General
Cartier was founded in 1847 in Paris by the jeweller Louis-François Cartier. With the rise of the Second Empire, Cartier’s business grew over a decade, with the opening of the first Cartier boutique in 1859. Louis-François’ son Alfred then took over the business, moving premises to the jewellery district of Paris. Alfred’s own sons eventually expanded the Cartier brand to London and New York. The company began making high quality writing instruments in the 1970’s.
Features
They have continually added superb high-quality pens to their range since then, made by Montblanc. This Cartier les Must de Stylos Oval Vintage Fountain Pen was made in Switzerland and came to UK approx. in 1985. It comes with Life-Long Guarantee verifiable via its unique serial number. By pressing the top of the cap, a clockwork mechanism sets of a lateral movement of the exceptionally discreet clip. The cartridge design by Cartier is proprietary but it can be re-filled with new ink using most of the eyedroppers. To change your refill, you must lift the flap at the base of the pen. The position of the nib is adjustable to adopt to the best writing position, and a plastic nib adjusting wheel is provided here by Cartier.
Comment
It takes some effort to learn how to use this small pen, which according to Cartier is, of course, the most beautiful pen in the world… however this pen is not the most comfortable pen to hold in the world. It seems that the jewellery and aesthetic design work was done first, before writing instrument experts got involved, and then their options were limited by other factors.
Ink used: Cartier Paris Bleu/Blue Cartouches, France
