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Ink Review : Pelikan Edelstein Olivine --- Ink of the Year 2018 --- In 2011 Pelikan introduced the Edelstein series of high-end inks, available in a variety of colours. The theme of the Edelstein concept is the gemstone - each ink corresponds to the beautiful colour of a gem. The Edelstein line of inks is presented in 50 ml high-value bottles, that are truly beautiful, and worthy of a place on your desk. In this review I take a closer look at Olivine, the Edelstein Ink of the Year 2018. This is a limited edition ink, that could be gone in the near future, although it's not unheard of for Pelikan to change its mind. Be sure to check out lapis's review for an excellent and highly detailed discussion and comparison with other greens. To clear the field: Olivine is not the kind of green that people anticipated based on the pre-release pictures and the images of the mineral circulating on the web (see the thread in lapis's review for a thorough discussion of this aspect). This review will totally ignore this topic, and simply evaluate the ink on its own merit. Olivine is a dark green ink, with very visible blue undertones. I wouldn't go so far as calling it a teal ... the green clearly dominates. But the blue undertones do give it a certain complexity that is quite apparent when writing or drawing. The chromatography of this ink shows a complex mix of dyes, clearly indicating the bright blue undertones hidden within the ink. The result is a very fine writing ink, that can handle all nib ranges without a problem. The ink has excellent contrast with the paper, even when using EF nibs. Olivine also shows of some impressive but still elegant shading, which even shows up in finer nib sizes. Well executed! Overall, I really like what I see on the paper. To show you the impact of saturation on the ink's look & feel on paper, I made some scribbles where I really saturated portions of the paper with ink. This gives you a good idea of what Olivine is capable of in terms of colour range. The ink shows quite some variation between light and darker parts. This probably explains why it's such a good shader. Technically, the ink behaved perfectly, with exceptionally good flow and saturation, and a good contrast with the paper even in the finer nibs. Overall a pleasurable ink to write with. Drying times are quite reasonable in the 10 second range with M-nibs. Olivine copes well with a wide variety of paper - and can even tolerate the crappy ones. Only on Moleskine, the ink looks sickly and pale, and has noticeable feathering and bleed-through. On other papers the ink behaved impeccably, looking good on both white and more yellowish paper. Unfortunately, Olivine shows a total lack of water resistance. Even the slightest touch of water obliterates your writing - see the water test at the end of this review. As such, I don't consider this an ink you can use in the workplace. I’ve tested the ink on a wide variety of paper – from crappy Moleskine to high-end Tomoe River. On each scrap of paper I show you: An ink swab, made with a cotton Q-tip1-2-3 pass swab, to show increasing saturationAn ink scribble made with a Lamy Safari M-nib fountain penThe name of the paper used, written with a Lamy Safari B-nibA small text sample, written with an M-nibDrying times of the ink on the paper (with the M-nib) Inkxperiment – Swamp Lake CastleI've put myself a challenge to try to produce interesting drawings using only the ink I'm reviewing. I find this to be a fun extension of the hobby, and have found these single-ink drawings ideal for experimenting with different techniques. When using Olivine for drawing, the complexity and colour range of the ink can be used to great effect. For this drawing I used 300 gsm rough watercolour paper. For the sky, I diluted the ink with lots of water, which brings forth the blue undertones. For the swamp lake, I used mildly water-diluted ink giving a darker green colour. The yellow/blue highlights were obtained by applying some bleach to the partly-dried ink. Olivine reacts really well with bleach, leaving a beautiful light-blue colour. For the foreground, the castle and the tree accents, I used pure Olivine, painted in with a small brush. The end result gives you a good idea of the colour span the ink is capable of in a more artistic setting. And it must be said, I'm very pleased with the drawing capabilities shown by this ink. ConclusionOlivine might not have been what you expected, but viewed objectively, this certainly is a very good ink. One that writes very smoothly and with beautiful shading. Personally, I also like the colour - the blue undertones add extra depth and complexity to what is in essence a dark-green colour. A pity this ink has zero water resistance. Finally, I was really impressed by the expressiveness of Olivine in a more artistic setting, the colour range that can be obtained is unbelievable! Overall, I'm glad I got myself a bottle of this ink. Technical test results on Rhodia N°16 notepad paper with Lamy Safari, M-nib Backside of writing samples on different paper types Backside of writing samples on different paper types

(Another quickie review, being largely a by-product of my checking how the EF nib on a Delike Alpha performs.) Colour: I suppose the closest colour of ink I have to it is Diamine Evergreen but, at least in daylight, Monteverde Olivine is slightly more yellow (and Diamine Evergreen has an obvious red sheen). Feathering: None observed on the Rhodia paper I used. Ghosting and bleed-through: Not from normal writing, but several passes with a soaked cotton swab or a wet nib can cause some ghosting and even bleed-through. Drying time: Quick enough. No smearing after 15 seconds. Water resistance: None whatsoever. Washed clean off the page under a running tap in under 15 seconds. Shading: Some, but slightly subtle. No distinct step going from faint to dark. That's a good thing. Sheen: Not any to speak of. There is the slightest hint of a dark red outline or 'halo', if you look really hard, but that's about it.