Ink Review : Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite

[namrehsnoom]

Ink Review : Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite

 

 

Pen: Lamy AL-star, M-nib

Paper: Rhodia N°16 notepad 80 gsm

 

 

Review

 

In 2011 Pelikan introduced the Edelstein series of high-end inks, available in a variety of colours. The theme of the Edelstein collection is the gemstone - each colour corresponding to the beautiful colour of a gem. The inks themselves are presented in 50 ml high-value bottles, which are truly beautiful, and worthy of a place on your desk.

 

Here I review Tanzanite, an ink that was added as a standard colour to the Edelstein line-up in 2012. This is the blue-black of the Edelstein inks, a really nice colour that feels at home with all kinds of writing. Myself, I use it equally at home for journaling and at my workplace.

 

 

The are a number of things that I really appreciate in this ink. First and foremost : it exhibits some really nice shading even with the finest nibs. It's not often that you find an ink with such visible shading in an EF nib. Well, Tanzanite provides, and gives my small handwriting that extra touch ! The ink also writes wonderfully smooth with EF nibs - it's really well lubricated. And with the right paper and the right kind of lighting, it shows a beautiful red-golden sheen with text written with wetter nibs. This ink really delivers - thank you Pelikan !

 

 

The ink is remarkably well water-resistant. With running tap water, the text remains perfectly readable even after 30 seconds under the faucet. And even a 15 minute droplet test poses no problem for this ink. As the chromatography shows, the ink has a solid permanent grey-blue base. This water-resistance makes it a really suitable ink for the workplace.

 

Tanzanite behaves well on most good quality paper. For some reason though, it's one of the few inks I have that doesn't behave in a Paperblanks journal - here there is some minor, but annoyingly visible, feathering. A pity, because Paperblanks is my notebook of choice for keeping a daily journal.

• Rhodia N°16 notepad 80 gsm - drying time 15-20 seconds, no feathering, no show-through or bleed-through
• Paperblanks journal paper - drying time 10-15 seconds, some minor but visible feathering, minor show-through, but no bleed-through
• Generic notepad paper 70 gsm - drying time 10-15 seconds, no feathering, some show-through, no bleed-through
• Moleskine journal - drying time ~5 seconds, some minor feathering, significant show-through and bleed-through
• Tomoe River paper - drying time 20-25 seconds, no feathering, visible show-through but no bleed-through
• Original Crown Mill cotton paper - drying time 15-20 seconds, no feathering, no show-through and no bleed-through

The ink behaved very well, even on the Moleskine paper (if you use just one side). A pity about the annoyingly visible feathering in the Paperblanks journal. The ink looked particularly stunning on the Original Crown Mill cotton paper where the golden-red sheen is very prominent.

 

Conclusion

 

Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite is currently my favourite blue-black ink. It writes extremely will with finer nibs, and has a more than decent water-resistance. I particularly like the way it shades, and the golden-red sheen it produces if the circumstances are right. I'm glad this is one of the standard inks of the Edelstein line, so that I'm assured to find a new bottle when my current one has been emptied.

 

my overall score: A+

 

 

 

 

 

[visvamitra]

Excellent review of excellent ink. While I'm not crazy about the color I can only confirm it's a pleasure to use

[fugel]

Thanks for the review. Tanzanite is a must have for those (like me) who enjoy Blue Blacks. A wonderful ink.

Edited August 3, 2016 by ubezahn

[tinta]

Thanks for the thorough review.

It appears that this ink has a little water resistance, which is a good thing. I just love its dark blue/black colour..

Rummaged through my international long cartridge stash to find a couple of Edelstein Tanzanite carts. They must have been a gift from a friend.

Can't wait to pop one into my F-C mod. #03, with a 1.0 mm BLS.

Edited August 3, 2016 by tinta

[AndyYNWA]

Nice review!

I have a sample of this waiting to get tried.

[Tas]

Another excellent review.

I really like this ink and until two days ago it was the only bottle allowed out on display - the boxed up Nurebairo now accompanies it.

 

Mine however is waaaayy darker. Black almost. No teal is evident and the blue is only ever really apparent when washed over or swabbed. Hmm . . .

 

http://www.taskyprianou.com/fpn_tanzanite_swatch.jpg

[namrehsnoom]

Mine however is waaaayy darker. Black almost. No teal is evident and the blue is only ever really apparent when washed over or swabbed. Hmm . . .

 

From the different nib sizes I used, I noticed that the ink appears to become darker with the broader nibs. It probably also depends on the paper - on Original Crown Mill e.g. The color was definitely darker.

[Tas]

Ahh, the trickery of the holy trinity, pen - paper - ink -

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. I have a bottle but it doesn't get a lot of use. Not sure why, given that -- unlike a lot of blue-black inks -- it doesn't have the teal tone that so many blue-blacks seem to have.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[lgsoltek]

The behaviour and the sheen look promising, but the colour just doesn't do anything for me...

[Diderot]

Excellent review.

 

How does this compare to Pelikan 401 blue-black?

[carlos.q]

Excellent review.

 

How does this compare to Pelikan 401 blue-black?

Check out this very complete comparison:

 

http://www.stefanv.com/pens/pelikan-blue-black-and-edelstein-tanzanite.html

[Diderot]

Check out this very complete comparison:

 

http://www.stefanv.com/pens/pelikan-blue-black-and-edelstein-tanzanite.html

 

Thank you.

[Notgatherox]

Love the colour - and unlike 4001 BB, it doesn't fade to grey my go to BB!

 

 

~Epic

[The Good Captain]

I do like this wonderful ink - just don't use it as much as I should, really.

[jmccarty3]

Tanzanite is one of my favorite blue-blacks, not nearly as dry as the 4001, and much more easily obtained than that ink in the US. I have never seen a hint of teal in it (to me, teal is an undesirable characteristic of blue-blacks). This is a real workhorse professional ink.

[Ink_Stained_Soul]

Between 4001 Blue-Black and Tanzanite, I slightly lean towards 4001 for overall better daily behaviour on various papers. It has more "watery" feeling while the Tanzanite gives me more of an inaudiable, screaky experience. On the other hand, the Tanzanite is tad better on the density department but not enough to make me pick it over the 4001 BB.

[amberleadavis]

Terrific review!

[mehandiratta]

This is the best blue black ink...

And review is super awesome.. Thank you..

 

Full justice to the ink

[johntdavis]

I have a sample of this ink. Would it be considered safe to put in a vintage Montblanc (c. 1950s 142-G)?

 

And if it's safe, would it be easy to clean?