Montegrappa is delighted to announce a special presentation of the Montegrappa ‘Icons’ Ayrton Senna Limited Edition in the company of Formula One Legend and Montegrappa Ambassador, Board Member and Shareholder, Jean Alesi. The presentation will take place on Monday, 31st March from 2.00pm to 4.00pm at our stand in BaselWorld.
To honour Senna, in the year that marks the 20th Anniversary of his legacy, Montegrappa will issue a series of pens that encapsulate his spirit and his style. The Ayrton Senna Icons pens will be offered as fountain pens, roller balls and ballpoints in jet-black resin, in a series of 1960 pieces each to mark the year of his birth. A solid sterling silver edition with cap and barrel engraved in low-relief will be available in a limited edition of 610 examples each as fountain pens and roller balls, representing his tally of championship points. To complete the collection, there is an exclusive solid gold version comprised of 20 fountain pens and 20 roller balls, which represent his career of 20 years as a racing driver.
A colleague, personal friend and competitor who raced against Ayrton Senna, Jean Alesi has kindly offered to join the two worlds of Formula One and Montegrappa at this special event.
Embodying the best elements of both the Italian and French zest for life, Jean is blessed with natural driving ability. The young Alesi started his career in karting, graduating to single seaters and winning the 1987 French Formula 3 title. Two years later, in only his second season in International F3000, he would capture the championship. His Formula One debut took place in the 1989 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, driving a Tyrrell-Cosworth, finishing fourth and scoring points in that year’s Italian and Spanish Grands Prix.
It was the start of a long, colourful and eventful career, with a win at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on his 31st birthday. In 2001, Jean became only the fifth driver to start 200 Grand Prix races, achieving thirty-two podiums. In 2007, he was knighted by Jacques Chirac, as a knight of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour (“Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur”).
In 2009, Jean joined Montegrappa as a shareholder and member of the board for public relations, which has allowed the racing legend to address, as he puts it, his “passion for all things hand-made.” As a consultant with design input, as well as an ambassador for the brand, Jean is, “for the first time, in a business which is not a racing business! I am happy and honoured to be associated with a company that is over 100 years old … and Italian!”
To enjoy the Montegrappa experience, please visit us at the Elmo & Montegrappa stand in Hall 2.2 (First Avenue), Stand C03.
Since 1912, for more than a century, Montegrappa has been manufacturing high-quality writing instruments in the same historic building in Bassano del Grappa, North East Italy.