Montblanc’s Great Characters collection line honours the individuals whose accomplishments have left an indelible mark on humankind and whose influence lives on today. The newest member to this collection pays tribute toMuhammad Ali, the only three-time lineal world heavyweight boxing champion.
The Montblanc Great Characters Muhammad Ali limited-edition collection is dedicated to a man whose legendary moments in sports and civil rights activism made him one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. A man who not only challenged opponents in the boxing ring but who used his mind, charisma and voice as an outspoken and tireless advocate for civil rights, sacrificing a long period of his career to stand up for what he believed in.
Montblanc Great Characters Muhammad Ali™ Limited Edition 1942
With a limitation number representing the year of his birth, this design features a yellow gold-coated bandage design, with the four boxing ring ropes represented by four green lacquered lines on the cone. The pattern of white and black lacquer with gold intarsia on the cap was inspired by the coat he wore prior to the legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ fight in Kinshasa, Zaire, against the then reigning heavyweight champion George Foreman in 1974.
The victory pose he assumed after defeating George Foreman is engraved on the yellow gold-coated cap ring alongside the inscription ‘KO-W 8 (15)’ (knockout in the 8th of 15 rounds). The white precious resin Montblanc emblem on the cap top is adorned with the number ‘2’ to commemorate this second world title.
In 1975, just one year after Muhammad Ali’s second championship, another legendary fight went down in boxing history: Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, billed as the ‘Thrilla in Manila’. The boxers took each other to the limit in a breathtaking contest that lasted 14 rounds before Muhammad Ali prevailed.
The two famous matches won by Muhammad Ali in two successive years are memorialized on the cone with the inscription ‘KINSHASA 1974 QUEZON CITY 1975’. The skeletonised clip with its victory belt is inscribed with the name ‘ALI’ and a star at the lower end with the laurel wreath below it. The cap is decorated with a lacquered butterfly, while the solid Au 750 gold bi-colour nib is engraved with his boxing glove.
Montblanc Great Characters Muhammad Ali Limited Edition 98
A pair of hanging boxing gloves adorns the cap of the Limited Edition 98 as a hand-engraved, solid Au 750 gold inlay. Ali’s determined focus on boxing is represented in the design of the cap, which is shaped like a punchbag, and the blue guilloche lacquering that winds around the cap creates the textured look of the bandages he used to protect his hands.
Muhammad Ali’s victory against Leon Spinks in New Orleans on September 15, 1978, after fifteen rounds by jury vote is the inspiration for the inscription on the cap ring, ‘W 15 (15)’. His third win is represented with the number ‘3’ embedded on the cap top in the centre of the Montblanc emblem cast from solid Au 750 gold.
The skeletonized victory belt yellow gold-coated clip is inscribed with the name ‘ALI’ and set with a diamond at the lower end. The laurel wreath printed onto the cap as a frame for the victory belt clip references the triumphant wins of ‘The Greatest’.
The limitation of 98 fountain pens is a reference to the year 1998 when Muhammad Ali was named a “Messenger of Peace” of the United Nations. His determination to stand for peace is captured on the cap of the Limited Edition 98 with a hand-engraved solid Au 750 gold inlay depicting a dove.
His beliefs and vision live on in the work of the Muhammad Ali Cultural Center in Louisville today, where visitors learn about the boxer’s life and the six principles he lived by: confidence, conviction, dedication, giving, respect and spirituality – all engraved on the solid Au 750 gold forepart. Marking his dedication to these principles even through difficult times, the handcrafted, solid Au 750 yellow gold nib is engraved with a portrait of Muhammad Ali surrounded by six stars.
Opened by Muhammad Ali in 2005, the dynamic design of the Muhammad Ali Cultural Center expresses Muhammad Ali’s vitality in the giant boxing figures created from coloured windows on the side of the building. This façade inspired the colour-block boxing figure decorating the barrel of the writing instrument as a printed underlay beneath a solid Au 750 white gold skeleton overlay.
The story of his third World Championship title won in the second of two fights in 1978, is reflected in the two blue lines on the cone, while the four engraved lines represent the four ropes of a boxing ring. The engraving on the cone, ‘New Orleans 1978 New York 1998’, synthesizes Muhammad Ali’s two great roles of athlete and humanitarian by memorializing his third title win in New Orleans in 1978 and his designation as a United Nations Messenger of Peace in New York in 1998.
To complete the writing experience, the assortment features a Notebook #146 in Saffiano leather decorated with the silhouette of Muhammad Ali in one of his iconic victory poses, as well as a green special edition ink.
