Editor’s note: Thrilled to present to you our highly anticipated column, led by none other than Canadian media industry veteran and award winning journalist, Shane Schick. The former editor-in-chief of Marketing magazine, fashion, technology and features writer, that goes the extra mile for the story.

Today, Shane Schick is locked in to explore only the best of the world’s brands for this new regular Gent’s Post column, that truly embody being defined as a status symbol. This month, we continue the Status symbols column, breaking down what makes Porsche’s iconic silhouette the ultimate status symbol for those who drive performance and style. #StatusSymbols

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It wasn’t where you’d expect to find a Porsche parked. Earlier this summer I had spent too long wandering Toronto’s Queen St. West, and dove into a nondescript diner specializing in cheese steak in a state of desperate hunger. Only when I glanced up from my meal did I notice the car out front. 

There it was: the shield with the rearing horse over fields of red and gold, an emblem that hasn’t changed all that much since its debut in 1952. In this case, though, the logo was on the driver’s side door. 

After I finished eating I walked around the vehicle, which was clearly driven by employees working at a dealership. It was hardly the best advertisement for the top-ranked premium car of 2024 by J.D. Power. What is it about a Porsche that still carries such cachet – especially after the better part of eight decades?

A luxury vehicle that fuels ‘social acceptance’

Forget about fuel efficiency, engine horsepower or any of the other specs. According to the brand, what the most important thing Porsche provides its owners is social acceptance, a benefit that puts the vehicle on a level with things we care about most: 

Those who enjoy social acceptance experience sustained, positive support from those around them. The need for social acceptance influences many major decisions in our lives: Whom we marry. The career we choose. Whether we buy a Porsche 911 Turbo S.

To some extent, you could credit a great deal of Porsche’s social acceptance to Tom Cruise. In his breakout 1983 film Risky Business, it was his character Joel who cemented the brand’s status with the line, “Porsche. There is no substitute” as he stole his father’s car for a joyride. 

Porsche has continued to make pit stops in pop culture ever since, from Weekend at Bernie’s to Legally Blonde. Along the way, something curious happened: what began as a sports car founder Ferdinand “Ferry” Porsche built primarily for his own purposes evolved into a luxury brand. 

The definitive proof came just a few years ago, when Brand Finance put Porsche’s value above Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel and Hermes. On a less tangible level, you could see its status rising with the popularity of bumper stickers that joked “My other car is a Porsche.” It didn’t hurt that its circle of owners came to include tastemakers like Ralph Lauren and celebrity car enthusiasts like Jerry Seinfeld. 

Porsche has been able to tap into the aspirations of people who might never buy its vehicles (but talk enthusiastically about them) by opening what it calls Porsche Experience Centres. The next Canadian location, which is set to open in Durham region this fall, will offer Porsche-curious visitors a closeup look at its cars’vehicle dynamics, technology and a two-kilometre driving circuit. 

“Driven by Dreams”: Celebrating 75 years of Porsche

Porsche’s journey began in 1948 with the creation of the 356, a modest sports car that paved the way for one of the most recognizable brands in automotive history. Over the decades, Porsche built a reputation not just for performance but for embodying luxury and aspiration. From its starring roles in pop culture to its status among tastemakers, Porsche’s appeal has transcended the track.

In 2023, Porsche marked its 75th anniversary, celebrating milestones in engineering and design that have defined the brand. In 2024, Porsche honoured the 50th anniversary of its Turbo, a game-changing innovation in performance cars, with events and special editions that underscored the technology’s enduring impact. These anniversaries show how Porsche balances tradition and innovation, keeping its iconic status alive.

Where Porsche is headed next

The challenge with a brand like Porsche, and especially signature models like the 911, is that they need to continue developing. Even the company’s own chief designer worries the vehicle has gotten too big. The plus side is that with additional size comes more capacity for innovation: witness the forthcoming 2025 Porsche 911 GTS T-Hybrid First Drive, which is already drawing raves for its unique approach to electrification. 

During a recent lap on Germany’s famed Nürburgring race track, meanwhile, the Porsche Panamera set a new speed record in the “executive segment. Even when its cars aren’t moving people are impressed: a prototype Porsche Taycan also set a record for its wireless charging speed. 

These kinds of details matter, because a great car has to have more than a beautiful design, movie credits and celebrities who take the wheel. Porsche’s popularity will only stay in high gear if it continues to prove there is as much to admire under the hood as there is with the naked eye. 

The post Status Symbols: Why Porsche has stayed on track as the tastemaker’s car of choice appeared first on GENT'S POST.

Editor’s note: Thrilled to share with to you our new highly anticipated column, led by none other than Canadian media industry veteran and award winning journalist, Shane Schick. The former editor-in-chief of Marketing magazine, fashion, technology and features writer, that goes the extra mile for the story. Currently at the helm of his very own, 360 magazine.

Today, Shane Schick is poised to explore only the best of the world’s brands for this new monthly Gent’s Post column, that truly embody being defined as a status symbol. This month, for our second edition of the column, we highlight what makes Montblanc, the brand behind the iconic Meisterstück pen, so iconic. #StatusSymbols

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No one goes in search of the deep cold in early May, even if there’s the promise of a cozy chateau amid the glaciers. Yet that’s the world celebrities walked into at the Paramour Estate in Los Angeles recently, where Montblanc had invited them to toast its most iconic snow-capped fountain pen. 

The guest list – which included Canada’s Simu Liu, Emma Roberts and Maude Apatow – are arguably among the few that could afford Montblanc’s Meisterstück, a writing instrument that turns 100 years old this year. With a short film directed by Wes Anderson premiering as part of the evening, however, it’s clear Montblanc is not content with simply looking back, but is writing a new chapter in its fascinating history. 

Who cares about a fountain pen? Plenty of people, clearly

Although I wasn’t able to attend the party, the media coverage pointed out the irony of an event where John Legend reportedly sang “Happy Birthday” to a fountain pen while the audience recorded it with their smartphones. Unlike even the cheapest digital device, the Montblanc Meisterstück is an example of a product that does just one thing really well, which only partly explains its enduring allure. 

Think of it this way: you could buy a new laptop, or you could spend between $800 and more than $2,000 on a Meisterstück. At a time when most of us are better at thumb typing than cursive – and where most communication needs to travel across screens rather than a piece of paper – investing in a fountain pen seems almost eccentric, if not archaic.

Yet the Meisterstück (which is German for “masterpiece”) has the kind of luxury materials and craftmanship you might normally associate with a classic car. The original version, which launched 18 years after the company was founded, features a sleek black resin body, gold-plated trims, and a 14-karat gold nib. 

Originally called “Rouge et Noir,” the Meisterstück are numbered by the size of their nibs, though it took the 149 coming out in 1952 for its position as a masterpiece to be truly realized. Experts have suggested the rounded cap gives it the appealing shape of a cigar, while a gold ring separating the piston filler (the mechanism that offers ideal ink capacity) from the barrel evokes fine jewelry. 

Pop culture’s favourite fountain pen

Like other status symbols, including Rolex watches, Montblanc’s Meisterstück was cemented in the public’s imagination through recurring appearances in movies and television. It’s the pen Jude Law’s Dickie Greenleaf is handed in 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. The brand’s ‘Great Characters’ campaign in 2009 associated the Meisterstück with everyone from John F. Kennedy and Elvis to Mohammed Ali and Ghandi. And two years ago, Succession’s Logon Roy vented his anger in an episode where he threatened to shove a Montblanc pen down another character’s throat. 

Montblanc Meisterstück Gold-Plated Fountain Pen

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Strategic collaborations have also helped the Meisterstück show up in unexpected ways. There was the 2021 partnership with Pirelli, which led to a limited-version of the fountain pen in rubber. A year later saw an anime version of the Meisterstück to recognize the long-running manga Narturo.  Even Spike Lee has developed his own take on the Meisterstück.

Signed, sealed, delivered

What really defines the Meisterstück’s appeal, however, may have more to do with what hasn’t changed about it over the past century than its many transformations. 

Some of most special occasions in our lives involve physically signing a document. A marriage license, the mortgage on your first home, the contract for the biggest sale you’ve ever made – though digital tools like DocuSign exist, these are still often pen and ink affairs. Holding a Montblanc Meisterstück suggests you’re treating such moments with the writing instrument they truly deserve. 

Handwriting, meanwhile, remains the most intimate way to convey any kind of message – our penmanship is nearly as unique as our fingerprints. As the world struggles to figure out how to balance the creativity that comes through artificial intelligence with that produced by a person, writing anything with a Montblanc represents an act of pure, authentic humanity. 

Even if you never take off the cap, a Meisterstück is also a symbol of design at its best. That makes the fountain pen inherently collectable, and something that can be passed down as an heirloom (as mine was by my father-in-law). 

With its Origin Collection now on sale, Montblanc will no doubt welcome a new generation of enthusiasts to the Meisterstück. True, we may not really need fountain pens now, let alone in another hundred years, but I believe that Montblanc will survive. It’s the kind of bet I’d happily put in writing. 

Coming in 2025: The limited edition, Schreiberling

Designed by Wes Anderson himself.

The post Status Symbols: How Montblanc wrote itself into the history books with the Meisterstuck appeared first on GENT'S POST.

Editor’s note: Thrilled to present to you our highly anticipated column, led by none other than Canadian media industry veteran and award winning journalist, Shane Schick. The former editor-in-chief of Marketing magazine, fashion, technology and features writer, that goes the extra mile for the story. Currently at the helm of his very own, 360 magazine.

Today, Shane Schick is poised to explore only the best of the world’s brands for this new monthly Gent’s Post column, that truly embody being defined as a status symbol. This month, we kick off Status symbols breaking down all the intricacies that make Rolex what it is today. #StatusSymbols

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Dan Tanenbaum had been so sure his wife was pregnant with twin girls. When she delivered two sons instead, however, he knew exactly what he would do next: find a pair of classic luxury watches to give them on their 21^st birthdays. And one of them, he decided, would be a very particular vintage Rolex. 

If anyone understands the value of Rolex and what makes it a status symbol, it’s Tanenbaum. A Toronto-based businessman-turned artist, he’s not only a watch collector but creates sculptures by encrusting Air Jordans, toys and other objects with vintage watch parts. That means he can appreciate a wide variety of timepieces, even if he recognizes the prestige that a Rolex Submariner continues to convey. 

“I hate that I love Rolex the way I do,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t like going out for lunch and see that everyone is wearing a Submariner. It’s almost too easy. But I can respect it. I really think everything about the Submariner is perfection, on so many levels.”

A crown for every achievement

Tanenbaum is hardly alone. Since its inception in 1910 by founder, Hans Wilsdorf, Rolex has achieved one milestone after another, from the first waterproof wristwatch in 1926 to the self-winding Perpetual rotor a few years later. More recently, Rolex’s focus on performance, power and precision timing has been codified in its in-house Superlative Chronometer certification. 

The results of these efforts have made Rolex not only an instantly recognizable name, but a favourite of celebrities ranging from Robert Redford to David Beckham. According to Tanenbaum, however, the source of Rolex’s popularity can be largely attributed to the world’s best-known secret agent. 

“The brand was really elevated by James Bond,” he says, referencing the Submariner Reference 6538 worn by Sean Connery in 1962’s Dr. No. “That was a turning point. Now it’s an aspirational brand – you get one after you land your first job, or someone might give it as a wedding gift. And people can take a watch like that through their entire life.”

In fact, Tanenbaum’s quest following the birth of his boys led him to a fellow collector who had a Submariner 6538 locked in a safety deposit box. After some wooing, he not only convinced the owner to part with the watch but write a letter to his son capturing its provenance. It’s too long to reprint in full, but the last paragraph approaches poetry: “God winds our hearts but once – just how tightly is his secret. I hope you spend your time wisely and that your deeds carry both you and the lives you touch to great and wonderful places.”)

Where the iconic meets the unexpected

This is just one example of the lengths people go to acquire a Rolex. A more controversial case came up when police raided the residence of Peruvian president Dina Boluarte in search of Rolex watches that allegedly cost far more than her salary. 

Another testament to Rolex’s success is its relative ambivalence to the digital revolution. Rolex.org only launched in 2018, and the brand’s focus has been largely on enhancing the way it can showcase its watches in brick-and-mortar settings. Last year, for instance, Rolex acquired Bucherer AG, one of the most rarified luxury watch retailers in the world. 

Closer to home, late last year Rolex opened an immersive, 2,250 square foot boutique in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood with Royal de Versailles Jewellers (following one of the largest in North America opening in Vancouver in 2016). With an exterior built from digitally fabricated limestones whose columns are intended to recall the patterns of a watch’s band links, the boutique offers custom displays for both personal and private shopping. 

Photos: Courtesy of Rolex/Royal de Versailles

Photos: Courtesy of Rolex/Royal de Versailles

Photos: Courtesy of Rolex/Royal de Versailles

Photos: Courtesy of Rolex/Royal de Versailles

Photos: Courtesy of Rolex/Royal de Versailles

If you decide to spring for a Rolex, it’s not necessarily hard to maintain its value. Tanenbaum recommends simply ensuing it gets serviced regularly, making sure that key parts like the hands or the bezel aren’t replaced. There’s also no need to “ice out” a Rolex by adding diamonds to it, he argues. And don’t throw out the papers that come with the watch, which can provide important details you may need. 

When you truly love a timepiece, it shows. Maybe one aspect of the Rolex’s staying power is that its eye-catching design not only impresses other people, but makes you want to become a collector yourself. 

Unlike a smartwatch, which is really just another digital device, a luxury wristwatch is based on the kind of craftsmanship that turns an everyday possession into an heirloom. For people like Tanenbaum, a Rolex reflects the ideal that inspires a desire for more.

“I wish I had more wrists,” he says.

Dan Tanenbaum

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The post Status Symbols: How Rolex won the test of time appeared first on GENT'S POST.