The Bite Magazine - Issue 11

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The clip has a spring-loaded
mechanism and its tip is lacquered in red
or black, to differentiate the fountain
pen from the roller ball. The nib with an
image of a sea-horse etched into it refers
to the hippocampus which is a major
component of the brain in humans and
other vertebrates. This belongs to the
limbic system and plays an important
role in the consolidation of information
from short-term memory to long-term
memory and spatial navigation.The limited
edition Brain Pen consists of 1012 silver
fountain pens, representing the number
of neurons in the human brain; 900
silver roller ball pens, representing the
number of neurotransmitter (messenger)
molecules released by a single synaptic
vesicle; 50 solid 18 carat gold fountain
pens which represents the diameter of
a synaptic vesicle of 50 nanometres; 50
solid 18 carat gold roller ball pens, also
representing the diameter of a synaptic
vesicle of 50 nanometres; 12 solid 18
carat gold fountain pens with diamonds,
representing the 12 cranial nerves and 6
solid 18 carat gold roller ball pens with
diamonds, representing the 6 cortical
layers.
The theme and design of Sylvester
Stallone’s signature ‘Chaos’ Pen came
from the actor’s blockbuster film,
The Expendables. To help express his
representation of chaos, the brand
ambassador for Montegrappa turned to
the classical work of 16th century artists
such as Battisa Franco, Albrecht Dürer,
Hans Sebald Beham and Antonio Pollaiolo.
He explained,“My idea of Chaos is a sense
of the Renaissance, when things were
more simplified and perhaps more noble,
placed against our current technological
society.” Fashioned from precious
materials, the body of the pen is made
of black pearlised celluloid with overlays
in sterling silver or solid 18 carat gold.
The overlays are finished by hand by
Montegrappa’s skilled craftsman and
feature an antiqued finished with accents
in translucent enamel, in reds and yellows,
subsequently the colours of fire. The
design characterised by juxtaposition of
life and death represents the early forms
of life on Earth: reptiles such as snakes
and lizards, and the latter by the skull,
with the defining detail of both a fist and
a skull and a clip in the form of a sword.
The first from the ‘Cult’ collection, the
Chaos pen is available as a limited edition
of 1,000 foundation pens and 912 roller
balls in sterling silver, which represents
Montegrappa’s 1912 date of establishment.
Additionally, there are 100 fountain pens
and 100 rollers balls in solid 18 carat gold
and 10 fountain pens and 10 roller balls in
solid 18 carat gold with precious stones
available for enthusiasts of both the screen
legend and Montegrappa.
Before his sad departure from this
world in December last year, Montegrappa
was given the rights to produce collections
of pens, watches and cufflinks using
the Nelson Mandela name. In honour
of the world-renowned South African
anti-apartheid activist, humanitarian
and statesman, Montegrappa created a
collection of customised NeroUno pens,
watches and cufflinks that bore a motif
of triangles in a tribal pattern in rose gold
plated trim on the pen cap’s band, the
surround of the cufflinks and the watch’s
case. The top of the pen’s cap is engraved
with the map of SouthAfrica,while the side
of the cap features a metal plaque engraved
with Mandela signature. His signature also
appears on the watch dial and the cufflinks
while the clip boasts a diamond mined in
South Africa as an indelible link to Nelson
Mandela’s homeland. The limited edition
collection contains 500 sets including pen,
watch and cufflinks, the number of 500
representing the number of clinics that
were upgraded or constructed during
Nelson Mandela’s presidency of South
Africa. Interestingly, whilst researching
his life, Montegrappa also discovered in a
letter written by Nelson Mandela to his
daughter Zindzi
on the 10th of February
1980, while he was imprisoned
on Robben Island, that he eloquently
echoed the ethos behind Montegrappa’s
writing instruments: “A good pen can also
remind us of the happiest moments in our
lives, bring noble ideas in our dens, our
blood and our souls. It can turn tragedy
into hope and victory.”
Other themed pen collections include
Elvis Presley, Salvador Dali, Quincy Jones,
Rigoletto and Horse 2014,representing the
Year of the Horse according to the Chinese
Zodiac. Montegrappa also produce regular
lines of exquisite pens such as NeroUna,
Parola, Fortuna, Espressione, Ducale,
Piccola and Micra,a consortium of modern,
stylish, contemporary, sober, colourful
and bling-bling pens to suit everybody’s
taste in the Resin Collection; Extra 1930,
a classy and distinctive pen that consists
of old time material combined with the
preciousness of sterling silver under the
Celluloid Collection, and Memoria, a
re-styled working of a nineties inspired
design that’s nothing short of a classy
choice under the Precious Metal
Collection.
Montegrappa pens are available from
authorised dealers located in Africa (Egypt
& South Africa), the Americas (Caribbean
& South America), Asia, Europe, Middle
East and Oceania.
bite men