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Ink Review: Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine


namrehsnoom

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Ink Review : Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine

 

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Pen: Visconti Rembrandt Ivory, M-nib

Paper: Rhodia N° 16 notepad 80 gsm

 

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Review

 

In 2011 Pelikan introduced the Edelstein series of boutique inks, available in a variety of colors. The theme of the Edelstein concept is the gemstone - each color corresponds to the beautiful color of a gem. The inks are presented in 50ml high-value bottles, which are gems themselves, and an ornament on every desk.

 

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Here I review the color Aventurine - the true green ink of the Edelstein line-up. I like the color, it is a saturated green ink, similar to Diamine Tropical Green and Diamine Beethoven. A green as it should be, not too light, and with a solid presence on the paper.

 

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Aventurine shades beautifully and very prominently. The shading in this ink is very visible. You need a wetter nib though to bring out the character in this ink. With EF and F nibs, the ink is an OK but rather bland green. With M and broader nibs the ink opens up nicely.

 

On very saturated spots - clearly visible on e.g. an ink swab - there is a faint yellowish sheen on the ink. The chromatography of this ink shows that it is composed of yellow and blue dyes, so it's probably this yellow component dye that is coming through.

 

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Aventurine is a well-behaving ink that writes well on a variety of paper. Like all Edelstein inks, it's a bit on the dry side, which you definitely notice when writing. A negative point for this ink: it has zero water resistance. When coming into contact with water, the ink quickly disappears from the page, leaving a yellowish and totally unreadable mess.

  • Rhodia N° 16 notepad 80 gsm - drying time 20-25 seconds, no feathering, no show-through nor bleed-through
  • Paperblanks journal paper - drying time ~15 seconds, no feathering, no show-through and no bleed-through
  • Generic notepad paper 70 gsm - drying time 20-25 seconds, no noticeable feathering, some show-through but no bleed-through
  • Moleskine journal - drying time 5 seconds ! Some minor feathering, significant show-through and bleed-through (making the back-side of the page unusable)

Conclusion

 

Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine is a well-behaving nice green ink with very prominent shading in broader nibs. For me, this is a true green - not too light and not too dark. Beware though: this is not an ink for finer nibs. With EF and F nibs, the ink is bland and totally boring.

 

my overall score: B+

(but C when used with EF/F nibs)

 

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Edited by namrehsnoom
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I think I've got this one and must compare it to the 4001 Dark Green I got last week. Great review.

The Good Captain

"Meddler's 'Salamander' - almost as good as the real thing!"

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Great review -- thanks for posting!

 

Interestingly enough, in contrast to your experience, the Aventurine I received for last year's Hub was pretty wet -- the wettest of the Edelsteins. It turned out that it worked perfectly in a Prera "CM" (my driest pen).

 

The shading I got from the Prera was much more conservative than what you're getting, but IMO very attractive. Anyway, I thought the combo might make a good choice for a "gentle" holiday green.

Edited by conib
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Interestingly enough, in contrast to your experience, the Aventurine I received for last year's Hub was pretty wet -- the wettest of the Edelsteins.

 

 

Same experience here.

Rationalizing pen and ink purchases since 1967.

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Same experience here.

Could have been my pen/ink combination, because it felt really dry in the M-nib pen I used for the review. Or I have been spoiled with the wet Diamine inks I have been using lately. I'll load up Aventurine in another pen and give it a try, and will update my experience.

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I have it darker in my memory (Is on my papers and nib used._...and shading lots less, but worst of all, I have it as the Edelstein ink that feathers. :unsure: :doh: :headsmack: Whoops!....Well more has a rough line....and not quite as often as stuck in my mind. Now that I've gone back...and a good thing I did, there are papers that it looks good on. Looks like I'll take it out of Cobweb Corner.

So I have to back track just a bit.

 

I do have good to better papers, and it was a big surprise to me when I did a 10 or 15 page sampling of various ($) Gmund fountain pen friendly papers, There were a few other good papers too, in the folder from before. Until I went green crazy...I'd just used which ever of the 12-17 pens that were inked with what ever was in them.....more a paper test than an ink test. Then Came Green.

 

I had ordered a few sheets of various Gmund papers, thinking falsify that the heavier the paper the better it had to be. In Gmund fountain pen friendly paper costs either $35 for 50 sheets or $50 for 50 sheets...I looked for the best.....Any 5-7 of them would do for any of the 15 or so inks....and nothing at all was proved other than I'd need all at least 7 of them....because on each, some inks do well, others not quite so well. So much for Plan A....b & c.

I really don't have $400-500 dollars for the papers that would be nice to have....and there are many other fine papers of the same value.

For sale, one slightly used 100 foot yacht, will take paper for it.

 

I did some 3 or so different papers from them in 90-100-110-120-150&170 g and some M&K papers, and a few others I'd checked out in passing.

So I learned the bitter lesson, there is No Perfect Paper....there are only a Perfect Nib, with a Perfect Ink on that paper..... :crybaby: That can equal the grail...Perfection.

The next paper, the next pen, or the next ink...all for the cat. :(

 

It was not a true test of ink and paper. I did not do EF in nail or in both semi-flex and 'true' regular flex in F, M, and B. Wider nibs, and or wider wetter nibs will paint a paper differently.

 

It was a paper test, with various inks...not well organized...or organized I could look back and still have an idea. There were a few of the inks I liked and then I got on that green kick.

 

Along the way, I tested some 7 green or greenish inks. (I thought it more but have the test results in front of me...I have more green inks, but it would be unfair to test basic green-green inks vs Alt Goldgrun, Vert Empire or MB's Johnathan Seaweed or the like.

R&K Verdura is a nose better than MB Irish Green (so there was no reason to test these two.) and a neck better than 4001 in green-green inks....It proved so on other tests. I had expected Aventurine to win....but I'd never looked at it with hard critical eyes.

 

Inks tested but it is not a valid test in all the inks were not tested out of the same exact width of nib they were all 'true' regular flex M&F nibs....in I was after shading, I did not use wetter semi-flex nibs.

Close enough for hand grenades.

 

Lamy is a known bad ink...one one paper, I have noted Pel A..Lamy tied for 3rd....There was also a time Lamy tested #2 on a paper. :yikes: Aventurine was 5th on that paper. In another place I have noted Lamy almost looks good, shades. Green Meadow even looked good...on only one paper.. Diamine Green Meadow was so poor an ink....It was not worth writing down it's grades. At best it was on one paper, 4th was the best. It did beat Lamy once!!!! The rest of the time it was last, the Feathering Champ. An ink so bad, it would shame me to give it away. And the bottles not worth keeping either.

 

I did find a paper that Lamy looked good on.....one single paper. Don't buy Lamy Green, Sandy1 was ever so right about it.

 

DA Golf is a pale dusty green that shades very very well....alone. It would be as unfair to compair this ink to any as it would be to do that to R&G's Alt Green gold. It is worth buying at least once.

But perhaps I had too thin a nib for it.......one one paper it tied Aventurine with a 3/4 grade and a 2/3 in another score.

 

DA Spring Moss is just that a light spring green...and I think had an EF nib on it or or a very thin F..I know I need to test that with a M or a B nib to be fair to it...solid 4th...1 first, 1 second, one 3rd, a lot of 4th's-6 of them and two 5ths.

DA Moss Green....fourth 40 points.

Aventurine third. 26 points. 3 x first, one second...1 x 4th and 1x 5th :o getting beat by Lamy or Meadow Green! On certain papers Aventurine has a good part of the time a slightly rough to rough line and when it finished 5th it feathered. That of course was on the paper where Lamy finished 2nd, 4001 third, R&K fourth, and DA Golf was #1.

On some 3 papers it was #1, clean line even under magnification. (I have my OCD scale lower down)

R&K Verdura 21 points....4 firsts, 5 x second. 1 third.

The big Shock was Pelikan 4001 Green. First 20 points. :yikes: 5 x first, 3 x second, 3 times third.

 

I did like the color. But I'm sort of OCD on the more than 50-50 chance of a rough line....and it is possible for the ink to feather with the wrong good paper. :o

 

My system for checking feathering or it's little cousin the rough line. Being OCD....using a thick 4"x3" 2.8x 7D/250 magnifying glass.....no using your 10 X loupe is cheating :angry: .

BEF---can see feathering while setting.

NEF= can see feathering or rough line when brought to the eye.

 

MagF.... can see a little feathering, a slight rough line...if one is not AR or OCD, no bother. A good ink and a good paper. Worth buying again.

However.............

If the line is rough or there is feathering....do try and find a paper for that ink....and remember it. Could well be an ink to mix...if one has a few inks too many. Put it aside for every time you get a new good to better paper. One can get lucky......do not put on buy again until a paper or two is found.

Of course if you don't get OCD with a magnifying glass....you are good to go with this type of ink.

 

NoMagF= perfect, no feathering, perfectly clean line. Stockpile the ink and paper now.

 

Edelstein is 50ml @13 per bottle in my memory....Graf von Faber Castell is 75ml was 25 euro....and a Moss Green ...before I went to old test results I favored Moss Green over Aventurine...after all what can you expect with 4001 solidly beat it. The harsh 'magnified' memories of it finishing only third and knowing MB Irish in the same class as R&K and 4001, would beat it too. :(

 

I will have to test both G-F-C Moss Green vs Aventurine inks against each other.

Not today!....It was enough shock to find out I was Wrong....again, but at least I can change my mind...when I hit my self in the head with my own facts....hard enough. Aventurine is a good ink...It is not IMO quite as good as Topaz, that I had expected it to be. I did like the color. I just have to find which papers make it shine....as with any ink.

 

As the OP showed me, I'll have to bring out my wider nibs, that are not too wet. Thanks..twice once for showing me a bit of different shading than I got, and for making me look at the ink from a distance away from the then muttered grumbling.

Edited by Bo Bo Olson

In reference to P. T. Barnum; to advise for free is foolish, ........busybodies are ill liked by both factions.

 

 

The cheapest lessons are from those who learned expensive lessons. Ignorance is best for learning expensive lessons.

 

 

 

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I've tested this ink in a Lamy Safari and I liked more how it changes the hue after 15 days (a bit darker).

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Great review -- thanks for posting!

 

Interestingly enough, in contrast to your experience, the Aventurine I received for last year's Hub was pretty wet -- the wettest of the Edelsteins. It turned out that it worked perfectly in a Prera "CM" (my driest pen).

 

The shading I got from the Prera was much more conservative than what you're getting, but IMO very attractive. Anyway, I thought the combo might make a good choice for a "gentle" holiday green.

OK - I stand corrected. I just put a new nib&feed in my pen and didn't flush it before using (note to self - don't ever do this again). The flow of the pen was not so good... Not the ink's fault - after a good cleaning, the flow has much improved, and can now keep up with my usual writing speed. The ink itself has wetter properties than other Edelsteins, as shown by the drying times of 20-25 seconds on Rhodia paper. Drying times are a much more reliable and objective indication of the inherent wetness of the ink. Subjective impressions while writing depend more on ink/pen/paper combination. I got carried away by a subjective impression that was not the ink's fault - my apologies Aventurine.

Thanks for pointing this out!

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Thanks for the followup -- it's definitely good to know that the formulation wasn't changed, or at least not changed significantly.

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