Daniel Kohler is the name to have on your speed dial if you are a pen collector. Then again, if you are inclined towards the precious and pricey types of writing instruments, you probably already have Montblanc's head of client relations and high artistry on your contact list. But for those who are just starting out with collecting and happened to miss his visit to Bangkok last month, fret not, because we also didn't get to see the €1.5 million (57.8 million baht) pen we had hoped to see in real life at a private suite at the Okura Prestige either.
The High Artistry Homage to Hannibal Barca Limited Edition 1 was already sold, despite being presented just this past October. There is only one piece worldwide, as a way to pay tribute to the fearless individual it was inspired by: an exceptionally strategic Punic military commander from the same ancient time as Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. Kohler explains that this particular war hero was chosen as the subject for Montblanc's high artistry piece for the reason that both the brand and Barca share a spirit to conquer the impossible.
"Hannibal was going for the totally unexpected and he would overcome all his obstacles to achieve his target. He said, 'If there is no way I will find one' and that's very typical of him, but also for Montblanc. How he went with his army of elephants over the Alps and beat the Romans on their own soil was something no one ever did before."
Daniel Kohler shows the very German way of engineering: how the spider can be removed from the pen cap.
Another design from the same line that Kohler did bring with him featured a cap made of wood embellished with a Leo pattern, in reference to the panther skin Hannibal and his generals wore to protect their arms and shoulders. The geometric elephant trunk clip is made of solid red gold, with only 86 pieces available, to allude to the 86,000 men who crossed the Alps with Hannibal.
"We use all kinds of materials and use them in new ways," said Kohler, explaining how cutting-edge engineering is at the heart of these pieces as much as creativity and craftsmanship is. "Wood is a very old and traditional material, but to use it on a writing instrument requires modern technology so the wood doesn't crack. We had a high precision ultraviolet laser that was just warm enough to make the patterns but not burn it.
"Nibs are also very hard to manufacture," he added, while showing a spider-themed pen from the High Artistry Heritage Spider Metamorphosis collection. Two sapphires are set on the nib of this pen, the barrel of which boasts 1,200 sapphires set by hand, with diamonds set on the web.
"It is usually very difficult to set a stone on a nib, because it will pop out due to flexibility. Here, it's set on houses that are welded onto the nib and it shows how we spend a lot of time to make nibs unique and a pleasure to write with. We aren't just making nice things, because engineering-wise, there is a lot of creativity and innovation as well."
This spider line is coined a heritage piece for the metaphorical involvement spiders have always had with writing.
"It's always been part of our designs," said Kohler. "It started in the 1930s in Art Deco. It also goes back to how writers from the last century defined their activity of writing and telling stories as weaving a spider net. Here, you can see how we tell this story through the pieces."
The metamorphosis factor is how the spider sits on the cap, set with a blue Madagascar oval cut 1.22 carat sapphire, which can be removed from the pen to become a brooch or tie-bar.
"Very often, men love stones but the only way to own such a precious stone is to give it to your wife, but here, you can have it for yourself for your own enjoyment."
There are five pieces of these solid white gold pens, each available at €500,000, while a more affordable option, the Limited Edition 88, has a price tag of €30,000.
"It creates a demand and that's what collectors love," Kohler smiled. "It is very, very exclusive and that is the fun part of collecting."
Having worked at Montblanc for the past 17 years, Kohler notes that highly artisanal pieces are not new creations.
"Before we did have gold set fountain pens with 4,000 diamonds on it and that was already 20 years ago. It was there somehow, but the strategy to focus on the development, craftsmanship and creativity is something we have got more into the past four to five years. We are very happy with how quickly we sell them."
With so few pieces available, no doubt one of the challenges of his job is to figure who to sell these one-of-a-kind beauties to.
"That's a very difficult question to answer," the Hamburg-based executive said while laughing. "We spend a lot of time on decision making. First of all, we try to make everyone happy somehow. If you get a unique piece this time, you probably have to understand that next time someone else will get it. These clients are very dear to our hearts and I have the privilege to know most. They are a little bit like friends as well and it's a friendly atmosphere. New people coming in are cordially welcomed of course, and it's really a kind of club they are in. We find a way to discuss these difficult aspects that they cannot always get what they want but that's also the fun of the game. Sometimes you get it, sometimes you don't, and either the CEO or myself will call them."
With a solid number of fans and clients all around the world that Kohler is flying to see, as opposed to inviting them to presentations at SIHH, one thing is for sure when it comes to Montblanc's High Artistry pieces: don't be hesitant and act fast. Extremely exclusive pieces never even see the light of the flagship stores and may be sold within three days of getting unveiled at the events. Less pricey lines, like the High Artistry Heritage Spider Metamorphosis Limited Edition 88, may take anything between two to six months to be sold out, but in the end, they usually all are by the end of two years, with price augmentation ensuing.
"Nobody knows how sought after it could be and that's some of the fun surprises," he said.
Unsurprisingly, these magnificent limited editions easily sell very quickly and for those who do not have the opportunity to get up close to these rare, beautiful writing instruments, Kohler reveals the next best thing: a museum. In two years, a big museum will be opening in front of the manufacture quarters in Hamburg, Germany. Visitors will get to see most of the unique pieces, with an opportunity to actually see how they are made.
Visit Montblanc at Emporium and Gaysorn Village.
