The Montblanc Ink Bar is the very first in South East Asia, highlighted Matthieu Dupont, president of Montblanc Southeast Asia on 9 May 2019 at the official reopening of the brand’s revamped boutique in The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore. He is referring to a dedicated section within the revamped Montblanc boutique where customers can not only test the writing instruments but also sample the brand’s scented Elixir Parfumeur inks in orange brown with a leather scent, gray that is wood- and tobacco-scented and green with the vetiver scent.
In addition to the Ink Bar, there is the Timepiece Gallery Table, Leather Atelier, Collectors’ Lounge and Digital Corner. Walk in and it is practically impossible to miss the Ink Bar for it is the section that calls out to you thanks to its burst of vibrant colours. The Ink Bar is an important point and a key feature in this boutique for it represents the “soul” of Montblanc, a brand with origins that began with writing instruments. What’s more, while Montblanc has diversified and now offers other product categories such as timepieces, men’s accessories, ladies jewellery and leather, we strongly believe that writing instruments remain the most popular segment in terms of overall volume sales for the brand.
Despite all that’s being said about the digital age, it is good to discover that the physical act of writing using a pen on paper is still prevalent when typing on a keyboard is now the norm. Mark Victor Hansen, founder and co-creator of the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series once said: “Don’t think it. Ink it.” We wish this will hold true in the future. From a personal point of view, writing is a form of therapy and is the “soup” for our soul. The art of writing is a Montblanc slogan and the brand is the best custodian to cultivate the writing culture.
What’s more, Montblanc has expanded its presence at Marina Bay Sands for it even has a permanent “pop-up” store outside the boutique which is continually being updated with the launch of limited editions, of which the Montblanc X Pirelli Trolley and travel accessories are the flavour of the month at the time of writing.
While writing instruments are the “soul” of Montblanc, timepieces, in our opinion, reflect the “pulse” of the brand. Speaking of which, this brings us to the second point, or should we say the other “first” for the Montblanc Boutique – the Heritage Pulsograph Limited Edition 100. Revealed at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in January 2019, this “doctor’s watch” is limited to 100 pieces and the very watch that was being admired and held in our hands on opening night is the first piece to be shipped to Singapore and offered for sale.
The Heritage Pulsograph features a vintage-styled domed salmon-coloured dial. While it would have been considered somewhat odd or even effeminate in the past, today, the pink salmon dial especially on a chronograph wristwatch combination is de rigeur among high-end brands.
The Calibre MB13.21 manual-winding movement is the engine for this monopusher chronograph where the start, stop and reset of the chronograph are controlled by the single pusher at 2 o’clock. The “Graduated for 30 Pulsations” inscribed between 10 and 1 o’clock indicates that the pulsometric scale is based on a count of 30 pulsations. In other words, activate the chronograph on the count of one pulsation and stop it on the thirtieth. After which, observe where the blue chronograph hand points to on the pulsometric scale in blue to conclude the heart rate per minute.
Interestingly, the Heritage Pulsograph is housed in a 40mm diameter steel case and is a unisex watch. It is worth noting that pulse-register chronographs of the past were also known as the nurse’s watch and it will obviously look good on a feminine wrist as well. Montblanc’s Heritage Pulsograph is priced at EUR28,000 / SGD44,600 inclusive of tax.
