Due to both the popularity and huge price tags of the Montblanc fountain pen range, we are constantly seeing people reaching out to ask if their Montblanc pen is real or not and when each pen costs a few hundred dollars minimum, we can definitely see why so many people are curious. Unfortunately, as with most things that are popular and have a high price tag associated with them, counterfeiters have tried to circulate their own, fake Montblanc pens multiple times over the years.
Although Montblanc are taking more and more countermeasures to make it as easy as possible for their customers to verify that their pen is real, the counterfeiters are getting better and better in their efforts and there are some extremely authentic looking fake Montblanc pens on the market now. As you would expect from a luxary brand such as Montblanc though, they always work hard to protect their customers and issues with fake pens only occur when purchasing your Montblanc from an unregistered dealer.
As a huge amount of pens are sold via Montblanc directly via their official website or official accounts on Amazon and other e-commerce platforms, you are often purchasing directly from them. On top of this, the vetting process to become a registered retailer of Montblanc fountain pens is so strict that it is rumers that more stationery stores actually fail the process than make it through.
How Do I Know If My Montblanc Pen Is Real?
Although a certified Montblanc dealer will be able to verify if your Montblanc pen is real or fake, there is one quick and easy check that you are able to do right at home. That said, it can be a pain and you may need a magnifying glass or a cheap loupe to be able to do the verication yourself as due to the text being so small.
Take your Montblanc in your hand and focus on the clip ring. This is located at the top of the pocket clip on the pen and you should be able to see a small ring when looking closely. On one side of the ring you should clearly see the word “Montblanc” and on the other side of the ring there will be a small serial number. When we say small, we mean small and it is a pain to see and thats why we recommend some form of magnification.
Although there are a very small number of authentic old Montblanc pens that will not have a serial number in this location, all authentic modern Montblanc pens will. You are then able to double-check the serial number on your fountain pen via the Official Montblanc website to double-check the details for the registered pen against the pen you own.
Do All Montblanc Pens Have A Serial Number?
As we touched on above, the vast majority of authentic Montblanc pens that have been manufactured after 1991 will include a serial number that you are able to check against the official Montblanc records. Most of these serial numbers start with two numbers that are then followed by seven letters although there are a small number of exceptions but these are on older Montblanc pens that have a slightly different format for their serial number.
There are still a large number of Montblanc pens that were produced prior to the change in 1991 that will still have a unique identifier on them that you are able to use to confirm that they are an authentic Montblanc. The main issue comes with the pens from 1909 (extremely rare to find and usually only sold between collectors) all the way up to the 1970s where serial numbers and unique identifiers were not included with the pen as standard.
Due to the excellent build quality of Montblanc and the ability of their pens to last decades and in some cases, generations as people hand them to their children with some reports of the pen actually ended up in the hands of the original owners grandchild, there are still many of the older pens in circulation. This is where the registered Montblanc dealers come in as the nibmeisters in these stores should be able to help confirm if your older Montblanc pen is authentic or not.
How Can You Tell Is A Montblanc Pen Is Fake?
As we touched on above, the counterfeiters are getting better and better at making fake Montblanc pens look like the real deal and in recent years, outside of confirming the serial number on your pen with Montblanc as covered above, it can be very difficult to confirm your Montblanc pen is authentic. Speciallist dealers are usually the best route to take but if your pen is older and does not have any of the modern security features on it as standard then the counterfeiters task can be much easier.
Are Montblanc Pens On Amazon Real?
Unfortunately, we are unable to answer this as anyone is able to make their own Amazon account and list products that they have. There is a link on the official Montblanc website to their official Amazon account for each location to ensure that you are able to purchase an authentic Montblanc fountain pen from their official Amazon accounts. This is best practise as it ensures that you are always getting a real Montblanc when purchasing from Amazon.
That said though, there are a large number of certified Montblanc partners who will have their own accounts on amazon as well as the pre-owned market making up a large share of the pens available too. That said though, it would be easy for a counterfeiter to slip fake pens in amongst the listing to try and make a quick buck, this is why we recommend that you only purchase your Montblanc pens from the official Montblanc accounts.
Conclusion
That brings our articles going how you are able to tell if your Montblanc is real or not to an end. Thankfully, the serial number system is much better on the more recent production runs for Montblanc pens but the older your pen model, the harder it is to verify that it is a real, authentic Montblanc.
