Updating a classic

The Montblanc 1926 Heritage Collection made its debut in Florence in Italy last month. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Its Augmented Paper shows the luxury brand Montblanc is keeping up with the times, while its new heritage collection takes inspiration from the past. Chen Jie reports.

Now we can do most things online: shop, make payments, communicate through social media, but there are still people who prefer fountain pens and paper. Nicolas Baretzki, the CEO of Montblanc International, is one of them.

At the Montblanc boutique in the China World Trade Center recently, he showed me Montblanc's Augmented Paper.

It looks like a black Montblanc notebook. But then he opened it and wrote notes in it with a StarWalker pen. He then pressed a button, and the handwritten notes were converted into digital text and appeared on the screen of his smartphone. He then edited the notes using the Montblanc Hub app.

The files can also be shared via email or stored in a cloud service.

Augmented Paper is an example of how to integrate traditional writing into the digital workflow.

The convenience of digital technology is now available to those who prefer to write with a pen.

Baretzki says Montblanc pushes boundaries and finds ways to meet the demands of customers.