New Ink Review: Diamine Tropical Glow Shimmer 2016

[Chrissy]

I've heard that the release date for these new inks is 4th November; Fountain Pen Day, so I'm posting separate reviews for them on here. I assume they will come in the same type of bottles as the previous set of shimmer inks, but I haven't seen the retail bottles yet.

 

• Currently I only have samples that Diamine very kindly sent me to test, and to review 'if I wanted to', but I've noticed that my samples don't need much shaking to mix the particles in, and the pens need very little shaking once they are filled.
• Generally speaking, I found all 12 of these new shimmer inks to be wetter than all of the other shimmer inks I have used.
• I have had these inks in these pens for over 2 weeks now. Every pen/ink combination has started straight away without a problem, and I have experienced no stopping or skipping.
• Some take longer to dry than others, and a couple just soaked into the paper straight away. The most saturated inks will show through and bleed through on cheap paper.
• None of them are waterproof inks.

Diamine Shimmer Tropical Glow is a turquoise ink that is a similar colour to Diamine Steel Blue. It's a well saturated ink with silver shimmer. The silver shimmer shows up quite easily. I used a Lamy Nexx M that has a M nib and I had no trouble seeing the silver effect. This ink is neither wet nor dry and it dried quickly. It was a perfect combination with my Lamy Nexx M.

The first picture is a scanned review form, and the second is a photo. These have been adjusted with Photoshop to get the colour you see to look as close as possible to the actual ink colour.

[lgsoltek]

Every time I see this ink I think of Visvamitra. This colour plus the particles must be his worst nightmare. LOL

[crescent2]

This looks like a beautiful ink for special notes. Thanks for your reviews of these new shimmer inks!

 

Which would be closer to a Kon-peki with shimmer, this ink or the Enchanted Ocean?

[lgsoltek]

This looks like a beautiful ink for special notes. Thanks for your reviews of these new shimmer inks!

 

Which would be closer to a Kon-peki with shimmer, this ink or the Enchanted Ocean?

I'd say neither. They both look very green to me.

[Chrissy]

This looks like a beautiful ink for special notes. Thanks for your reviews of these new shimmer inks!

 

Which would be closer to a Kon-peki with shimmer, this ink or the Enchanted Ocean?

 

You're welcome.

I think this ink would be closer to Kon peki than Enchanted Ocean.

[Aquaria]

This is the color of the Pacific near Carmel. V. lovely. I have a sample of it, but haven't gotten around to putting it in a pen yet. Can't wait till I get to it, though!

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. Not a color for me (even though I have liked some of the other Diamine Shimmer inks a lot).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[bureaudirect]

Every time I see this ink I think of Visvamitra. This colour plus the particles must be his worst nightmare. LOL

 

[crescent2]

I now have this ink and think it's beautiful. The writing sample looks pretty true on my computer screen. And I agree it's closer to Kon-peki's color tone than the Enchanted Ocean would be, although I don't have a sample of Enchanted Ocean.

 

I have several of the Diamine Shimmertastics. In my experience, the Blue Pearl (one of the first group) most consistently shows the metallic shimmer of the ones I have. All of the ones I have have performed well for me, if I gently turn or shake the pen every now and then to keep the shimmer particles well mixed. And I've had no clogging or cleaning problems with any of them, either.

[Bo Bo Olson]

Both revues look much greener on my monitor.

xxxxxxxxxxxx turns greener in sunlight (not as green as the reviews, more like the one pass of the Q-tip of Chrissie....under lamplight bluer.

The turquoise is more Cerulean after 8 hours, under lamplight/

 

Mine is much bluer. More a turquoise (should read ...but only looked at the color)...Perhaps a tad toward turquoise -black, (like a blue-black) much more a dark blue on the thicker darker shading. Out of the corner of my eye there is a hint of teal that vanishes the harder I look at it.

Having looked up Cerulean, can deal with cerulean turquoise. The lighter shading is turquoise, the darker cerulean....sorta.

Different ink under lamplight. Back when I had halogen lighting, that too made for different tones in ink.

 

100g Papyrus Color Copy....same on Clairefontaine 90g Triomphe

 

Using a Geha 760 OB semi-flex...and I got good shading, in using a semi-flex is often too wet for good shading.

 

The silver glitter needs to be held to the lamp to be seen....will check sunlight tomorrow. Checked, glitter not very heavy....and I did shake the bottle well.

Shimmering sea glitters more, but perhaps it is gold glitters more.

 

Defiantly not what the two reviews show in color. Could well be my monitor is off. Daylight brigs it somewhat greener, not as much as the other reviews.

 

I had made a list of Diamine glitter inks that shaded well, this was one of three I bought. (Of course there are more glitter inks that are new since I made this list last year. So I had a dither attack, with inks not on my list.) It will take more time to pen the others I do want wider nibs).....in I had just gotten a few pre&or just after the War vintage pens back for re-corking, won a couple at a live auction and now have more pens inked than ever before; 23.

Edited June 30, 2018 by Bo Bo Olson

[Bo Bo Olson]

Years later another post reminded me I had four Diamine glitter inks. ....the blue ink Shimmering Seas is dark and dull, with no shading...and I hoped being dark the gold flakes would show up more.. On good paper, it is a tilt to catch the light  ink.. It will be given away.

 

I tested lively Tropical Glow again it appears, also, and it too is a tilt to see the silver glitter, but the ink is more lively and shades. Will be kept....not necessary as a glitter ink.