Many of you would have heard of Montegrappa, the manufacturers of the world’s finest implements, however, many of you will not have heard of its sister company Tibaldi.
Tibaldi has been creating fine quality writing instruments for almost 100 years making it slightly younger than it’s more illustrious brother. The Tibaldi collection of pens are unlike any other, backed by two international patents, one for their unique design and the other for its highly precise filling mechanism. It was back in 2009 that Tibaldi joined up with Elmo and Montegrappa S.p.A.
The latest offering from the brand is the Tibaldi for Bentley Collection, not an easy when you consider all incredible virtues of a two-tonne Bentley and trying to encapsulate that into a pocket-sized cylinder. Tibaldi’s and Bentley’s designers focus on shape, material and details. The materials in themselves are indicative of the construction of a device with robust strength, yet able to incorporate exquisite details, to convey the complexity of a Bentley’s assembly. The shape itself must be consistent with the mix of elegance, stateliness and sporting intent that is embodied in every Bentley – especially the GTs.
Tibaldi selected a base material of brass with rhodium plating – sturdy yet handsome, like the vehicles the pens complement. A key design feature is the partially lacquered barrel with two side “cheeks” presenting a sophisticated layered texture; this example of craftsmanship recalls the attention to details typical of cars such as Bentleys, where fine execution is treated like the manufacture of jewellery. This sits at the heart of the brand design values, borne of an era defined by bespoke coach-building and hand-crafted execution.
As is the tradition with all Tibaldi for Bentley pens, the GT Collection will include a fountain pen, rollerball pen and ballpoint pen, offered in four hues. – Beluga Black, Silverlake Blue, St James Red and Silver Tempest, among the most popular colours selected by owners of the actual cars. The fountain pens are cartridge-converter fed and are fitted with solid 18K gold nibs.