I recognized that after the fact.
My story is that I got promoted to a position at work which will require me to sign documents somewhat regularly. I always thought it was cool to see dignitaries sign important docs with fancy pens, so I decided it was my time to get a fancy pen. I googled ‘best pen’ and - no surprise - a hundred posts and YouTube videos showed Montblancs.
I went to the Montblanc store in my area and started browsing. The M appealed to me right away and, compared to the other pens for sale, it seemed like a bargain.
Yes - I was freewheeling with my spending and yes - I learned later that there are better value pens. My only consolation is that I use it all the time and still really like the styling and writing experience.