Montblanc is making their own special tribute to Hendrix and his legacy with their latest ‘Great Characters’ writing instrument collection — putting together an intricately crafted set of pens inspired by the musician’s unique sound, playing style, and the unforgettable 1960s counterculture he represented.
Jimi Hendrix Special Edition
Montblanc’s first piece in the collection is subtle, tasteful, and packed with clever references to Hendrix’s glory years. The first — an eye-catching resin cap — invokes the cream-coloured shade of Hendrix’s original 1964 Fender Stratocaster, a guitar that played at dozens of iconic venues, most notably Woodstock ’69. With pen clips inspired by Hendrix’s pioneering use of the tremolo bar, textured end cones simulating the surface of the ‘wah-wah pedal’ used in so many iconic songs, and a red resin tip mimicking the pilot light of Hendrix’s Marshal Super Lead amplifiers — Montblanc has truly gone out of their way to fit in an entire decade of inspiration into each Special Edition instrument.
There’s also beautifully-crafted geometric patterns remniscent of Hendrix’s favoured guitar strap at the time, an engraving of his debut album title Are You Experienced at the clip top, and a date engraving commemorating Hendrix’s spectacular performance at the Monterey Pop Festival back in 1967 — during the ‘Summer of Love’.
The handcrafted, rhodium-coated Au 585 solid gold nib is decorated with a portrait of the guitarist — and is also available in ballpoint and rollerball variants.
Jimi Hendrix Limited Edition 1942
A touch less subtle than the Special Edition, the Limited Edition 1942 comes production-capped to 1,942 units, and was made to commemorate both Hendrix’s birth and his famous Electric Ladyland album.
Harkening back to 1968, the album was a milestone in rock music, and heavily incorporated many visual elements of Hendrix’s personal style and larger-than-life identity. Again featuring tremolo bar and amplifier-inspired elements, the Limited Edition 1942’s most striking details are the degradé laquer on the barrel, which fades delicately from red to black (like the album cover) while encased in a gold-coated skeleton.
Again, Montblanc have decorated the handcrafted Au 750 yellow gold nib with a portrait of the rock legend.
Jimi Hendrix LE99
Shining a light on Hendrix’s unforgettable performance at Woodstock in 1969, this gorgeous, luxuriously decorated piece comes in the same coloured lacquer finish as the aforementioned Stratocaster, while an engraved plaque lists each one of the 12-odd songs performed by Hendrix at the iconic festival.
The cap top features a skeletonised Au 750 solid white gold overlay carved out with the peace sign and the Montblanc emblem to reveal the blue transparent dome underneath. The lacquer ring beneath the dome is inspired by the hot pink headband Hendrix wore onstage that August day in Woodstock, New York, while the name ‘Woodstock’ is imprinted around the top of the clip.
Opting for a bi-colour Au 750 gold nib, the Au 750 solid white gold forepart is engraved with his signature alongside the same geometric pattern that decorated Hendrix’s guitar strap at Woodstock.
To complement the limited edition, Montblanc is releasing a calf leather notebook and violetcoloured ink (available as an ink bottle) recalling his hit ‘Purple Haze’. The nuanced traces of Hendrix’s guitar stylings found throughout the collection offer the ultimate tribute to one of the greatest musical contributors of our time, in impeccable Montblanc fashion.
Images: Montblanc
