{"id":33410,"date":"2018-09-22T12:46:50","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T10:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/2018\/09\/22\/the-last-artisans-of-high-writing\/"},"modified":"2022-11-26T15:05:29","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T14:05:29","slug":"the-last-artisans-of-high-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/2018\/09\/22\/the-last-artisans-of-high-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"The last artisans of high writing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Handwriting is still a unifying force\na handful of artisans, steeped in craftsmanship, creativity and luxury in the\nFrench. In this universe where the pen gives way to the instrument\nof writing, the arts and crafts occupy a place of choice in the heart of the\ncollectors. <\/h3>\n\n

By Olivier Muller<\/h4>\n\n

Take a little eggshell – from\nquail only. Add a touch of tapioca, egg white… and\ngold leaf. The recipe for an elixir of youth? Rather, the recipe for a\nlacquer of Provence ! Behind this astonishing formula lies the\ncomposition of one of the last artisanal lacquers of France. It is\nby Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Faggionato, designer of his own instruments\nof writing, in its manufacture of Saint-Maximin-La-Sainte-Baume (Var). At this\nday, the man prepares his exam to become Meilleur Ouvrier de France, in\nthe category of artisanal lacquers. <\/p>\n\n

There are few talents today\nof this magnitude in the field of the exceptional pen. They share some\ncommon points: an immoderate taste for luxury, for good taste; a\nnot very well known, except for a few experienced collectors;\nunlimited creativity. The handwriting, heckled by the seizure\nelectronic, is still an art that a few rare enthusiasts maintain\nwith an ardent flame. Laure Ridel represents most of them. In\nher Parisian shop, Point Plume, she is currently the fourth largest\ngeneration to hold this high place of the passion of the pen. Here, only\nthe exception is allowed. His clients are monarchs and heads of state,\nsovereigns or high-level collectors, as discreet as they are sharp.\n” The pen is a legacy. We\nWe are Latins, it is part of our culture, our way of life. The\nback to writing is a necessity, otherwise, without knowing how to articulate nor\nto write our thoughts, it is the language that we will lose<\/em> “, pleads\nthe director of the sign.<\/p>\n\n

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However, today, the market for\nthe high-end writing is mainly carried by two houses:\nMontblanc and S.T. Dupont. Their commercial and marketing strength lies in\na market that would otherwise decline. Why? Because\nthe time is not for ostentatious luxury: ” in times of crisis, showing off a 5000 euro pen is not a good idea.\nIt is an accessory that cannot be hidden. When it comes to\nis used, it can be seen immediately, unlike a prestige watch that is\ncan choose to leave hidden under his shirt <\/em>“, explains Laure\nRidel.<\/p>\n\n

These two leading brands in the market\nof writing have therefore developed consumer ranges which, for all that, are\ndo not deny anything of their DNA. At Montblanc, it is the famous\n“Meisterst\u00fcck”, literally “masterpiece”. Created\nin 1906, this nib became established with a design finalized in the 60s, with\nits body in resin, lacquer or steel, its four main sizes (149,\nLeGrand, Classical and Mozart) and its golden feather systematically finished with the\navailable in eight different sizes. <\/p>\n\n

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The story of S.T. Dupont is\ndifferent: at the beginning (1872), the brand only manufactured trunks.\nWith the development of modern aviation, the use of the trunk disappears, it\nWe need new objects of identity, of luxury, easier to\nto carry: it will be the lighters. It was Jacky Kennedy who, in 1973,\nin love with her S.T. lighter. Dupont, will ask for a pen to be designed for her\nassociated feather. This is how the French house came to write, without\nnever leave its historic factory in Faverges (Haute-Savoie). Its market\nFrance remains the key country, followed by South Korea, a nation\nhistorically very attached to S.T. Dupont. The house is distinguished today\nby the assumed volume of its writing instruments which, all, display a\ngenerous weight. <\/p>\n\n

These two competing houses are\nare also joined by their ability to produce exceptional series\nlimited, even unique pieces. ” Our\ncustom orders represent 8% of our business by value<\/em>,\nslips S.T. Dupont. Goldsmithing, plating, polishing, guilloche, are some of the\nsome of the craftsmanship that the company deploys on its exceptional instruments.\nMontblanc is doing the same with highly anticipated annual limited series of\ncollectors: Writers, Patrons, Muse, Great personalities. <\/p>\n\n

Facing these houses, the artisans\nindependent companies live in a paradox: without Montblanc or S.T. Dupont, the\nluxury writing market is collapsing. However, all of them entrust their\ndifficulties to live in their shadow. Despite this, some people are beginning to\nto display an unquestionable recognition. This is the case of Olivier Williame,\ncreator of De Saint Esteve, from the name of the street in his village of\nRoquefort-les-Pins (Alpes-Maritimes). Its niche: hard stone.\nSodalite, Howlite and Tiger’s Eye are his favorite materials. ” I bring them from Brazil, refine them\nmyself until I create a body of about 60 grams<\/em>,” explains\nthe craftsman, who can manufacture two to three pieces per day. His colleague\nHerv\u00e9 Obligi will not do better. Appointed Master of Art by the Minister of\nCulture in 2015, independent for 33 years, this mineral touchstone serious and\ncarves the stone for the most famous houses of the Place Vendome, without\nthe Prince’s Palace of Monaco, the Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles, the Louvre or the\nQuai d’Orsay. Lapidary sculptor, he makes his own instruments\nto a few rare annual units that make the secret happiness of\nknowledgeable collectors. <\/p>\n\n

Emmanuel Aube will sometimes take\nseveral months for a single piece. The man engraves entire stories on\nsilver, bronze, bone, marlin rostrum or mammoth ivory\nfossilized. A work of goldsmith whose certain creations are sold with five\nfigures. Based in Versailles, Emmanuel Aube is, like his colleagues, the\nmodern messenger of the High Scripture. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Handwriting is still a unifying force a handful of artisans, steeped in craftsmanship, creativity and luxury in the French. In this universe where the pen gives way to the instrument…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":31480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[1322,930,1321,1320],"powerkit_post_featured":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/1011_beauty1-rvb.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33410\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33413,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33410\/revisions\/33413"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33410"},{"taxonomy":"powerkit_post_featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lhonoremagazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/powerkit_post_featured?post=33410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}