Alternatives to buying a Mont Blanc

If the snowflake matters most, then there's no replacing the need to buy a Mont Blanc.

However, if writing quality, style and value matter more, then we can certainly help you find a holiday pen gift that has a Mont Blanc "style" for hundreds of dollars less. Here are some suggestions :


Waterman Expert III

The newest generation of Expert is here. Classic cigar-shape profile, weighted brass inner barrel and classic lacquering style make this line a perfect, affordable competitor to a Mont Blanc.




Sailor 1911 Large

The Japanese-made Sailor pen is renown for high writing quality and superb gold nibs that make writing an absolute joy. Prices for the fountain pens are a bit up there ($310 Retail), but compare to a Meisterstuck large fountain pen that can cost hundreds of dollars more still, Sailor demonstrates a better value.


Waterford Marquis Metro

The Marquis Metro collection has been one of the best selections for corporate gifts to have engraved and buy in bulk. The pen is built from an inner metal barrel coated in polished lacquer and chrome trims. The accompanying gift box presents this pen extremely professionally, leaving the gift recipient wondering how much this pen must have cost. Both rollerball and ballpoint are under $50 separately at the time of this writing.


Aurora Ipsilon Resin

Classic, Italian-crafted design that pulls no punches when it comes to quality, Aurora has always been an excellent choice for pen-shoppers looking for Mont Blanc style for a much greater value (under $100 for a fountain pen in the ipsilon resin collection).


Laban Gold and Rose Gold

When it comes to imitating the luxury style of a Mont Blanc, Taiwanese pen manufacturer Laban does it the best with high quality materials like gold and sterling silver. This gold-plated edition looks gorgeous, writes just as well and is a faction of the cost to own a Mont Blanc.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Goldspot Pens

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone! I grabbed a few green pens from our stock room to take this picture. From left to right, we've got the ACME Crayon in lime, Pelikan Souveran 600, Aurora Ipsilon Resin, Lamy AL-Star, Caran d'Ache Metal ballpoint pen and Laban Germana Rubber. The poorly written (I'll admit I'm no calligrapher) greeting on top was done with Noodler's Forest Green Ink. By the way, today is a great day to be a fan of ours on Facebook or to follow us on Twitter. We're running a special promotion for St. Patrick's Day ONLY. Join up to find the promotion code.

Laban - The Holy Father's Choice

For the first time in the history of Christianity, the Pope has taken on sponsors. In a bold move to help struggling Catholic parishes across the world, Pope Benedict XVI has embarked on a tour around the world, visiting major cities in an effort to spread faith in Christ and raise desperately needed funds to support the church. The Holy Father is showing some old-fashioned grace and style with his new Laban pen, as he signs a guest book at a recent church visit. As you can see in the picture above, the pen rests in a deluxe Laban gift box. It is not disclosed the vast sums of money that Laban paid for the spot. We do know that the sponsors are ecstatic about the few dozen people that attended the signing, along with the six YouTube hits that the video of the signing generated in the last week. "The Pope's gone viral," one sponsor commented. His Holiness' travels have only begun. In the coming days, we are expecting the Pope to use new products from his newly acquired sponsors BMW, Subway, Credit Suisse, Sony and Full Tilt Poker. ---- Back to reality: the Pope did actually use a Laban pen. The images were forwarded to us by the good folks at Laban. I could only imagine the honor that it must be to have someone of such religious and cultural importance to use your product. PS : Just to clarify, the account of the Pope having sponsors is fictitious. He is not going viral.