With its distinctive six-pointed star logo inspired by the six glaciers snaking down from the summit of Mont Blanc, the Alpine peak from which it takes its name, Montblanc is one of the most recognisable names in luxury. It’s a go-to brand for men on the move, offering a broad selection of sleek, sophisticated luggage, and since the turn of the millennium it has also been establishing itself as a serious, capital-W watchmaker, having invested in a first-rate facility in the Jura Mountains in 1999, followed the historic Minerva factory in 2016. But it wasn’t with first-class luggage or mechanical watches that Montblanc made its name. It was as a purveyor of some of the world’s finest pens - or writing instruments, as the brand prefers them to be known.