Giuseppe Aquila, CEO of Montegrappa, shares the journey behind his family’s century-old business, handcrafting writing instruments as objets d’art in Northern Italy
With the increasingly indefinable rise of the luxury good, and the idea of luxury itself as a position rather than a product, few brands remain the exclusive domain of the truly affluent. The luxury property market has opened itself to fractional ownership, expensive supercars can be reduced to monthly payments, private aviation has become accessible to those willing to pay yearly membership and designer fashion can be rented from a host of online websites.
Suddenly, it has become inexpensive to be luxurious and unsurprisingly the concept of luxury is changing. Most recently, the idea of luxury at its purist, has been recently described as ‘meta-luxury’ – the human quest for unique achievements that endure and evolve from one generation to the next. Though perhaps a romantic interpretation of a now commercialised industry, the idea of human experience, longevity, craftsmanship and excellence ring true.
Enter Montegrappa, Italy’s oldest writing instrument company. Founded in 1912 in Bassano del Grappa – approximately an hour north of Venice – the manufacturer still crafts its limited range of products in the same building in which the company was launched. Unapologetically expensive, the objects d’art are produced in 18 carat gold, silver and various other precious metals, commanding prices of up to $40,000 depending on the materials used.
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