Diamine Earl Grey

[bureaudirect]

The good people of r/fountainpens - a fountain pen community on Reddit - reached out to our friends at Diamine if they would be up for a challenge. Could they make an ink purely voted for by the community?

Long story short - Reddit asked and Diamine delivered Voting and comments got pretty heated - as you can imagine ink discussions do. After submitting the name, colour & shade Diamine got to work and provided few swatches which we voted for again...few weeks later Diamine Earl Grey was born

Grey is a fantastic ink to use - you won't find a regular ballpoint/rollerball in such colour. Earl Grey ink is not too loud, so it can be used for almost everything. Very universal, slightly understated, but certainly not boring. Those purple accents are really eye catchy, especially on white paper They do take a while to come out - we had to re-take the photographs because the colour has changed over night. The flow is very good, it is certainly not dry. Earl Grey shades extremely well. This ink is not waterproof or water resistant. We could only see a little bit of sheen on ink drops which were done on Tomoe River paper.

This ink will be available soon in Diamine's 80ml bottles. The packaging has a secret message printed inside the box regarding the Reddit community.

[visvamitra]

Looks well. Great teaser

[Beechwood]

I am no expert on Diamine inks but would you say that this ink is sparkling shadows wihout the gold?

[Chrissy]

Thank you for the good review.

 

It looks like a nice grey, although grey inks aren't my favourite.

 

Sparkling Shadows is nice but darker

[bureaudirect]

I am no expert on Diamine inks but would you say that this ink is sparkling shadows wihout the gold?

 

Interesting thought...we'll try them side by side and report back

[Beechwood]

 

Interesting thought...we'll try them side by side and report back

 

 

It is close if not the same, here is a swab.

 

 

Edit - now that they are both on the screen, it may look a little lighter than the Earl Grey.

 

Like the stupid man I am, I assumed that the ink was named after the tea, now that would be a lovely colour

 

 

Edited October 10, 2017 by Beechwood

[DrDebG]

Great review! This is an interesting color. It is somewhat reminiscent of Earl Gray tea leaves with the slight purple hue.

[Chrissy]

My eyesight isn't perfect but Sparkling Shadows looks darker than Earl Grey to me. Both written with J.Herbin glass dip pen then swabbed with cotton bud.

 

[lapis]

Thanks for the nice review. A splendid colour, the slight hue of purple yes, but more so the even subtler hint of brown -- and all that in a grey. somehow reminiscent of a faded, bleached out piece of aubergine.

 

[Penman222]

Thanks for good review of a yet to be released ink. I like and use Diamine Grey (my only grey ink) but Earl Grey is different enough that I may try a 30 ml bottle. Plus, I really enjoy Earl Grey tea!

[The Good Captain]

I like the Earl Grey and think it will be one that I'll try to use in some sort of rotation. It behaved well in the pens I use for testing but for me, a finer nib does it more justice that the usual Vista M. See my review elsewhere on FPN.

[namrehsnoom]

This one goes directly to the top of my to-buy list. Splendid cup of tea!

[Tas]

Oh fiddlesticks.

We have purpley Earl Grey and non purplely Earl Grey on the same thread

There's something very "vintage" about this. I think I'll need to see it in the flesh before deciding.

 

Thanks for the review. The more the merrier.

[Bhavna]

It is a very special, exciting ink for a grey. The shading is really punchy on rhodia and tomoe offering a regal and vintage presence. It was a great pleasure to try this ink.

[Tas]

My bottle arrived today.

I love it. Very watery and shades like a dream.

 

There is however not a hint of blue or even purple in the ink on any paper Ive used it on. A slight pinky wash appears with water but that is all.

 

Saddened by the lack of blue many of the reviews clearly show.

 

Ill post my swatch and scribbles when Im able.

[Tas]

Oops 😬 double post.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Tas

[lgsoltek]

My bottle arrived today.

I love it. Very watery and shades like a dream.

 

There is however not a hint of blue or even purple in the ink on any paper Ive used it on. A slight pinky wash appears with water but that is all.

 

Saddened by the lack of blue many of the reviews clearly show.

 

Ill post my swatch and scribbles when Im able.

 

Watery? I have to reconsider then...

[Chrissy]

 

Watery? I have to reconsider then...

 

I wouldn't call it watery. Wet flow, but not watery.

[Chrissy]

Oh and here is the secret message inside the box.

 

[Tas]

 

Watery? I have to reconsider then...

 

Would you like me to send you a sample ?

 

 

I wouldn't call it watery. Wet flow, but not watery.

 

Yes, you're probably right, not watery . . . runny ?

 

It is a really wonderful grey people.