Montblanc

Montblanc was founded on 22 March 1906 in Berlin by Alfred Nehemias, a Hamburg banker, and August Eberstein, a Berlin engineer, as Simplizissiumus-Füllhalter. The company moved to Hamburg in 1907. The first Rouge et Noir pen appeared in 1909, followed by the Montblanc pen in 1910. The white star emblem, representing the snow-capped Mont Blanc peak, was introduced in 1913. The Meisterstück line was first introduced in 1924. The company adopted the name Montblanc in 1934. Alfred Dunhill Ltd. acquired Montblanc in 1977. In 1993, Montblanc became part of the Richemont group. The company entered the watch market in 1997 with its first timepiece collection. In 2007, Montblanc acquired Minerva, a Swiss movement manufacturer founded in 1858 in Villeret, bringing chronograph expertise and genuine horological manufacturing capability. The 1858 collection, introduced in 2017, pays homage to Minerva's military instrument heritage. Montblanc operates watch production in Le Locle and the Minerva manufacture in Villeret.