Help Identify Model No. of MB Pen

[pajaro]

Black

[pajaro]

Was Sailor Kenshin referring to a red glow in the black pen when a light is snone into it? I have read of this before as a test of genuineness.

Unfortunately that red glow is also common these days in fakes.

DO the fakes appear clear when photographed in IR?

No idea but I can assure you that if such a test became common the answer would be yes. The fakes need to pass any visual tests a common buyer is likely to use and they have shown themselves adept at adjust to meet every new anti-counterfeit attempt. The fakes need to pass all visual tests but there is no need for them to worry about functionality, reliability of after sales service.

This is pretty troubling. If the fakes are meeting every test and passing themselves off as genuine, how can a buyer tell a genuine item? How could anyone sell a Montblanc if a potential buyer cannot tell if an item for sale is genuine? I am thinking there must be some features of a genuine 144 that can be used as markers of a genuine 144. Otherwise we must just throw up our hands in despair and acknowledge our investment in genuine Montblanc pens cannot be recouped.

One obvious answer is for the US government to stop the influx of counterfeit goods.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Was Sailor Kenshin referring to a red glow in the black pen when a light is snone into it? I have read of this before as a test of genuineness.

Yes, that's what I meant.

[jar]

This is pretty troubling. If the fakes are meeting every test and passing themselves off as genuine, how can a buyer tell a genuine item? How could anyone sell a Montblanc if a potential buyer cannot tell if an item for sale is genuine? I am thinking there must be some features of a genuine 144 that can be used as markers of a genuine 144. Otherwise we must just throw up our hands in despair and acknowledge our investment in genuine Montblanc pens cannot be recouped.

One obvious answer is for the US government to stop the influx of counterfeit goods.

It will only get more difficult and people will have to learn to buy the seller and not the product. As laser scanning and computer driven manufacturing as well as 3D printing continue getting less expensive the ability to create something that visually cannot be distinguished from the original will just get easier and cheaper. The differences will be in materials used as well as after sales service. Consumers will get what they want but will have to pay some premium to assure authentic products.