Contrary to what its name might imply, the America's Cup
is a British institution -or, rather, invention. The most fascinating
sailing challenge in the world today, it is also one of the oldest
competitions in modern sport. It was founded 152 years ago in 1851
on the initiative of England's most prestigious sailing club,
the Royal Yacht Squadron.
In those mid-19th century days, Britain was the ruler of the largest
and most powerful colonial empire in the world and the undisputed
ruler of the seas. Navigation of the world by her great commercial
and military ships as well as elegant private yachts was the pride
of the nation and the empire beyond. In Anglo-Saxon culture the sea
was not simply a territory to rule or a distance to sail across.
It was also a school of life, a training ground for courage, a vast
mirror on whose moving surface man could measure his own worth,
as Joseph Conrad, a Pole and naturalized Englishman who had
enlisted in English navy, was to express so skillfully in his novels a few
years later. Dominance of the seas was a question of honor
for the English, not only in war and trade but also
in gentlemanly competition.
That was how in the mid-19th century, the Royal Yacht Squadron
came to offer a prize of a silver cup of modest intrinsic value, donated
by the Marquis of Anglesey. It was designated that the trophy, known as the Hundred Guinea Cup, would be awarded to the winning vessel of a competition open to any type of sailing boat, of any nationality, to be held over a distance of
50 nautical miles round the Isle of Wight in the English Channel.
Sailing boats from anywhere in the world could take part,
and the "certain" English victory ,was expected to prove not only the
invincibility of the British nation on the high seas but also
the technological superiority of the Empire in naval architecture,
a crucial element in the political, economic
and cultural hegemony of Great Britain.
The race which took place on 22 August 1851 had a very different
outcome from that anticipated and hoped for. Of the 15 competing
vessels, the only one that was not British was a black schooner
flying the flag of the United States, which won the race and took
home the prestigious trophy. The winning vessel was the America
and the Cup was named after it, not after the continent or the
country that it represented. The owners of the America donated the
trophy to the New York Yacht Club in 1857, on condition
that the cup should be "perpetually a Challenge Cup for friendly
competition between countries".
The humiliation suffered by the British immediately prompted
them to sail across the Atlantic in their fastest yachts with the
most skilled and experienced crews in order to bring
the Cup back home, and with it the title of the best sailors in
the world. But the British have never fulfilled their dream.
The cup, apparently cursed, remained in the hands of
the New York Yacht Club for over 132 years, during which
time it was successfully defended by the
Americans against every challenge the British could raise.
When the Cup eventually changed hands in 1983, it went
to Australia and not to Britain.
The great history of the America's Cup really started in 1870,
the year of the first challenge off from New York harbor.
There followed a sequence of no fewer than 24 vain attempts to win
the trophy back from the Americans. During this time great men on
both sides of the Atlantic took part with all the weight of their
prestige and wealth behind them. Numbered among them were
Cornelius Vanderbilt, William Rockefeller, Ted Turner and
Sir Thomas Lipton, the northern Irish tea tycoon. Between 1899 and
1930, Lipton suffered five consecutive defeats, a losing streak which
he counted as the greatest disappointment of his life.
The participation of so many millionaires in this competition is easy
to explain. A financial prize has never been offered, and teams
competing for the trophy have always spent a fortune in the attempt
to win it. Today, taking part in the America's Cup involves years of
planning and training, a crew of more than a dozen men and a total
cost which is typically many tens of millions of dollars.
Between 1930 and 1983 the competition was moved to the less
crowded venue of Newport on the coast of Rhode Island.
Along a triangular course of 39 km, the trophy was awarded to the
winner of four victories out of seven races. During this period the
America's Cup was interrupted for over two decades, because of the
Second World War. Even when peace was declared, potential
competitors were discouraged by the cost of building and
maintaining vessels to meet the rating required by the regulations.
On the initiative of the New York Yacht Club, the 1857 rules were
amended so that 12-metre yachts were now allowed to take part,
a sailing class very popular in English regattas.
The Australians made their debut in the America'sCup in 1962.
The year 1970 sawthe beginning of the era of multiple challenges
with the participation of the French, initially in the person
of Baron Marcd Bich.
The first American yacht to suffer the indignity of losing the trophy
was the 12-metre Liberty, captained by Dennis Conner,
defeated by Australia II in 1983. The competition was decided in the
seventh and final race, which was won by the Aussies by the
modest margin of 41 seconds.
Meanwhile the battle for the supremacy of the oceans became
increasingly competitive. New challengers appeared on
the horizon with plenty of financial backing, and the search for
technologically based advantage became increasingly critical.
The Louis Vuitton Cup was conceived to select the vessel most
worthy of challenging the trophy holder from among all
the would-be competitors for the America's Cup.
It has become a competition within a competition, a marathon which
greatly prolongs the duration of the competition, thus increasing
the excitement with which the final event is anticipated.
The trophy did not remain for long at the Royal Perth Yacht Club.
In 1987 Conner succeeded in making up for his earlier defeat by
winning the trophy and taking home the America's Cup,
this time flying the flag of the San Diego Yacht Club.
While the victory in the San Diego waters was incontestable, it took
18 months of legal battles to confirm the legitimacy of a victory
achieved with a vessel hitherto unknown in the history of the
America's Cup, a very fast catamaran. This was a completely different
type of vessel from the New Zealand monohull twice its length that
came to San Diego to challenge Conner's claim on the Cup.
After the American yacht's victory in court, the regulations
for participating vessels were changed again. There was a return to
the large sailing-boats of the early 20th century, with a waterline
length of just under 23 metres but with carbon fibre hulls and
a main mast as tall as a 10-storey building.
The new vessels had a sail surface area 50% larger than that
of the 12 m vessels but weighed one-third less, thus making them
much faster and highly maneuverable.
In Auckland, the venue for the 30th defense of the America's Cup
in 2000, the Italian yacht Luna Rossa won the right to challenge the
holders New Zealand, having won the Louis Vuitton Cup after
numerous cross challenges between the 11 contenders.
The decisive races against the New Zealand crew of NZL-60,
nicknamed Black Magic, were not a pleasant experience for the crew
under skipper Francesco De Angelis, as they repeatedly found
themselves chasing a much faster boat.
But now attention is on the next America's Cup which will take place
in 2003, once more in the tumultuous waters of the Hauraki Gulf,
in which one of two Italian yachts may be taking part.
For the 31st defense of the America's Cup, to be held in
New Zealand in the early months of 2003, and which it is hoped
may include an Italian crew, Montegrappa 1912 has decided to
dedicate a special commemorative limited edition to the
America's Cup - the most prestigious yacht race in the world.
This choice is yet another confirmation of Montegrappa's skills in
extolling the beauty of sailing and representing it in its noblest and
most fascinating aspects. The pen inspired by the America's Cup will
succeed last year's magnificent model dedicated to the Vespucci, the
new training ship of the Italian Navy, recognized by sailing enthusiasts
as the most beautiful sailing ship to cut through the waves.
Montegrappa, the oldest Italian manufacturer of writing instruments, is
appreciated and admired throughout the world for the extraordinary quality
of its goldsmith's art and the amazing technical expertise and manual
skills of its craftsmen. Montegrappa produces only top of the range
pens, aimed at a select circle of collectors and sophisticated connoisseurs.
But this is not the only characteristic which Montegrappa shares with
the world of sailing and, in particular, with the America's Cup -
a competition of unparalleled prestige that is limited to a select elite
of highly skilled sailors and elegant yachts.
Between Montegrappa and the legendary America's Cup to
which this pen is dedicated, there is another, deeper affinity of an aesthetic
and cultural nature.
One of the aspects of this close affinity is the comparison
that is made on the one hand between fountain pens .
and ballpoint pens, and on the other between sailing boats
and motor boats. There is evidently an analogy, reflected.
in taste and life-style, between the preference shown -
for fountain pens, which are traditional, noble writing
instruments, and the passion inspired by sailing boats
which is the oldest means of navigation invented by man.
In both cases it is matter of appreciating the beauty
and refinement of the object, the elegance of its
movements, the intimate experience of silence,
and the pleasure of listening to the sound of
rustling paper and the lapping of water, of
favouring the fascination of history and
ignoring the huge but ephemeral appeal of
the modern world.
Furthermore, in the case of both Montegrappa
fountain pens and the magnificent yachts
that take part in the Americas Cup, history
and tradition by no means exclude topicality,
functionality and up-to-date technology.
This is clearly seen in the impressive speed achieved by the large
yachts competing with each other at Auckland, resulting from the
new extra-light materials, the vertigo-inducing height of the masts, the
remarkable surface area of the sails which would have been unthinkable
only a few years ago, and the extraordinary maneuverability and docility
of these giants of the sailing world. In the same way, Montegrappa's
fountain pens combine the finest traditional goldsmith's craftsmanship
with great functionality and reliability reflecting the constant search for
improved materials and the use of sophisticated, innovative technology.
There is another, more physical element which links Montegrappa
and the America's Cup. This is the cup itself, made from solid silver
and beautifully engraved by hand. Montegrappa is celebrated
internationally for its exquisite low-relief engraving, and with some
artistic license it has reproduced the beautiful engravings of the
America's Cup on the barrel, the cap and the end-cap of this precious
pen produced in a limited edition.
The cap, barrel, end-cap, clip, rings and little buttons of
the Americas Cup 2003 Limited Edition are all made from sterling
silver (or, for an even rarer limited edition, in 18K gold). As well as
the classic fountain pen, the America's Cup 2003 Limited Edition is
also produced as a rollerball pen in 18K gold or sterling silver.
The fountain pen has a piston filler and is fitted with an 18K gold nib,
partially rhodium plated and engraved with a picture of
the America's Cup as well as the Montegrappa logo.
Such a wonderful pen, designed to celebrate the most important
sailing competition in the world, could only come in an equally
original and evocative presentation box.
The numbered case of the Montegrappa limited edition is
shaped like a ship's hull, carved from a single piece
of wood with reflective navy blue lacquer.
The deck is represented by the mahogany lid with a central,
hinged opening with two hinges and a special handle.
The metal parts are finished with silver or gold plating,
depending on the pen, thus completing the presentation
box which is a collector's piece in its own right. Lifting the lid,
the inside of the hull is revealed, containing the numbering
and the mahogany bulkheads, complete with hooks and
fabric support for the pen, created with the canvas originally
used in the world of sailing.
The outside of the central opening in the lid is decorated with
a stylized image of the America's Cup, while the inside is
hot-stamped with the Montegrappa logo.
The complete collection of this Montegrappa special edition
consists of:
1851 fountain pens in sterling silver
152 fountain pens in 18K gold
152 rollerball pens in sterling silver
31 rollerball pens in 18K gold
The numbers of the limited edition represent:
1851 was the date when the race first took place,
152 is the number of years since then, up to and including the 2003
edition, and 31 representing the 31st defense, to take place in 2003.
The name Montegrappa has always been bound to the refined art of
low relief engraving. The first and only pen manufacturer to use this
particular technique, in 1992 Montegrappa produced a
commemorative fountain pen for its 80th anniversary that received
much applause from the public and the other manufacturers
for the exceptionality of its manufacturing.
The three-dimensional image is obtained by cutting the surface with
tiny linear cuts of different depths and removing small quantities
of metal. This process produces a surface that is characteristically
different in the way it reflects light from those generated by a mechanical
pantograph engraver or any other means of generating a relief image.
This refined technique, sometimes referred to as "brocade turning",
was originally developed in Switzerland in the mid 19th century.
Originally a master pattern, which could be a brass or resin disk or a
cylinder, was used to continuously control and vary the depth of cut
in a series of fine parallel cuts, either straight line or circular,
on the work piece. In 1992, with the application of CAD/CAM system to low relief
engine turning, the need to create a mechanical master pattern was
removed, virtually generating the three-dimensional surface.
The image is then transferred, using the CAM system, onto the
surface of each piece.
Even after the introduction of these technologies, which permit
aesthetic perfection, the more complex and laborious phase,
and at the same time the more artistic one, remains the realization
of the drawing. The difficulty lies in the fact that the image
has to be engraved on a cylindrical surface.
Many times a single drawing takes up to months as any error can
result in onerous consequences: matched to perfection,
the meeting point where the engraving starts and ends can be
sometimes difficult, even to an expert hand.
This advanced technology is exclusively used by Montegrappa
and has made it famous for the innovative and imaginative
application to its fine writing jewels.
