The production watches and luxury goods may be recent development. The current Montblanc watches are made by Baume & Mercier. It is part of Richemont, a holding company with the largest collection of fancy watch brands: Baume & Mercier, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger Le Coultre, Lange, Montblanc, Panerai, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin. Did I get the whole barnyard or, worse, did I include a stray from someone else's brand farm?

Cartier may be the key to this whole thing--which is to squeeze as much profit out of each brand by reducing the actual content (because you cannot skimp on the packaging). The company's name is synonymous with luxury so the public believes anything from Cartier must be fancy. Up until WW2 Cartier created custom jewelry for the rich and near rich and sold them along with seasonal offerings through very few stores in the whole world. The burgeoning bourgeoisie of each successive generation has created the demand for an almost endless quantity of luxury goods. Cartier has poised its products strategically. For example, its watches have become a luxury icon regardless of horologic merit. And with so many people busy making money who can afford the time to develop discriminating taste? They buy the brand. Just what Cartier and others (LVMH also) count on.

It seems Montblanc has been growing into an executive suite version of Cartier--everything for the up and coming man-woman in a suit. And why not a watch--especially since it could be easily adapted from the Baume & Mercier line. Can this be the reverse of Rolex and Tudor? But not even Rolex has dared to develop a line of companion lifestyle products. You might wonder why a pen company would be qualified to make a watch, or a billfold, or a briefcase.

And there are a lot of fake Montblancs out there. Perhaps you saw a rather tired fake--so tired it looks 50 years old.

Best wishes.