Most of what you need to know is right there in the invitation. The Montblanc boutique store located near Union Square in San Francisco is having a two week private sale. What does private mean? That you are invited, and others aren't of course. Sales such as this aren't scheduled to my knowledge, and mean that there are deals to be had at the impressive Montblanc store. Among the included items are watches, pens, jewelery, and their fine leather goods. Did you know that Montblanc makes really nice wallets? Even belts and bags I think. If you are nearby and have been looking for the right time to incorporate some new Montblanc in your life, this is the time.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Recently Montblanc unveiled their latest pen in Mumbai. One of Mohandas Gandhi's great-grandsons (Tushar Gandhi shown above) was in attendance as the golden pen was unveiled in time for the 140th anniversary of the birth of the Mahatma . The beautiful pen has angered some who say that a luxury good from a foreign company does not honor Gandhi's legacy and don't see the connection between their beloved icon and a bauble for the rich.

The pen is available in two editions. The Mahatma Gandhi Limited Edition 241 is an 18K gold pen that depicts Gandhi setting off on the salt march of July 1930 and is priced at 17,000 euros (around $24,000). Another addition is available in fountain and rollerball versions for around $3000-$3500. Only 241 commemorative gold fountain pens will be sold, the number refers to how many miles he walked during the "salt march," a protest against salt taxes levied by the British. The pens are decorated with Gandhi's signature and a saffron-colored opal. The pen also comes with a 26-foot golden thread which can be wound around the pen and is meant to recall the spindle that Gandhi used to weave simple cotton cloth. The pen comes in a luxury box with a booklet of Gandhi quotes.

The good news is that Montblanc is donating some money to Indian causes. Montblanc chief executive Lutz Bethge gave a check for 100,000 euros to Tushar Gandhi, for a foundation that works to improve child nutrition and education. The foundation also gets more money (approximately $200-$1,000) for each pen sold. Tushar Ghandhi made news earlier this year when he protested Antiquorum's auction of Mahatma Gandhi's glasses, sandals and pocket watch. He has also asked Britain to return the Koh-i-noor diamond to India.

UPDATE: According to the Gulf Times, Dijo Kapen, from the Centre of Consumer Education in Kerala's Kottayam district has filed a petition in state high court challenging Montblanc's right to market the pens.

Swiss watchmaker Girard-Perregaux has been making fine timepieces for well over 200 years, but 2009 marks the first time they've manufactured a writing instrument. The firm, founded in 1791, is debuting a luxurious new line of pens based on their famed Three Bridges gold tourbillon watch. There are three models of writing instrument, adorned with precious metal engraved with delicate guilloche work, based on a vintage 1945 Three Bridges Tourbillon, a famed Girard-Perregaux model. The clip on the caps is double-arrow shaped, like the bridge on the watch.

Three openings on the pen body showing the ink level refer to the timepiece's power reserve indicators. Fountain pens come equipped with an exclusive high-capacity double reservoir system preventing leakage. There are three models available: a piston fountain pen in guilloche silver and resin (above), limited to 999-pieces; a piston fountain pen in guilloche pink gold and resin, limited to 99 pieces; and a rollerball in guilloche silver and resin, limited to 999 pieces. A matching set comprising the silver fountain pen and rollerball is also available in an edition of 199 pieces.

It's probably not the best time to be selling a diamond-covered pen. Luckily only one is for sale per year. The Aurora Diamante contains over 30 carats of De Beers diamonds on a solid platinum barrel. It has a two-tone, rhodium-treated, 18KT solid gold nib and is personalized with a coat of arms, signature or portrait. Aurora Pens says it is the only over 30 carat pen in the world. It is believed to be worth around one million euros which would make it more expensive than the Van Cleef & Arpels Mystery pen.



[via Pens from Heaven]

Here we have a pen for those who want a writing instrument that's top notch but still masculine and, most importantly, durable and functional enough for regular use. It's the SureFire Pen, from SureFire (of course), and among its list of features you'll find that it has a sleek, aerospace-grade aluminum body, a "virtually indestructible" stainless steel tip, and a tail cap that's designed to function as a window-breaker in an emergency. And how does it write? The SureFire pen is fully adjustable to accommodate almost any of your favorite ink cartridges, but to make things even easier it comes standard with its own easy flow cartridge featuring high-performance Schmidt® Technology.

A perfect gift for that hard-to-buy for guy on your holiday shopping list! $125

Via acquire

Look at the pens on your desk. Maybe you have an especially nice one, one that means something sentimental to you, and another one you especially like. What on earth are the rest of them doing there? You don't even like those pens! Why do you make yourself use them every day when it would be so easy to have something you like?

Pen Intervention Steps:
1. Throw out all pens with names of prescription drugs on them. Seriously.
2. Try to give away away the pens you don't like. Does your yoga studio want pens? Your local school?
3. Give up and throw out the pens you don't like.
4. Look at the pens you have left. Why do you have each pen? "I have to have a red one" is not good enough. You will be getting a red pen you like.
4. Decide how many pens you need and what kind you like. Ballpoint? Felt tip?
5. Go shopping. A good pen lasts a long time. Get good pens. Broke? Start stealing them from hotels. A pen with a story is better than a Bic.

It's just another easy way to make life more lux for cheap or free.

Perfect for those who love their Maserati, wish they had a Maserati to love, or are just all about all high-end sports cars, the latest writing instrument from OMAS is a silver, sleek Maserati pen. The inspiration from the Italian auto can be seen in the aerodynamic design, in the grille pattern on the upper half of the case, and of course by the Maserati logo engraved on the pen's silver nib. Made of sterling silver the pen will be issued in a limited edition of only 1,914 in honor of the year Maserati was founded, 1914. Available in fountain or rollerball styles, $2,750

Via Bornrich

Giorgio Armani is now making pens and it seems fitting in today's world of computers, internet, and email, since true luxury and designer style can often be found in something as simple as a handwritten note. The Regal Collection, released this month, is the first series of writing instruments from Armani (in collaboration with Tibaldi) and will be available in ballpoint, rollerball, and fountain pen styles. Each pen is limited to 199 pieces and features the initials "GA" on the cap and a rhodium-and-ruthenium-plated solid 18-karat gold nib. The barrels are hand-turned to create individual and unique rippled patterns on each pen, which are then covered by nine layers of translucent enamel and embellished with a choice of either natural or ruthenium plated sterling silver trim. $3,114

Giorgio Armani Pens are available now at Giorgio Armani boutiques and Tibaldi stores worldwide.

The latest pen from Conway Stewart features technology that took 3 years to develop: it can shift its weight from front to back to suit the individual's writing style. Used extensively the pen is said to reduce writing fatigue and improve writing consistency, and if in today's world of computers and email you don't find yourself facing "writing fatigue" you can simply use the pen's adjustable gravity feature to enhance your personal writing by varying between heavier and lighter strokes.

Made of pattern-engraved solid silver The Evolution is available in a limited edition of 200 pieces for $2700 each.

Via Gizmodo

The price of cards keeps going up, but for just a little more you can say happy birthday to a friend with something a little more permanent. The vivid convertible roller pen from Retro 51 comes in a box covered with birthday greetings that match the pen inside. There is also a Congratulations box for other occasions. The pen sells for $22.50.

With more and more famous ballparks either disappearing or getting redone each year, these Ballpark pens might be your last chance to get your hands on a bit of history. The pens are andcrafted from salvaged wooden stadium seats. THe barrels and disc at top are made from wooden seats from historic stadiums. The pens ship with capless rollerball refill but can also use Parker style ballpoints and each is laser engraved with the name of the ballpark and years in existence. The prices vary depending on the stadium. Fenway Park sells for $250 and Yankee Stadium is $190.

Another beautiful pen from Montblanc: the Montblanc Boheme Papillion. It's all about butterflies, and since they've been inspiring writers since the beginning of time what better subject matter for a writing instrument. The Montblanc Boheme Papillion comes in 6 different versions of yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold embellished with over 1400 diamonds in the pattern of butterflies and delicate intertwining plant stems and leaves. Plus, of course, the signature Montblanc diamond gleaming on the cap.

Butterflies and plant tendrils? How perfect for spring. Priced at about $273,000.

The Montblanc pen shown above was displayed on Thursday night in Monaco at a VIP charity gala honoring Prince Rainier III of Monaco and attended by his son Prince Albert and a bevy of beauties that included Helena Christiansen and Eva Green. The Prince Rainier III Limited Edition 81is limited to only 81 pieces (Rainier was 81 when he died in 2005). Half of the sales of the been will go to the Foundation Princess Grace. The pen is a skeletonized fountain-pen of 18K white gold decorated with diamonds and ruby-studded lozenges to mimic the red-white lozenges on the shield of the Grimaldi coat of arms. It includes 996 diamonds cut with facets and 92 rubies which form a network that inner workings of the writing instrument can be seen through. 19 more rubies surround the clip ring on the cap and the 18K gold nib is set with two rubies. The pen is worth 200,000 euros.

How's this for a wild pen? This is the Free Ride from Jean Pierre Lepine. The Free Ride's race-car-like curves are designed to be ergonomic and fun. The ballpoint pen uses a rubber like material to cushion the areas where finger meets pen. This odd-looking pen is available in blue, orange, red, yellow, green or the chrome shown here. The pen sells at Joon for $152.