By Bill Riepl

Almost everyone has a pen or two that they've ended up with for no real discernable reason. Despite not having had any "good" reason for getting it in the first place, they nevertheless keep it around. Maybe they even add another example later down the road... I tell myself that my little S.T. Dupont Montparnasse collection stemmed from just this sort of unavoidable occurrence. Some days, I even believe myself!

The Montparnasse was introduced in 1989 by S.T. Dupont as their premier fountain pen model. In most regards, this pen manages to capture the attention in just the sort of way that a flagship model should: It's large, heavy, and even in the plain lacquer finish, very luxurious. The Montparnasse served S.T. Dupont as their top of the line model until the introduction of the Olympio.

The Montparnasse is fashioned from solid brass for both the cap and barrel, with various finishes applied on the surface. The most notable are probably the Montparnasse Chairman versions using Chinese lacquer over guilloche engraving, but patterned and solid color lacquer finishes and gold and silver plated finishes were also made. In addition to the large sized fountain pen, the Montparnasse was also available as a rollerball, ballpen, and pencil.

Of course, my interest comes to a screeching halt with the fountain pen version, and that's what I've ended up with for the most part. My first exposure to the Montparnasse came years ago when I was allowed the opportunity to reveiw one in the basic black finish. At the time, I found it to be a very nice pen, but what struck me the most was the nib, a gorgeous smooth medium. I later found out that S.T. Dupont pens were famous for their nibs, with a reputation for fitting their pens with silky smooth nibs. Despite learning this, what with one thing and another, years went by without my owning a Montparnasse.

Then, one year at the DC show I came across a four piece set of the Montparnasse in the silver plate lined pattern. Although my "serious" collecting involves sterling silver, I was just too tempted to pass these pens by, so they ended up going home with me. Only the fountain pen ever got any use, but with a nice broad nib complete with that renowned Dupont smoothness, it got a lot of use!

Given its condition which was, shall we say "less than perfect", it spent a lot of time in my pocket at work, where I required a pen that wouldn't involve whimpering if it took the occassional knock against hard objects. At first I was viewing that slightly battered silver plate Montparnasse as nothing more than a good, functional daily user. I really expected that it would be in use for a few weeks, or at most a month or so until something new and exciting came along to supplant it.

Oh well... since when do plans ever work out they way I think they will? The Montparnasse managed to stay in the pocket week after week. At times, another pen or two might keep it company, but as far as a standby might be considered, the Montparnasse more than held its own.

Needless to say, more followed! The first addition was a pen that I had been lusting after ever since seeing the smaller rollerball version in a local stationery shop that was closing out its pen department. Even with their discount price it wasn't even in the same zip code as my budget, so I was limited to looking it over covetously. As it turns out, it sold while I was trying to find a clerk to open the case for a closer look! The Amber Montparnasse Chairman is a beautiful pen, no doubt about it. A pattern of interlocking diamonds in engraved into the brass of the cap and barrel, which are then covered in many layers of translucent amber lacquer. The pattern simply glows through the lacquer, catching the light in a way that has to be seen to be believed.

I was floored to find one neatly wrapped up under the Christmas tree last year. It pays to have a wife with not only great taste in pens, but also the connections to find "unfindable" pens!

This addition to the collection was joined during the summer when I was at the Portland show and noticed another Amber Chairman gleaming behind the plexiglass of a portable display case. This one was a bit smaller than mine, but the finish was every bit as perfect. Removing the cap revealed a rollerball section, but no matter, it would make the "perfect" addition to the Amber Chairman fountain pen, right? Of course it would! And so now I was up to three Montparnasse.

Three makes it a collection. One is just a pen, and two might be an accident or a coincidence, but three... Three is clearly a collection. In which case, there's probably nothing to be gained by fighting it, and it's best to just go with the flow. The flow in this case took me back to the Washington DC show last year, where on Friday morning something red caught my eye.

One of the four solid colors offered in the Montparnasse is variously described as Red, Bordeaux, and Burgundy. Whatever you want to call it, it's a great color, in the way that only something very simple can be. The Amber Chairman is a wonderful finish thanks to the way the light plays off the engraving through the translucent lacquer. With the lacquer on the Red Montparnasse being opaque, you might assume that the finish would somehow come off as less than the Amber. You'd be completely correct, of course.

I mean, let's keep things realistic here! The Amber and Garnet finishes are superlative, and clearly belong at the top of the list of S.T. Dupont pens. However, it's not so easy to lightly dismiss the opaque lacquer colors, either. The natural Chinese lacquer used by S.T. Dupont is a wonderful material, combining bright color with a warm, luxurious feel. You get the solid weight of a metal pen, but with the kind of tactile, organic feel that normally isn't associated with a metal finish. As you hold the pen, the lacquer warms to your touch, making the experience of writing with the lacquer Montparnasse memorable. (OK, so those great nibs don't exactly hurt in that department!)

The particular red Montparnasse that caught my eye that morning at DC proved to be a "just about perfect" example with a fine nib. While I'm not crazy about fine nibs in general, there are times when it's important to get a lot of words into a small space. This nib proved that S.T. Dupont's genius with Montparnasse nibs extended to those designed to put skinny lines on paper. It's a great nib, with "just right" ink flow, skates across the paper, and just generally makes writing with a fine nib a real joy.

By this time I was pretty used to having a Montparnasse of one sort or another inked up at any given moment. While I still wasn't pursuing them with the single-minded intensity of a "true" collector, I was, shall we say, very aware of them... It didn't take long to find another, this time at the LA show a few weeks ago.

This time around it was another Montparnasse (instead of the Garnet Chairman I was probalby subconsciously lusting after!). The tortoiseshell lacquer finish ranks high on the list of Montparnasse lacquer pens. It's a beautiful mixture of light and dark browns. Subtle, but very attractive!

Once again, it was no contest between my budget and the Montparnasse, with the pen winning out easily. This time a medium nib showed up, the first among my Montparnasse collection. Like the broad and fine nibs, it proved to be above all a smooth nib, with good reliable ink flow. Writing with this pen was as much a pleasure as any of my others. I think it might have been all of three minutes before it was inked up and in use at the LA show!

The Montparnasse as a design is not everyone's cup of tea. The shape makes for a very striking pen, with the barrel flaring out to a cap that's significantly larger in diameter. The Montparnasse doesn't really have a section, per se, it's more of a short threaded bit... It's designed to be held by the barrel, really. So as you might imagine, it can be a bit uncomfortable if your grip normally places your fingers very low on the section.

In my case, I find my fingers ending up placed fairly high on the section, and they end up holding the Montparnasse right at the point where the barrel flares outwards. This makes for a very comfortable and secure grip on the pen.

I tend to use my Montparnasse with the cap posted. Due to the all brass construction, both the cap and barrel are heavy, but the cap is short enough, and posts low enough on the barrel that the balance of the pen is still comfortable. That flare on the barrel makes for a very secure grip, and this, coupled with the reletively wide diameter of the barrel (and those buttery smooth nibs!), keep the pen feeling good in the hand, even during long use.

The Montparnasse has your basic everyday converter cartridge filling system, with a twist... Instead of unscrewing the section from the barrel, there is a small semi-circular handle that folds out from the bottom of the barrel. Turning this releases the section from the barrel. Sure, it's a gimmick, designed to mirror the operation of the company's lighters. Sure it's unneccessary, and an overly complicated method of betting to the converter. But it's so darn neat! And, gimmick or not, it works, and works well, so I really have no complaints in this regard.

The Montparnasse nib is what I call a "semi-tubular" design. Where it emerges from the section it's a tube that completely encircles the feed. It flares out into a more traditional nib shape. A lack of breather hole and minimal markings leave the nib as a clean, elegant sculpture dedicated to the art of writing. Generous chunks of tipping material are carefully shaped, resulting in those super smooth nibs I've been raving about. I personally believe that the design of the nib and feed result in more reliable ink flow, with less chance of the ink supply drying out or skipping. The feed is almost entirely covered until the last portion of the nib. Whatever the reason, my Montparnasse pens are among the most reliable and consistant of my pens in terms of their writing performance.

When it comes to design, they retain that consistancy. These pens are very striking in appearance. I like to think of them as being quintissentially French in look, with a restrained classy elegange their chief attribute, enlivened by a splash of the quirky. After all, there's no point in class and dignity if you can't also have fun! The Montparnasse does manage to combine classic looks and beautiful materials with a few "off the wall" design elements. All this with great writing performance. It makes it very easy to give in to the temption to collect more! Let's see, I need the Garnet Chairman, the Blue lacquer, the....

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copyright 2005 William Riepl

Images copyright 2005 William Riepl