Out to get ink on ‘Da Vinci Code’? Pick up a $1,618 pen

Part of the charm -- some would say bane -- of the Cannes Film Festival is the crass promotion, from the gaudy billboards to the shapely Hawaiian Tropic models who strut their stuff along the Croisette.

But one of the more unusual promotions here is for a pen. Yes, that’s right. A pen.

Dante Del Vecchio, president and founder of Visconti, the Italian maker of luxury writing instruments, has been making the festival rounds this week handing out his $1,618 pens to celebrities.

The handcrafted pen was inspired by author Dan Brown’s bestseller, “The Da Vinci Code,” and, of course, contains a secret code.

Within the cap, clip, body and barrel of the pen are five hidden numbers that help solve a riddle. (Here’s one clue: reading the book will help.) A golden inkwell will be awarded to those who figure it out before the end of the year, when Del Vecchio plans to publicly reveal the solution.

“It’s different from any other pen in the world,” said Del Vecchio, noting that the features of the pen echo the “divine proportion” -- an intriguing mathematical ratio that plays a role in “The Da Vinci Code.”

Del Vecchio said he has handed out his pens to various celebrities here at Cannes, including Sharon Stone, Elton John, Helena Bonham Carter and directors Sofia Coppola, William Friedkin, Brett Ratner and John Cameron Mitchell.

He said his “dream” is to get author Brown to try to crack the code, but his first attempt fizzled when he tried to bring the pen on board the special “Da Vinci Code” train that Sony Pictures hired to promote the Tom Hanks movie.

The problem? Included with each pen is a metal tool used to calculate the pen’s divine proportions, but security guards thought it looked like a weapon and wouldn’t allow it.

Del Vecchio might consider writing a complaint.