Remember a while ago I ranted about the premium pen brands who had so far shunned the stylus market? Well, looks like manufacturers are lining up to make me eat my words – or drink my own ink. Cross, for one, is coming out with a range of styluses, the Tech Stylus Collection, at prices from an economical $10, for the stylus-only Tech1, up to $55, for the all-in-one two-color-ink-plus-pencil-plus-stylus Tech3.

But those kinds of price points are just scratching at the surface of the gold-plated aspirational bling lust that Apple learned so well to capitalize off, with its own premium branding – and pricing. And just to point the lesson (sic), Samsung and Montblanc have announced a partnership, featured in the pages of Luxury Daily, no less, to pair the new Galaxy Note 4 with the e-StarWalker stylus, based on Samsung’s S-Pen technology, and a range of purpose-crafted leather cases. “Smartphones and tablets have become essential companions and useful tools,” concedes Montblanc’s introductory blurb. “To enable you to use these devices with style, Montblanc has created innovative digital Writing Instruments. The e-StarWalker is compatible with Samsung’s Galaxy Note products and inductive touch-screen technology to offer the best possible digital writing experience.”

The e-StarWalker comes with free engraving, for the modest sum of $525 (sick), while its (slightly) more downmarket stablemate the Pix retails for a mere $350, and I’ve no doubt we’ll see the One Percent using this soon to sign eviction orders, GOP donations, and credit card receipts for the private security teams they’ll need to protect themselves against the wrath of the Ninety-nine.

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