Meet with Jordi Lopez (Joudenali)
Jordi Lopez has curated a truly exceptional collection of rare vintage Montblanc pens. In fact, some of the rarest pens featured on our website are thanks to his generosity. I was lucky enough to meet Jordi during my visit to Barcelona and actually touch and see in-person some of the most valuable gems from his collection!
Jordi recognized me as I was about to cross the street and came up to me. We made our way to an outdoor restaurant on La Rambla street, on a perfect sunny 25-degree summer morning. He told me he was worried about his limited English proficiency. I told him my Spanish was even worse! But, we both came prepared.
We sat down. Jordi took his laptop out right away, and Google was our translator for the next two hours!
Sparing me the suspense, Jordi opened his pen case and the next thing I knew I was actually holding a 124E! As a collector, I have my Grail pens just like you. But, I categorize them into "impossible" and "maybe-if-you're-super-lucky". The 124E falls comfortably in the "impossible" category for me and so I was delighted just to be able to handle one in person. It is a truly spectacular pen, and Jordi's example is near-mint. We were only 3 minutes into our meeting and I was pretty sure that I had already experienced the ultimate highlight of the day. But, I was wrong!
Jordi flipped his pen case open to reveal pens that I had only seen in books and some that are so rare that they are not even featured in any books!
Where would we even start? Jordi led the way. He said, "I am now going to show you something you must never have read or heard of..."
He shows me a beautiful safety filler from the 1920s. "Do you know of the safety series?" I replied, "Yes... size 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12". He nodded in approval. "Now, do you know that the No. 7 came in two sizes?". I did - the regular size and the 'long' size. "Good", he said, "but now see this... No. 7 'big'... it is a third size that has never been documented". I was confused. The standard No. 7 body is as long as the standard No. 6, with the same nib width but slightly longer tines. The long No. 7 is as large as the long No. 6 but again with longer tines. And finally, the 'big' No. 7 body is as large as the standard No. 8 and their nibs are the same width too, but the No. 8 has slightly longer tines. "Why", I asked. He explained, "I suspect it was for the export market because other companies had a size 7 nib too and so MB needed to comply with a standardized sizing chart - their size 7 nib needed to be the same size as other 7s". I had never read of this in any book or seen it in any catalogue. He had a size 8 'big' too. Talk about rare!
How could I resist? Yes, that's a No. 12 dwarfing my hand!
Next, Jordi showed me two examples of original snake clips! The 'skinny' clip is rather rare according to him. See below:
We then moved on the 1930s, starting with two legendary pens - a 128 S (with chasing) and the 129! Here, I learned a few interesting things. First, the 129 is very obviously smaller than the 139. Jordi explained that collectors that have never seen the 129 think it is as large as the 139 but it is not. This became quite clear to me. Also, I learned that the 128 was the same size as the 129, as you can see below. In fact, the standard 128 and 129 design is identical except for the two silver rings on the 129.
Before moving on to the 1930s, I just had to admire these Rouge et Noir safeties. Look at that beautiful clip on the No. 6 long!
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