Over the past century, Montblanc has developed its reputation as a luxury brand, creating top-of-the-line "writing instruments", as well as watches and accessories.
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In 2006, the German manufacturer teamed up with French jeweller Van Cleef & Arples to design the limited edition Mystery Masterpiece pen, which was studded with 840 diamonds and retailed for a cool $730,000.
Although it falls short of that six-figure price tag, the $1195 solitaire ball-point pen gifted to Barry O'Farrell is still regarded as a top-end product.
"The Solitaire collection refers to pens which are at the upper-end of the Montblanc range," Sydney-based pen retailer Charles Wolf says.
"At that price, you're looking at a pen crafted from a precious metal such as sterling silver or platinum."
After 58 years in the luxury pen business, Mr Wolf has learnt that a pen like this tends to attract a certain type of buyer.
"It's a pen for someone who likes beautiful things and has a lot of money to spend."
