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RayF
22210
Feb 2, 2019
Which of the following statements requires the greater leap of faith / suspension of disbelief? A) "Montblanc started out making high-quality fountain pens, which naturally led to watchmaking."  B) "Smucker's started out making preserves, which naturally led to winemaking." C) "Matel started out making toys, which naturally led to development of the Saturn-Five rocket." D) "Donald Trump started out denying apartments to black families, which naturally lead to becoming POTUS."
TheAppleogist
15
Feb 2, 2019
RayF👏🏻 You made my morning! 😂
XenoMuse
121
Feb 2, 2019
RayFI can understand a connection between fountain pens and watches, as several European jewelers do both. Cartier, for example. Once the pens are a fashion piece rather than a writing instrument, they become jewelry, same as watches. What I don't understand is why Montblanc makes cologne.
RayF
22210
Feb 2, 2019
XenoMuseCologne?! Well I'll be! Could be a byproduct of their ink-making business? I know one thing-- I'm never going to use their damn hair-tonic again!

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808dreamin
97
Feb 2, 2019
RayFAbsolutely priceless!!!
junki
327
Feb 2, 2019
RayFGoogle Minerva and teach yourself.
RayF
22210
Feb 2, 2019
junkiAcquiring a watch company does not make one a watch company any more than Sony acquiring Minolta made them a camera company. I recall a time when a Bowling company bought Harley Davidson too. As a kid, my father owned a pocket watch with a Minerva movement. I prefer Nikon cameras, don't ride a Harley, have a Montblanc pen, but probably won't buy one of their watches (or their cologne, and especially not their hair-tonic). Maybe I'm just set in my ways?
YaletownLad
16
Feb 3, 2019
RayFI think there plenty of examples of companies evolving into different business lines and doing so quite successfully. I would say the key to most business success is the ability to execute. If a company has perfected that in one line of business, it is much simpler to do it in another. I own a Montblanc watch (had to buy the pen separately though) and have been very pleased with it. I also recently purchased a higher end Sony camera after all the online research I completed found it highly rated by the folks who know such things. As for this watch... haven't yet allocated funds to the 2019 watch budget, but it is quite tempting.
RayF
22210
Feb 3, 2019
YaletownLadMy original observation/criticism was intended to point out (make fun of) the silly and nonsensical MD copywriting for this drop. I should have made that clear to my pal @junki instead of discussing my secondary concerns over acquisitions. If there were any legitimate complaints against Montblanc watches (other than price) we'd all have heard about them by now. Sony cameras are innovative and very well regarded by professional photographers--and as much as I miss the old Minolta SLRs, I'd rather see the company absorbed than forgotten. Misgivings about the AMF/Harley Davidson marriage/divorce are ancient history by now. All that said, I still maintain MD's opening statement: "Montblanc started out making high-quality fountain pens, which naturally led to watchmaking."  is one their all-time lamest. Claiming that a pen company's purchase and rebranding of a watch company is in any way natural, suggests it's just as likely that one day in the future, we might all find ourselves saving up for a shiny new BIC Navitimer. Wouldn't that be ducky?

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Either way, I still maintain, Montblanc has no business being in the cologne or hair-tonic business!
XenoMuse
121
Feb 6, 2019
RayFNot the stick of nonsense!
RayF
22210
Feb 6, 2019
XenoMuseStick? What stick?!
XenoMuse
121
Feb 6, 2019
RayFThe Bic stick! Of nonsense...
RayF
22210
Feb 6, 2019
XenoMuseAhh...I get you now! Shows how long it's been since I handled anything BIC (except a few grill lighters). I take it ROUND is the new HEXAGONAL? I say that because in the heyday of the original cheap BIC pens, (the pen I used in high school) they were shaped more hexagonally. I also recall their TV ads priced then at nineteen cents. Today that same pen is called a BIC Crystal, and Staples is selling them for $4.19. No tell'n how much they'll charge for their Navitimers!

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XenoMuse
121
Feb 6, 2019
RayFI think that $4.19 is for a 100 pack.
RayF
22210
Feb 6, 2019
XenoMuseAHHHH...can't talk now; have to run to Staples!
Glen8
671
May 26, 2019
RayFI do think there are a whole bunch of Swiss companies that make both pens and watches. And German ones too. And one Australian, Panzera I believe