Really, Montblanc.... really?

Today, in commemoration of 140th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth, Montblanc-- the German purveyor of luxury writing implements-- has released a limited edition fountain pen with a price tag of, get this, $24,763.00

Before I declare this to be one of the most moronically misguided luxury product launches ever, let's take a moment to review my personal stance on prestige items-- and here it is: I love luxury goods. I spent months of my life locked in the dungeon that is the Johns Hopkins library studying them. I love the companies that furnish them, I love the manner in which they are sold, I love the unique desire that they provoke in otherwise reasonable customers. In a word, I find the whole concept of the luxury industry completely and utterly fascinating.

Montblanc is no exception to this interest. Having briefly studied its business model and corporate strategy from an academic standpoint, I can safely say that--the present Gandhi travesty aside-- I think Montblanc is a pretty great/neat/swell company. I would go so far as to call it the bee's knees. The cat's pajamas. Whatever.

This said, let's take a moment to evaluate the situation. Correct me if I'm wrong (after all, I'm no historian) but Gandhi is known as one of history's greatest political and ideological leaders. His central philosophy is largely based on such concepts as asceticism and general simplicity, right? Now, with this in mind, how in god's name does Montblanc justify trying to sell a $25,000 pen in his honor?

Says Oliver Goessler*, regional director for Montblanc in India, Africa and the Middle East, "It's not an opulent pen. It's a writing instrument that's very pure."

Um, I beg your pardon?

In case you were wondering, here's a rundown of the allegedly non-opulent pen. Each of the 241 individually handmade units features an 18-carat solid gold, rhodium-plated nib engraved with Gandhi’s image, and a saffron-colored opal on the clip. Each will be sold with a 26' long gold thread that can be wound around the pen to 'invoke the spindle Gandhi used to weave plain cotton cloth each day**,' and, of course, will include a booklet of inspiring Gandhi quotations.

And believe it or not, the whole thing gets even more ridiculous. Because, as Goessler puts it, "when we talk about Gandhi, there has to be an edition that's more accessible," Montblanc has graciously put out a more affordable version of the absurd Ghandi pen. How much will that puppy run you? Oh, a mere $3,500. A trifle, really.

In all fairness, Montblanc has tied the pen to two significant charity initiatives, one of which is headed by Gandhi's great-grandson. In my opinion, though, if the company had wanted to make an actual, right now difference, it would have bought a truck load of BICs and distributed them in elementary schools across India.

But that's just me.

* I got all of this idiot's*** quotations from this article.

** I've never heard such ridiculous garbage. The notion of rough handmade cotton cloth is supposed to be invoked via a filament of solid gold on a $25,000 pen. Jesus.

*** Ok, so I probably shouldn't trash talk this dude since I might want a job from him some day but, come on-- if he just became less of an idiot he'd save us both the trouble.