Montblanc Homage To Moctezuma I - Pierced Sky

[tursilmatik]

Hello dear FPNers,

 

Today I have something new, something German, something menthol green for you:

 

 

Moctezuma 1 Pierced Sky is one of the most recent inks released by Montblanc.

This ink is a complementary part of new Patron of the Art series: Homage to Moctezuma 1.

 

It is a limited edition ink, and it has a 50 ml cube shaped bottle, which is a pretty standard bottle shape of Montblanc.

 

I suppose this ink is very close to J. Herbin Vert Reseda, but a tad darker than it. Another similar ink is Edelstein Jade.

Unfortunately, I have neither of them, because this cannot be called as my favourite shade of turquoise.

 

However, I have Diamine Dark Green and Visconti Green, both of which are also pretty close to Moctezuma, I suppose.

Here is a comparison of three inks on white Tomoe paper:

 

They are very close indeed. But before describing the differences between 3 inks' colours, maybe I should mention about some important ink properties:

 

Saturation: Moctezuma has a medium-to-low saturation. It is not as washed out as Herbin Vert Reseda, but still lacks some saturation in my opinion.

 

Sheen: There is definitely no sheen with this ink. Maybe only if you pour down huge amounts on Tomoe, you may see a little bit of sheen.

 

Shading: It has a high shading capacity, I loved it. Obviously not as much as a KWZ Honey, but still very nice shading.

 

Wetness: Moctezuma is a dry ink, as most of you could easily guess, because most Montblanc inks tend to be so (except Elixir line, they are the wettest inks I have ever seen). It is not the driest ink in the world either; not as dry as a Pelikan 4001, but definitely on the dry side of the spectrum.

 

Unless you have a vintage pen with an ebonite feed, or a modern pen which is tuned to write wet, most people wouldn't like this dryness combined with medium-to-low saturation in EF/F nibs I suppose. Check this out again:

 

 

 

Lamy Safari M nib's output is not amazingly washed out, but not very legible either. I am more of a BB/OBB guy. I don't use fine nibs very often, but if I do, personally I would like to see a bit darker, or brighter line. The colour choice is already dangerous: it is a pastel menthol green, not most people's first choice of colour to easily read the written, so at least it should have been a bit more saturation in my opinion.

 

About dryness of ink: I suppose both Montblanc and Pelikan specifically keep their nibs' tippings wide, to have them larger surface area when in contact with paper, which makes them smoother. And then they need to adjust their own inks to be a bit more viscous than a regular ink to make it flow slowly through the tines, compensating the thick tipping material's large surface and making the pen write narrower, so keeping the promise of theoretical nib size.

 

I don't know. It is a choice of company. Pilot succeeds in having narrower tippings be smooth, maybe not as smooth as their German counterparts but still quite smooth. And they see no problem in producing a much wetter ink. I suppose most people would trust in Iroshizuku line's fluid properties more than they do for Montblanc inks or Edelstein inks in an indefinite case of which ink to use in an unfamiliar pen. I remember having hard times with some Montblanc and Pelikan inks in my EF/F nibs. Whatever.

 

Note that the pen I used for Moctezuma is Sailor Progear Ocean with 21k Music nib:

 

 

Mr John Mottishaw cut its tip into a beauuuutiful cursive italic, smooth and crisp, and tuned it to be quite a wet nib:

 

 

So the wetness of nib would be able to balance the dryness of ink, I thought.

 

Same triple comparison is also done on 80 gr white Rhodia paper, which is the industrial standard of pen world, I suppose..

 

Let's see the differences between 3 inks above. Here are some close shots of them on Tomoe again:

 

Moctezuma is the lightest of them.

Diamine Dark Green is a bit greener than Moctezuma, with a bit more red dye, and it is more saturated.

Visconti Green actually has a very similar green-blue ratio compared to Moctezuma, but it is much more saturated.

And the red dye content is definitely higher in Visconti, as a result it seems darker with some nice sheen.

 

Sometimes I love writing with over-saturated feeds. They show the full potential of an ink. Also, if you have a moderately wet nib, it gives a clue about how the colour would be seen with a wet nib, especially with a vintage nib. A close shot of writings made with over-saturated feed on Tomoe:

 

 

Lovely sheen with Visconti Green to be noted. Same thing for Rhodia:

 

 

 

It can be said that Moctezuma gives a nice colour with a very wet nib, preferably a vintage one.

 

Some other ink properties:

 

Feathering: Not detected, not likely to feather. In this term, quite a well behaved ink.

 

Bleeding: Not detected, not likely to bleed. In this term, quite a well behaved ink.

 

Showthrough: Some distinct showthrough on Tomoe but every ink has a showthrough on Tomoe, so it shouldn't be a criteria I think:

 

 

On Rhodia, it has minimal showthrough. Quite well:

 

 

Note that heavy swabs or parts written with over-saturated feed will of course have showthrough, and even bleedthrough. It is normal. The concentration on normal writing should be the way in judging showthrough/bleedthrough.

 

 

Water Resistance: Meh. Not so much, but who cares?? Not me, definitely.. Before water test on Tomoe:

 

And after water test:

 

 

It cannot be said that the writings have gone completely, but they are not legible either.

But this situation does not bother me. Actually, I like inks which are not resistant to water. In my experience, they are much easier to clean than water-proof inks. And considering that I am obsessive while cleaning pens until water comes out completely crystal clear, this ink is a nice choice for me. I haven't tried to clean it from my pens, but I am sure it will be cleaned quite fast.

 

 

CONCLUDING REMARKS

• If you are into menthol green colour, you will definitely like this ink. Note that it is a bit pale, pastel colour, not very vivid.
• With very wet nibs, it has a lovely hue of an exotic lagoon at its best. I live in an inland location, but I felt like I am in Maldives.
• Doesn't have sheen or shimmer, but has a nice shading.
• Montblanc Moctezuma 1 is not the most unique colour in the world. There are some similar colours like J. Herbin Vert Reseda, Pelikan Edelstein Jade, Diamine Dark Green, Visconti Green, etc.. You may consider them also.
• Price is about 35 Euros, same as Montblanc Petrol Blue. It is definitely not a cheap ink, but not the most expensive one either. I am not sure if it deserves this price. I would buy it anyway since I am an ink nerd, but I may not buy the second bottle. Besides, alternatives are much cheaper, and this ink does not have amazing specifications in terms of colour.
• With over-saturated feed, it provides a much more distinct, vivid colour, which means if you are likely to buy it, consider using it in your wet pens, preferably gushers or vintage pens. No need to afraid of cleaning from vintage pens.

 

Hope you enjoyed.

Thank you..

[white_lotus]

Thank you. I definitely enjoyed reading your extensive review, even of an ink color I would never buy!

[zaddick]

Lovely review. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

[tursilmatik]

Thank you both

 

It was a pleasure, though I am not really into this colour

[namrehsnoom]

Very detailed and well-presented review of a colour that is definitely not for me. Really nice camera work, that shows off the ink very well. Almost makes me want to try it out... almost...

[inkstainedruth]

Definitely not a color for me. But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Eclipse157]

Very nice review, thank you. I loved Montblanc Turquoise from the blue series last year, but this one I'm afraid is a bit too green for my tastes....

[KaB]

thanks for the review. Took away all my hesitations: definitely not my cuppa.

[DrDebG]

Excellent review! I appreciate your approach and comparisons. Truth be told, I am not enamored of the color.

[Uncial]

It looks very similar to the Diamine Schubert ink. I have it sitting on my shelf and haven't had the chance to ink something up with it yet. It looked an interesting type of turquoise.

[Michael R.]

Very nice review! Many thanks :-)

 

I‘ve expected this to be more turquoise blue. Also I‘m curious how it compares the Montblanc Emerald or Lamy Turmaline.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[tursilmatik]

  On 4/12/2020 at 1:04 PM, namrehsnoom said:

Very detailed and well-presented review of a colour that is definitely not for me. Really nice camera work, that shows off the ink very well. Almost makes me want to try it out... almost...

Thank you so much. I worked a lot for this, and it is very nice that someone appreciates the details

 

To be honest, I have never liked menthol green family. There is an interesting anecdote about this:

 

I am a member of great Turkish fountain pen club "Write to me Often".

On its Facebook group, a few weeks ago, someone created a poll with the name "The ink colour you hate".

There were no Menthol Green option in the poll, so I, MYSELF, added it (because I hate menthol green, as you can easily guess).

And then, the Menthol Green option took many votes and became 3rd in the poll

Well, after a short time, my first review in FPN was this one, Montblanc Moctezuma 1

Whatever.

I guess it is called "karma"

[tursilmatik]

  On 4/12/2020 at 7:57 PM, inkstainedruth said:

Definitely not a color for me. But thanks for the review.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

Thank you so much

 

 

  On 4/12/2020 at 8:29 PM, Eclipse157 said:

Very nice review, thank you. I loved Montblanc Turquoise from the blue series last year, but this one I'm afraid is a bit too green for my tastes....

Thank you

Yes, Moctezuma is much greener than MB Turquoise. Actually it is easier to read on paper. If you write with a fine nib using MB Turquoise, it may kill one's eyes after 5 minutes

But if you don't like the colour of this, nothing to do of course.

By the way, if you want a cheaper option of MB Turquoise, you can check J. Herbin Vert Reseda. They are pretty close in colour I suppose.

 

 

  On 4/13/2020 at 5:38 AM, KaB said:

thanks for the review. Took away all my hesitations: definitely not my cuppa.

Thanks, that's my job: Keeping people away from wrong shoppings

That's one of the many beauties of FPN..

[tursilmatik]

  On 4/13/2020 at 5:46 AM, 5Cavaliers said:

Excellent review! I appreciate your approach and comparisons. Truth be told, I am not enamored of the color.

Thank you so much I don't think many people are enamored of the color

 

 

  On 4/13/2020 at 9:06 AM, Uncial said:

It looks very similar to the Diamine Schubert ink. I have it sitting on my shelf and haven't had the chance to ink something up with it yet. It looked an interesting type of turquoise.

Diamine Schubert is a darker colour, has much more green and red dye in it I suppose. Schubert is more similar to Iroshizuku Syo-Ro than this one.

 

 

  On 4/13/2020 at 9:52 AM, Michael R. said:

Very nice review! Many thanks :-)

 

I‘ve expected this to be more turquoise blue. Also I‘m curious how it compares the Montblanc Emerald or Lamy Turmaline.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

Muchas gracias

Yes, I had the same expectation actually.

I do not have MB Emerald, but I think they are pretty close, but Moctezuma seems like a bit greener to me.

I guess MB Emerald is a bit bluer than Moctezuma. Emerald is closer to Diamine Marine than it is to Moctezuma.

Would like to see a comparison of Moctezuma, Emerald and Turmaline; but at the end I think I would not choose any of them

[amberleadavis]

You have been busy with these reviews. Thank you! I also adore the pen choices. Thank you!

[amberleadavis]

Wonderful review. Thank you!

[arellano81366]

Thanks for the review, yeah, I do not like this ink it at all. Not for me. In the event that someone wants to know the ink is named after a very important Aztec emperor Moctezuma I a.k.a. Moctezuma Ilhuicamina (must not be confused with Moctezuma II a.k.a. Moctezuma Xocototzin). Viva Mexico!

[Intensity]

Thank you very much for the thorough review! I enjoyed the comparison with other inks too. I think Visconti Green is the winner out of those three for me.

[Jeje3325]

Thank you very much for this excellent review. Very complete and detailed. I was about to buy a bottle since I got an email this morning from Montblanc store but I'm a turquoise addict. I'm grateful you took the time for this review.

This is too green for my taste and it would just sit on the shelf. I like having ltd edition ink but this one doesn't make the cut.

 

Cheers from Montreal,

 

Jeje

[roadrunner320]

Thank you for the great review. I have this ink on my buy list, together with the pen.

I like the green shade, different to Montblanc Irish Green or Otto Hutt Emerald.

 

Thanks again, not only you, but all the others who a lot of work in, to do those reviews. Highly appreciated.