Ink reservoir pens have been around for over a thousand years, and quill-and-ink pens date back even further. But pens have transformed significantly over the last hundred-or-so years, and modern ones can be incredibly decadent. Still, what are the most expensive pens?
The most expensive pen ever sold is the Fulgor Nocturnus by Tibaldi. This jewel-encrusted pen sold for $8 million in 2010. It featured a gold nib and hundreds of precious stones, most notably diamonds and rubies.
Have you been searching for a decadent pen to add to your lavish desk setup? If so, you’ll want to check out the expensive pens included in this ranking.
Here Are the Top 10 Most Expensive Pens of All Time:
- Fulgor Nocturnus by Tibaldi – $8 million
- Montblanc High Artistry A Celebration of the Taj Mahal Pens – $2 million
- Montblanc High Artistry Tribute to the Great Wall Limited Edition – $1.978 million
- Montblanc High Artistry Johannes Kepler Stella Nova Limited Edition 1 – $1.5 million
- Montblanc Boheme Royal Pen – $1.5 million
- Aurora Diamante Fountain Pen – $1.47 million
- The Endless Happiness Pen by Anita Tan – $1.01 million
- Caran d’Ache 1010 Diamonds Limited Edition Fountain Pen – $1 million
- Montblanc Mystery Masterpiece – $730,000
- Caran d’Ache Gotica Pen – $487,000
10. Caran d’Ache Gotica Pen – $487,000
Caran d’Ache released fewer than 1,150 Gotica pens in 2006, and they immediately dazzled passionate pen users. As the name suggests, this pen’s design is heavily influenced by Gothic architecture and artwork.
It has angled sides, medieval-inspired designs featuring golden fleur de lis symbols, and tri-color flower-like icons.
This ornate fountain pen is more than 12 times pricier than the most expensive pencil! But considering the fact that you can refill this pen’s inkwell (and you can’t refill a standard pencil), this higher price walks hand-in-hand with a greater product lifespan.
Why Is It So Expensive?
Caran d’Ache has a stellar brand reputation, which is one of the reasons this fountain pen is so costly. The pen’s scarcity and high-value materials (including silver and gold) also add to the final price.
However, this isn’t the priciest of the Caran d’Ache pens. But we’ll touch on that in just a moment.
9. Montblanc Mystery Masterpiece – $730,000
Montblanc pens are some of the priciest on the planet, and it’s not hard to understand why. They’re often made of high-quality precious materials, including gold and silver, and they’re made to last a lifetime.
One of the most desirable of these fountain pens is the Montblanc Mystery Masterpiece.
Released in 2007, this pen predates the more infamous High Artistry collection. But its starting price, a hefty $730,000, is on par with the Montblanc High Artistry pens.
The Mystery Masterpiece was a collaboration between Van Cleef & Arpels and Montblanc, two luxury brands beloved worldwide. It was a celebration of both companies’ 100-year anniversaries, so you can bet both companies went out of their way to ensure the Mystery Masterpiece was undeniably luxurious.
All told, Montblanc released three of these pens. All were equally decadent. These fountain pens contained precious stones (rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds) and gold to boot.
Why Is It So Expensive?
The anniversary-celebration Montblanc Mystery Masterpiece fountain pen was expensive because of its rarity, limited-edition status, and precious materials.
8. Caran d’Ache 1010 Diamonds Limited Edition Fountain Pen – $1 Million
Have you ever wanted to own a million-dollar pen? If so, you’ll appreciate the luxurious Caran d’Ache 1010 Diamonds Limited Edition Fountain Pen.
This million-dollar fountain pen combines contemporary elegance and steampunk innovation with an exposed white gold body featuring clock-like cog engravings.
This pen also contains 850 diamonds that sparkle along its caps and upper body. Although 1010 Diamonds might not be the most ergonomic option, there’s no denying its luxurious look and build.
Why Is It So Expensive?
The Caran d’Ache brand name is associated with luxury. This Swiss brand is almost as popular as Montblanc, especially among affluent writers. Consequently, brand reputation is partially responsible for this pen’s high price.
Still, this pen’s white gold body, intricate engraving, and hundreds of diamonds are likely responsible for its incredible value.
7. The Endless Happiness Pen by Anita Tan – $1.01 Million
Anita Mai Tan (founder of ALGems) transforms precious stones and metals into gorgeous pieces that honor her Chinese ancestry. Although many of her products are for modern accessories, such as smartphones, some are far more traditional.
The Endless Happiness Pen is a fine example. This pink-gold (also called rose gold) fountain pen is both elegant and cute, with a straightforward unornamented body and a jewel-encrusted pen cap.
This cap consists of three pieces, a diamond flower, a ruby-and-sapphire heart, and a ruby square with a pyramid-like peak. The top of the cap is also inlaid with jewels, as is the pen’s bottom.
This distinct fountain pen only costs $1.01 million, so if you’d like to make your desktop setup a little more luxurious, you might want to reach out to Anita Tan to request one for yourself!
Why Is It So Expensive?
This pen’s gold body and multitude of handcrafted gemstones make it more valuable than the average fountain pen. But that’s true for many of the world’s most expensive pens, including the Aurora Diamante.
6. Aurora Diamante Fountain Pen – $1.47 Million
Aurora Diamante translates to “sunrise sparkling.” Gazing at the Aurora Diamante Fountain Pen is like looking at a silvery sunrise made of glimmering diamonds.
Like Montblanc, Aurora is an Italian company that produces luxury-quality writing utensils, including high-quality fountain pens. But the Aurora Diamante is the most expensive ever released by this company, with a jaw-dropping price tag of $1.47 million.
This pen consists of 30 carats of precious colorless diamonds (more than 1,900, to be precise) and solid platinum. If you broke these components into individual pieces, you could sell them for big bucks!
Why Is It So Expensive?
This pen is essentially a piece of jewelry that you can write with. Because its exterior contains so many precious stones and high-priced platinum, it’s inherently valuable.
5. Montblanc Boheme Royal Pen – $1.5 Million
The Montblanc Boheme Royal sparkles brilliantly thanks to its 18-karat white gold body and almost countless colorless diamonds (about 1,400 in total). It’s often described as “extra” and “decadent” by owners and fans, and its price is equally impressive.
If you’d like to add the pen to your stationary setup, you can expect to spend about $1.5 million. Of course, considering this fountain pen’s incredible wealth of precious materials, this price isn’t too surprising.
For perspective, for the price of this fountain pen, you could afford to buy several of the most expensive Tesla models!
This pen also features a retractable nib and diamond-studded clip, ensuring that owners can safely (without getting ink everywhere) show off this pen wherever they go.
But considering just how valuable and eye-catching the pen is, it might be better to store it away in the included wooden display case.
Why Is It So Expensive?
This Montblanc pen’s incredible retail price results from the pen’s extravagant and high-value materials.
Few other pen manufacturers and craftspeople offer pens made of high-quality white gold, and even fewer release pens covered in more than a thousand glittering diamonds.
4. Montblanc High Artistry Johannes Kepler Stella Nova Limited Edition 1 – $1.5 Million
Montblanc’s High Artistry collection features the luxury brand’s priciest pens. It’s updated almost every year with opulent pens featuring precious stones and metals, crafted in intricate designs that make them equal parts writing utensils and jewelry pieces.
But the Johannes Kepler Stella Nova (literally, “new star”) Limited Edition fountain pen released in 2017 is one of the most beautiful and valuable of the High Artistry writing utensils.
This pen has a cool blue color thanks to its thousands of sparkling sapphires (more than 5,000 in total) and colorless diamonds. Its clip is shaped like an old-fashioned compass in honor of Kepler, one of the most influential German astronomers of all time.
If you’re fortunate enough to find one of these Milky-Way-inspired Montblanc pens for sale, you’ll need to spend about $1.5 million to make it yours.
Why Is It So Expensive?
This pen’s one-of-a-kind status and branding are part of the reason it’s so expensive. It’s a rare and high-quality pen released by one of the world’s most celebrated, if not the most celebrated, pen manufacturers: Montblanc!
But the incredible number of sapphires and diamonds significantly boosts the base price of this fountain pen, placing it above the million-dollar mark.
3. Montblanc High Artistry A Tribute to the Great Wall Limited Edition – $1.978 Million
As we’ve established, the Montblanc High Artistry collection consists of incredible and expensive fountain pens. But some of the priciest of them all is the “A Tribute to the Great Wall” set of five limited edition pens, released in 2021.
These pens are just as opulent as other Montblanc High Artistry fountain pens, if not more so. But the most over-the-top of this collection (and the priciest) is the Great Wall LE 1.
This pen is made of yellow gold that almost seems to glow, and it’s decorated with a dazzling array of colorful precious stones. These jewels are set in an intricate pattern reminiscent of Ming dynasty artwork.
But if you’d like to own this pen, you’ll need to spend $1.978 million.
Why Is It So Expensive?
Part of the reason this fountain pen is so expensive is that it’s a Montblanc product. This Italian luxury brand is well-known for producing the world’s most lavish writing utensils, and even their consumer-friendly pens cost hundreds or thousands of dollars.
This pen’s limited edition status is another factor contributing to its incredible value. After all, because this pen isn’t re-released every year, it’s a rare piece.
Still, the pen’s incredible number of precious stones (diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and tourmaline) and gold body might be the most crucial aspect influencing its staggering price tag.
2. Montblanc High Artistry A Celebration of the Taj Mahal Pens – $2 Million
The priciest Montblanc pens of all time are the Montblanc High Artistry A Celebration of the Taj Mahal collection. Montblanc released hese writing utensils (consisting of three unique designs) in 2019.
Each of these Mughal dagger-shaped pens costs $2 million.
For the price of just one of these Montblanc pens, you could buy one of the most expensive Rolls-Royce cars! Of course, even the most advanced Rolls-Royce cars can’t help you write a beautiful calligraphic letter.
But why are these three pens so pricey?
Why Is It So Expensive?
These Montblanc pens are expensive due to their rarity (they’re limited edition pieces), precious materials, and meticulously handcrafted designs.
For example, the Black Myth Limited Edition 1 is made of solid white gold. It’s covered in black sapphires and colorless diamonds, giving it a black-and-white aesthetic that contrasts beautifully with its colorful counterparts.
Then there’s the Insignia of Power, a yellow gold fountain pen decorated in rich red rubies and a peacock design of colorless diamonds. The Tears of the Moon takes things further, featuring a mix of emeralds, rubies, and diamonds.
Without a doubt, these pens feature an astounding number of high-value materials, including white and yellow gold, emeralds, diamonds, and rubies.
As with many other high-priced Montblanc pens, the numerous precious materials make this fountain pen inherently expensive.
1. Fulgor Nocturnus by Tibaldi – $8 Million
The most expensive pen is the Fulgor Nocturnus by Tibaldi. This decadent pen sold for $8 million at a 2010 auction in Shanghai.
The Fulgor Nocturnus features exterior surfaces covered in precious jewels, including diamonds and rubies. In fact, this pen consists of no less than 945 black diamonds and 123 rubies. The nib is gleaming yellow gold.
But rows of precious stones aren’t the only notable aspect of this Tibaldi pen. That’s because Tibaldi designed the Fulgor Nocturnus around the concept of the Golden Ratio and Phi.
This unique series of ratios imparts the pen with a classic beauty that will appeal to those interested in mathematics, the Golden Ratio, and the relationship between art, geometry, and mathematics.
Why Is It So Expensive?
Tibaldi is one of the finest Italian pen producers, with a unique history dating back more than 100 years (to 1916). Tibaldi pens are considered high-fashion writing instruments, making them must-have accessories for affluent scribes.
But the Fulgor Nocturnus isn’t only valuable because it’s a Tibaldi product. No, its value primarily stems from its multitude of precious materials, which range from rich yellow gold to sparkling black diamonds.
The large quantity of these high-quality materials makes the Fulgor Nocturnus pen inherently expensive. If you removed these materials, you could sell them for large sums of money, just on their own.
The fact that they’re set into a high-quality pen only makes them more valuable, hence the pen’s incredible selling price.
What’s the Most Expensive Pen Ever Sold?
The most expensive pen ever sold is the Fulgor Nocturnus by Tibaldi. Every aspect of this pen enthralls and enchants, from its Phi-based proportions to its jewel-encrusted exterior surfaces.
This pen sold for $8 million when it went to auction in 2010, but because it contains so many diamonds and rubies (not to mention a gold nib), it’ll likely remain expensive for a long while, even after it runs out of ink.
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