human brain greatly benefits from the neural connections
that are created when a person combines the act of putting their
thoughts into words with the motor skills required to write by hand. "In
fact, this entire subject and field of study fuelled one of our recent
creations, the Limited Edition Brain pen. This pen was launched several
months ago and comes with a book on the subject written by Dr. Richard
Restak, one of the world's leading brain scientists." Cerebral and
avant-garde, it is such conviction that goes into the creation of their
pens and shows how the renaissance of handwriting remains ubiquitous in
the objectives of Montegrappa.
The Sylvester Stallone Chaos Pen
Writing from Scratch
At
Montegrappa, each project has a different story and involves different
people, especially in the creative part. "I'm personally involved in the
creative process and so is my brother and at times my father too. The
first step is the idea. In many cases, the idea comes from me or might
be suggested by some of our distribution partners. At times, some of my
ideas are out-of-the box and the first reaction of my family and our
partners is a bit sceptical. The idea is important, but equally
important is the ability of expressing such an idea through a product,
and in our case a pen," Aquila expresses.
What follows is the
second step of putting the idea to paper and trying to encapsulate the
concept attached with the idea. Working with in-house designers or at
times even with external designers to gain experienced opinions about a
specific theme is what brings that added edge to their pens. For all
projects, they run extensive research and often employ the services of
historians, art experts and intellectuals to make sure that the design
not only looks good, but is correct under every aspect.
Going
ahead with the engineering process, the brand has a strong team of 10
in-house designers and engineers, who use very sophisticated 3D
modelling software to design the different components. The prototyping
stage is taken care of by a separate team using dedicated machinery and
equipment which leads to the pre-series, a small production run required
for quality control. From quality control, it enters the final
manufacturing stage to the final product. Speaking about the challenges
in the world of fine writing instruments, Aquila once again reminds us
that Montegrappa has always been a pioneer in the writing industry. "One
of our main skills is the ability to adapt to the fast-evolving market
and re-invent ourselves every day. The challenge is to remain true to
the original spirit of the brand and at the same time always be at the
forefront of the industry."
Mightier than Sword
From
heads-of-states, royalty, popes, musicians, actors, sportsmen, writers,
artists, celebrities, and top models who share unanimous love as
distinguished patrons of Montegrappa pens, the brand has created several
limited edition pens featuring unique designs focusing on the life and
achievements of various celebrities. "We have been very fortunate that
we have had some celebrity customers who have become great friends of
the brand and have come to be ambassadors of Montegrappa, through their
love and appreciation of our products. Some have been such great lovers
of the brand that they actually wanted to be part of the company and
have made investments in Montegrappa and are shareholders, such as
Sylvester Stallone and Jean Alesi. And there are some who appreciate our
works of art and have asked us to make special pieces for them, either
as bespoke unique pieces, or as a limited edition product such as the
Chaos pen by Stallone, or the Alchemist pen for Coelho. So in reality,
the personalities typically choose Montegrappa, rather than the other
way around," Aquila explains.
With such a strong philosophy and
cerebral backing, the brand's effort in ensuring the longevity of the
art of writing, the power of fine penmanship and a highly personal
intimate indulgence is surely here to stay.
Photos Courtesy: Montegrappa
Writing History With
Montegrappa
By SUMITA BAGCHI, TIME N STYLE
