The Mo Blanc brand is one of the most famous German brands in the production of luxury goods. If you wa to know how this brand we from producing stationery to making global watches, don’t miss this article. To make it easier to review the Mo Blanc brand, we have divided this article io three parts. The history of the Mo Blanc brand from the time of its establishme uil today, the iroduction and review of the most importa autograph collections and symbolic pens, and the review of the most beautiful and complicated watches of this brand.
Part I: History of the Mo Blanc brand
First, we talk about the history of the Mo Blanc brand.
The birth of the Mo Blanc brand
The history of the Moblanc brand dates back to the early 20th ceury. In 1906, a German engineer and designer from Berlin, named August Eberstein, in collaboration with a banker from Hamburg, named Alfred Nehemias, designed a type of autograph pen that was very easy to write with. This autograph had an iernal ink reservoir that fed the pen tip.
Official registration in 1908
In 1908, a Hamburg businessman named Claus Johannes Voss joined Eberstein and Nehmias and officially registered the autograph production company SIMPLO in Hamburg. Soon, Simplo became a reliable fouain pen manufacturer that even other brands made their pens in the company’s factories.
Changing the name of the company to Mo Blanc
It might be ieresting for you to know that Mo Blanc was originally one of the products of the Simplo company and later became a brand name. In 1909, the Simplo company produced a luxury autograph with a white star-shaped insignia on the top. The founders of the company chose the name of this product inspired by the snow-covered peak of Mo Blanc, the highest and most magnifice peak of the Alps. For them, Mo Blanc was a symbol of the company’s commitme to high quality manufacturing and European craftsmanship. A year later, in 1910, the name of the company was officially changed to Mo Blanc.
The official logo of the brand
In 1913, the Mo Blanc brand registered the white mark on the company’s advanced autographs, symbolizing the snowy peak of Mo Blanc and the six surrounding valleys, as its official logo. Six years later, in 1919, the first Mo Blanc store for the exclusive sale of the company’s products was reopened in Hamburg.
The legendary author of Masterstock
The Mo Blanc brand has a very importa history and that is 1924. In this year, the legendary autograph brand launched the Meisterstück. Meisterstock means “masterpiece” in German; A word that perfectly describes this product. This fouain pen remains one of the most famous writing instrumes in the history of stationery, and its timeless design remains unmatched.
With the creation of this autograph, Mo Blanc quickly became a household name in more than 60 couries around the world and made a huge profit, which it was able to spend on impressive advertising campaigns. The advertising methods of this brand were completely new at that time; For example, installing very large autographs on advertising cars and airplanes that no brand had thought of.
Setting up the first leather goods production workshops
Since 1935, the Mo Blanc brand has set up its first leather goods workshops near Offenbach, a city famous for its leather industry in Germany. In those workshops, they produced small luxury leather goods such as pencil cases. These workshops supply all the leather straps of Mo Blanc luxury watches that were added to the brand’s products years later.
Engrave the number 4810 on the tips of autographs
In 1929, the Mo Blanc brand took an ieresting initiative and engraved the number 4810 on the tip of the Meisterstuck autograph. This number shows the height of Mo Blanc and the high quality of this pen. Since then, this number has been marked on the nib of every Masterstock autograph.
Company name change and post-war eves
In 1934, the brand changed the name of the company, which had become a global brand, to Moblanc Simplo GmbH. A year later, because of their strong brand ideity, they decided to issue the first lifetime warray on Masterstock autographs, rewarding the choice of customers who seek the best. In the same year, Mo Blanc expanded its range of leather products to include stationery bags, notebooks and autograph boxes.
Unfortunately, many of the facilities of the Mo Blanc brand were not spared from the damage of World War II. However, the brand quickly began to rebuild the facility. During the restructuring, they located their represeative offices abroad and coinued to manufacture autographs in Denmark. It didn’t take long for Mo Blanc to iroduce new collections of beautiful pens, including the Meisterstock 149 in 1952 and the 60 line in 1955.
The story of the American preside and Mo Blanc autograph
An ieresting eve happened in 1963, which made the Mo Blanc brand proud and admired everyone. When John F. Kennedy, the preside of the United States, we to help the German chancellor, Konrad Adenauer, to get rid of the predicame that his coury was in. This autograph, Masterstock 149, was made by Mo Blanc!
The transformation of the Mo Blanc brand io a cultural symbol
In the 1980s, the Moblanc brand flourished further and coinued its production line with the Masterpiece Solitaire collection, which was made of precious metals. At the same time, the brand slogan “Mo Blanc; Choose the art of writing” for yourself. This made Mo Blanc a cultural icon that many luxury brands followed. Towards the end of the decade, Mo Blanc decided to open a purpose-built new headquarters in Hamburg, where all design, production and manageme work would be iegrated. This office also included the Mo Blanc Museum.
As the product line expanded, Mo Blanc opened more boutiques around the world, including Paris and London, and its first store in Hong Kong. In 1992, the Moblanc brand established the Moblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, which aims to honor patrons of the arts. The first autobiography of this eve was named in honor of Lorenzo de’ Medici in the field of art and in honor of Ernest Hemingway in the field of writing.
Mo Blanc’s ery io the world of men’s jewelry
The year 1996 was very importa for the Mo Blanc brand; Because this year they eered the world of men’s jewelry. It started with the Meisterstock jewelry collection, which included expensive men’s accessories, including 18-karat gold cufflinks. A year later, Mo Blanc turned to watchmaking.
The ery of the Mo Blanc brand io the watchmaking industry
In 1997, Mo Blanc launched its first watch at the Mo Blanc Moreux factory. Moblanc More SA, located in the city of Le Locle, which is the heart of the Swiss watchmaking industry. It didn’t take long for Mo Blanc to participate in one of the world’s largest iernational watch exhibitions, SIHH, and for the first time exhibited the Mo Blanc Meisterstock handmade watch. With its first collection of watches, the brand aimed to reflect the aesthetic of Meisterstock autographs. For this reason, he chose the self-titled Masterstock collection.
Mo Blanc first chose an old villa in Le Locle as the place to manufacture his watches. This villa was built in 1906; It means the same year that the history of Mo Blanc begins. That’s why they liked this villa and started the work. However, with the increasing demand for Mo Blanc watches, they had to increase the workshop space from room to room. It was clear that this limited space will not be enough in the future. Therefore, to solve this problem, they found an innovative architectural solution. They created an eire additional floor for the workshop below the villa, all enclosed in glass and looking like a modern atrium. Since 2003, this villa has coinued to work with this new architecture.
Second part: Mo Blanc iconic autographs
Collections and self-titled models in the Mo Blanc brand seem a little confusing at first glance. So, read this guide first. Mo Blanc has 3 autograph models:
- Classic (Classique);
- Legrand (LeGrand);
- 149.
The classic group, also called 145, is the smallest autograph model and its ink filling system is a cartridge converter type. Unlike the other two models that have a threaded cap, this model has a tight pull-open cap. The Lugrand model, also called the 146, is larger and uses a piston filling mechanism. Model 149 is the largest and has a piston filling mechanism and threaded cap.
Starwalker collection
The design of the Starwalker series resembles the descriptions that astronauts had of our planet floating in space. Starwalker’s unique technology features a clear blue dome under the Moblanc star logo, which is very beautiful.
Masterstock collection
This collection can be a lesson in art and history and has almost hundred years of stories to tell. It is safe to say that it was Meisterstock that made Mo Blanc. Just like its name, Masterstock is a masterpiece. It is not without reason that it is considered the most famous and preferred tool for writing around the world. Its first model was the Meisterstock 149, which had a gold and black body. Although subseque models changed slightly, its iconic design has not changed since 1952. Why should they mess up something that is so complete and perfect?
Mo Blanc Red collection
This collection is in cooperation with the non-profit organization RED, whose founders are Bono, the lead singer of U2, and Bobby Shriver, the nephew of John F. They are slow, designed. That is why it is called Mo Blanc Red. It works with iconic brands to raise money to fight AIDS in Africa through the IMF. Its bold red color is completely differe from Mo Blanc’s usual color palette. These autographs are made of precious red resin, which was prepared by the famous industrial designer Mark Newsom himself.
Royal diamond autograph
In 1994, the Moblanc brand produced a Royal Meisterstück Solitaire Autograph (Moblanc Meisterstück Solitaire Royal), with 4,810 diamonds carefully arranged on the autograph; That too by hand! This autograph was the most expensive autograph in the world at the time, and of course it is not surprising.
Moblanc registered cut diamond
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Mo Blanc launched a unique autographed edition featuring the Mo Blanc diamond. It took almost eight years of research and developme to cut this diamond to achieve the most brilliance. The Mo Blanc brand became the first brand in the world to cut a diamond in the shape of its logo and registered it.
Autobiography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Moblanc produced a limited edition autograph series to pay tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, one of the world’s most famous novelists and the creator of Sherlock Holmes. This model is made of precious blue-gray resin, which evokes the foggy atmosphere of London at that time. The autographed cap and tank have a checkered pattern that references Sherlock Holmes’s coat, with parts of the historic city of London paied on it. Beneath the PVD-coated magnifier clip is engraved the initials JB, a tribute to Sherlock’s most famous actor, Joseph Bell. Doyle’s signature can be seen on the cap ring.
Autograph John F. the slowness
This special edition is in memory of one of the most respected figures in the history of politics, John F. Kennedy is built and has symbolic references to his life. The precious blue resin marks Kennedy’s time in the US Navy. His initials, JFK, are engraved on the platinum-plated clip, and the three rings on the cap, all three platinum-plated, are the Kennedy brothers. On its golden tip is the logo of the Apollo space program, the spacecraft that landed on the moon in 1969. The autograph tip is made of 14 carat gold.
Walt Disney’s autograph
Another special Mo Blanc autograph is made with respect to Walt Disney. Thanks to his pioneering spirit and innovative ability, Walter Elias Disney was one of the most influeial animation producers of his time. The overall shape of the autograph is inspired by the Monorail system and its colors refer to Mickey Mouse’s “Steamboat Willie”. The cap and self-writing tank are matte black. You can also see Walt Disney’s signature on the top of the cap.
The third part: Mo Blanc watch collections
Now let’s get to know more about the watch collections and iconic watches of this brand.
Time Walker watch collection
Mo Blanc iroduced the TimeWalker collection in 2003 to approach younger customers who are more daring and up-to-date. The collection includes sporty watches with bold numbers to indicate hour markers, crafted in the distinctive Bauhaus style. The hands of these watches are filled with luminous materials. Some of them are chronographs and have a more complicated design; But some other three-hand watches are simple. In 2006, in celebration of its 100th anniversary, Mo Blanc preseed the Star Chrono GMT watch equipped with a perpetual calendar. This chronograph included setting the second time zone.
Mo Blanc has also designed more complicated watches in the time walker style, including the ExoTourbillon Minute chronograph in 2016:
Willert collection
Richmond Group, which bought the Mo Blanc watch brand in 1998, also bought Minerva in 2006 and merged them together as a subsidiary of Mo Blanc. Minerva was founded in Villeret in 1858 and is still based there. From the 1910s to the 1930s, Minerva was recognized as a manufacturer of innovative professional chronographs. The first watches that Minerva produced under the Moblanc name were launched as the Willert watch collection. Complicated watches whose designs corresponded to those made by Minerva before the merger with Richmond. All of these watches were assembled by hand and are rare to find in the eire watchmaking industry.
Another importa capability of Minerva is the production of hair springs. Very few manufacturers have the ability to make this part of the watch engine themselves. The accuracy of the watch depends on this spring. All clock motor manufacturers buy from these few limited manufacturers of hairsprings. The most importa of them is Nivarox-FAR SA, a hair spring producer belonging to Swatch Group. Minerva’s production capacity for hair springs is only as much as it needs. That’s why they use these hair springs exclusively for their Willert engines.
Nicolas Rivesque Chronograph
In 2008, the Mo Blanc brand launched the Nicolas Rivesque chronograph. Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec inveed one of the first chronographs in 1821, and this term is his own inveion. This chronograph showed the elapsed time in a special way. At the push of a button, one would mark with ink a spinning ceramic disc that would make a complete revolution in 60 seconds. In this way, the operator could make a mark on the rotating disc each time the time was kept. This device was originally used to calculate the time in horse races and actually wrote the time.
For Mo Blanc, who had dealt with pen and ink all his life, the design was naturally appealing, establishing an obvious connection between the pen and his watches. So he used discs to show the elapsed seconds and minutes in his Rivesque chronograph. This clock model also shows the second time zone. The Nicolas Rivesque chronograph has become a permane member of the Mo Blanc watch collection.
Timewriter project
The TimeWriter project was created by Minerva to support young creative watchmakers; People who tried to change the concepts of the watchmaking industry. Some of them include the following:
Metamorphosis
The Mo Blanc brand preseed the first watch of this project in 2010. Metamorphosis Timer 1 is a watch that can change its function in addition to its appearance. The owner of the watch can switch between two modes using a lever; Just like minute repeater watches. In the first case, the watch offers an adjuster for the hour hand, retrograde minute hand, ceral seconds hand, and date poier at 6:00, which can be used to set the time and date.
In the second mode, the watch becomes a chronograph with a ceral chronograph hand and a 30-minute couer, again set at 6 o’clock. When the watch was to change from one mode to another, it takes 15 seconds. The dial slowly opens its wings, the other wings close, and the minute couer slowly rises. It’s like watching an animation.
The Metamorphosis 2 project, preseed in 2014, has the same capability, but its implemeation is differe. In 2019 and 2021, the shape and colors have changed.
Two frequency chronograph 1000
The second watch from the Timewriter project is the Chronographe Bi-Frequency 1000, which was unveiled in 2012. This mechanical chronograph allows you to measure time iervals with an accuracy of 1000 seconds. Even if the clock design is extremely simple, a balance frequency of 500 Hz is still required to incorporate this feature io the clock. This work consumes a lot of energy; For this reason, Mo Blanc has used a completely differe approach in this chronograph, which will only require a 50 Hz balance frequency.
The impulses from the balance wheel are transferred to another wheel that rotates at a frequency of 10 Hz. In this way, the number of impulses is multiplied by 10 to represe the elapsed milliseconds. Later, in 2017, Moblanc used this feature in its Timewalker sports watch collection.
Exo Tourbillion
An exclusive moveme that is unique to Mo Blanc watches and inveed by Minerva in 2010 for one of the Willert collection watches is the Exo-Tourbillon. The difference between a regular tourbillon and an exo tourbillon is that in an exo tourbillon, the balance wheel is outside the tourbillon case instead of inside it. Therefore, the balance wheel, which is no longer confined to that compartme, can be larger. We know that the larger the balance, the better the accuracy. When we consider the tourbillon chamber to be smaller, the tourbillon itself will have less mass and thus consume less energy. The Exo Tourbillon is a permane member of the Mo Blanc watch collection. The brand sometimes combines exotourbillion watches with a chronograph function.
Masterstock Pulsograph
The first timepiece to combine Minerva’s watchmaking expertise with Moblanc’s design prowess was the Meisterstück Heritage Pulsograph, launched in 2014. This watch had a modern case, a classic dial and a modern Minerva 13.21 caliber. Its rose gold case and awesome engine retailed for over $30,000 at the time.
Bohemian watch for women
In 2014, Mo Blanc iroduced the Bohème collection of watches for women. These watches consisted of many precious stones, mainly diamonds. However, Mo Blanc never made these watches to be just some kind of beautiful jewelry. With respect to all ladies who love watches, this brand produced all the watches of this collection with high quality and power despite the use of precious stones. Some of them are mechanical and you can even move the hands by hand, and others have features that are specific to women.
Worldtimers
Worldtimers watches were iroduced by Mo Blanc in 2015, which drew a lot of atteion to the brand. These watches are very beautiful. The ceer of the clock face shows a view of our world from above the North Pole. Coines are paied on a transpare disc. Below this disc, there is a second disc that rotates once every 24 hours to show the pois where the world is night at that specific hour. As you can see in the image, half of the circle around the disc is dark.
In the same year, Mo Blanc preseed another watch from the same collection, which showed the world from a differe and new perspective. The name of this expensive watch was Tourbillon Cylindrique Geospère. This watch had a tourbillon and a cylindrical hairspring and the frame was really beautiful. The main attraction of this watch was the two rotating dome-shaped globes that indicated the northern and southern hemispheres to indicate the curre time in each part of the world. Since 2018, Moblanc has offered the same feature in a more affordable version. Below you can see the image of this beautiful watch:
The lightest Mo Blanc watch ever
Mo Blanc not only has a record of making watches with unique features and reasonable prices, it has surprised everyone by making one of the lightest watches in the world. In 2016, the brand designed the TimeWalker Pythagore, an ultra-light watch, for its ambassador, Lin Dan, who is the best badmion player in the world. This unique watch weighs only 14.88 grams. Moblanc achieved this extremely low weight by using an extraordinary material for the case of this watch called ITR2. It is a resin filled with carbon nanotube particles. Its engine is a modern version of the Minerva Pythagorean caliber, which is made of titanium and uses the least possible materials.
smart watch
Moblanc iroduced its first smart watch with the Summit watch in 2017. The operating system of this watch is Android and it is placed in a 46 mm steel frame with a black finish (some models do not have a finish). Some models come with a titanium frame. A year later, the brand iroduced the Sumit 2 smartwatch with improvemes in technical capabilities. This model had a 42mm frame, which was smaller than the original model.
Its latest version is Summit 3, in which they used a frame made of recycled aluminum. In addition, in 2015, Mo Blanc iroduced electronic straps (e-strap). These bands have a smart module that is placed under the wrist and is connected to a normal watch from the other side. These beautiful straps are suitable for those who like to have a mechanical watch with the functions of a smart watch at the same time:
final word
In this article, we talked about the Mo Blanc brand. With the art of merging ancie watchmaking traditions with modern technologies, this brand produces luxury and very expensive timepieces and autographs. With watch engines built using traditional advanced methods and combining them with today’s functionality, the brand offers sophisticated timepieces that rival the world’s largest luxury watchmaking brands.
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