Montblanc Chinese Blue - short review

[TheDutchGuy]

I’ve had my eye on this ink for quite a while, because the colour shown on the box speaks to me: sort of a powder-blue without too much teal.

 

 

 

Upon opening the bottle, I had high hopes of this ink.

 

 

^—the inside of the cap promises blue, which is good.

 

In reality, the ink looks rather different. I hesitate to even call this a ‘blue’ to be honest. The key word here is ‘teal.’ The colour of this ink is quite hard to capture and although I’ve tried to make my photos look as close to the real thing as possible, in reality the teal component is stronger than the photos show.

 

 

^—Montblanc Chinese Blue on Rhodia 80 g/m² written with a Leonardo Furore EF, which really is a western EF with a hint of stubbiness.

 

The powder-blue colour shown on the box is resembled most closely by the lightest-shading areas of written characters, as indicated by the circle in the above photo. Speaking of shading, there’s a lot of it and I like that. Sheen is only seen when the ink is highly concentrated, such as in smears or splatter. Its sheen is a bit coppery, which as usual is best observed at an angle:

 

 

^—photo taken at an angle, revealing the somewhat coppery sheen of Chinese Blue, when concentrated. Rhodia, 80 g/m².

 

Finally, a comparison to some well-known inks to aid the interpretation of Chinese Blue’s complex colour.

 

 

^—Ink comparison. Rhodia 80 g/m².

 

The high teal aspect of the ink is clearly revealed in comparison to “real” blues like Diamine Kensington Blue or Sailor Jentle Blue.

 

I’d hoped for a lovely powder-blue but this ink isn’t it. However, it’s a very complex and somewhat unusual ink with lots of shading and a yellowish, coppery sheen when concentrated. It’s not at all similar to other really teal-ish inks like Blackstone Sydney Harbour Blue or Robert Oster Fire and Ice.

 

For those familiar with Diamine Misty Blue (a personal favourite): I’d say that Montblanc Chinese Blue is very similar to Misty Blue, except for the teal (Misty Blue has much less teal). Chinese Blue has that same misty, somewhat mysterious aspect as Misty Blue and it’s behaviour is quite similar. Speaking of behaviour, Chinese Blue is a rather expensive ink and as such it should behave flawlessly - and it does. Middle of the road in terms of flow, easy to clean. Those seeking water resistance should look elsewhere.

 

Price: 25 Euros, 30mL, glass bottle in cardboard box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2020 by TheDutchGuy
Corrected typing errors and a misnomer.

[sebastel23]

chinese or egyptian?

[TheDutchGuy]

Oh my, I’m not fully awake today! Definitely Chinese! I’ve edited the post to correct for this. Thanks for pointing it out.

[sebastel23]

da nich für.

[jmccarty3]

I was similarly disappointed by this ink.

[TheDutchGuy]

My initial disappointment with the ink’s colour is slowly making way for admiration. While not a powder blue, as I’d hoped it would be, it’s a very pleasing ink. A full page of this is both very complex and interesting as well as serene and pleasing to the eye. Lots of shading here, a somewhat mysterious appearance (as I said, quite like Diamine Misty Blue but a different colour). An ink that’s both intriguing as well as understated. I might get used to this.

[DrDebG]

Thank you for putting together this review.  I was considering this ink, but honestly the price put me off.  If you want the powder blue color, look at Diamine China Blue.  One of my very favorite powder blue colors is Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko. 

[TheDutchGuy]

53 minutes ago, DrDebG said:

One of my very favorite powder blue colors is Sailor Manyo Nadeshiko. 

Thanks for the tip!

[lgsoltek]

Judging from the photo, the ink closest to the colour on the box you want might actually be their Miles Davis Jazz Blue.

[axio]

Is this ink eradicable?

 

Do you know of any Montblanc 30ml bottle that is eradicable?