A universal motif that transcends cultural borders. A symbol of death in one society, a celebration of life in another. The skull possesses instant familiarity as it is a part of every one of us. It serves as a Mexican icon to celebrate the departed and a medieval religious totem, an essential rock’n’roll logo and an outlaw biker’s patch, a horror movie staple and a pirate’s flag, a universal sign of warning.

Its edginess is inherent, but so is its cool, an image now found on everything from wristwatch dials to scarves to rings on both hands of one of the world’s greatest guitarists – the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards. Now the skull graces a series of pens in Montegrappa’s Fortuna Series, an apt choice as the skull meant good fortune in ancient civilizations, while the intellectual act of writing is served by the mystery of crystal skulls, which represent wisdom, knowledge and consciousness