Diamine Turquoise Written Review

[DrDebG]

This ink has been reviewed many times, so please refer to others. This review is my subjective opinion of this ink and will differ from others.

 

This is one of the first Diamine inks that I have tried. About a year ago, I needed some cartridges for an upcoming trip, and ordered Diamine Turquoise for both the price and color of the ink.

 

I have been pleasantly surprised with this ink. It is not a pretentious ink. It is a lovely color of turquoise - not too blue and not too green - just unashamedly turquoise. It reminds me of the beautiful turquoise skies in Arizona, and of my husband's hobby of collecting rare and beautiful turquoise gemstones.

 

But the behavior of this ink is not pretentious either. I noticed little to no sheen even on Tomoe River paper, but some shading is evident on Tomoe River and Rhodia papers. It is clearly a smooth writing ink - minimally lubricated but with nice flow. And it dries fairly fast, which is always a positive for left handers. It is also fairly water resistant. I did notice on some cheap papers that there was an expected bit of feathering and bleedthrough when I used a wet stub, and some showthrough on Tomoe River paper.

 

My overall opinion: 7.5 out of 10 - a solid, hardworking turquoise ink!

 

[Jan2016]

Thanks fro your written review. I like them!

[migo984]

Thank you for this review. I like your balanced & commonsense approach.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with your assessment of this ink. Turquoise inks rely on shading to bring their colour alive. This one has minimal shading so lacks vibrancy. It’s a pleasant, workaday ink, but for me it doesn’t stand out from the crowd.

[Fermata]

When my great aunt passed we had the not so great task of clearing the household contents. One nicer surprise was that she always wrote her cards and letters in turquiose ink and found many bottles of Parker and CdA caribbean sea. I havent found a better color. Diamine may have been able to match the shade but not the performance, especially on the show through and feathering..

 

We have some Noodlers Monkey Hanger in the house, a similar color, which is also a problem for feathering and show through, Visvamitra did a very good review which highlighted the feathering and showthrough and it is one of the few inks that goes through the page, not only to the back of the paper but also to the following page.

 

https://www.purepens.co.uk/acatalog/Noodlers-Monkey-Hanger-Ink.html

 

A little better color though.

Edited April 15, 2018 by Parkette

[lapis]

Thanks for this good review and your explicit endorsement that it is a "real" turquoise, in the sense that it is -- as you point out -- not too blue and not too green. Altogether, there sure are a lot of greenish blues and bluish greens out there but this one looks like something your husband would cherish, too. Am I right in assuming that it is somewhere inbetween Waterman's South Sea Blue (renamed since about 2012) which is lighter and/or less intense, and Visconti's Turquoise which is darker and/or more saturated?

[DrDebG]

Thanks fro your written review. I like them!

Thank you! I am glad that you do.

[DrDebG]

Thank you for this review. I like your balanced & commonsense approach.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with your assessment of this ink. Turquoise inks rely on shading to bring their colour alive. This one has minimal shading so lacks vibrancy. It’s a pleasant, workaday ink, but for me it doesn’t stand out from the crowd.

 

Thank you. Yes, I have been accused of that, especially lately. Truthfully, while I like this ink, I much prefer others that shade better.

[DrDebG]

When my great aunt passed we had the not so great task of clearing the household contents. One nicer surprise was that she always wrote her cards and letters in turquiose ink and found many bottles of Parker and CdA caribbean sea. I havent found a better color. Diamine may have been able to match the shade but not the performance, especially on the show through and feathering..

 

We have some Noodlers Monkey Hanger in the house, a similar color, which is also a problem for feathering and show through, Visvamitra did a very good review which highlighted the feathering and showthrough and it is one of the few inks that goes through the page, not only to the back of the paper but also to the following page.

 

https://www.purepens.co.uk/acatalog/Noodlers-Monkey-Hanger-Ink.html

 

A little better color though.

 

Thank you for sharing about your aunt. Many years ago, I was sent a sample of CdA Caribbean Sea. I made the mistake of not purchasing it then. It was wonderful. The turquoise they have now is nice but so so expensive. I am not a big fan of Noodler's inks for a number of reasons.

[DrDebG]

Thanks for this good review and your explicit endorsement that it is a "real" turquoise, in the sense that it is -- as you point out -- not too blue and not too green. Altogether, there sure are a lot of greenish blues and bluish greens out there but this one looks like something your husband would cherish, too. Am I right in assuming that it is somewhere inbetween Waterman's South Sea Blue (renamed since about 2012) which is lighter and/or less intense, and Visconti's Turquoise which is darker and/or more saturated?

 

Thank you. I believe you are correct that Waterman South Seas is lighter and Visconti Turquoise is more intense. But my bottle of South Seas has concentrated a bit and shows just a bit darker. Diamine Turquoise is about on the same level of saturation as Callifolio Bleu Pacifique which is just a hint bluer I believe.

[senzen]

Thank you! Great review, very informative. Looks like Iroshizuku Ama Iro... On a good day, on the right pen, with no evaporation ... At probably half the price.

[chromantic]

​The first two lines in the top Writing Samples section are a bit darker (and more appealing), then the color keeps getting lighter as the paragraph progresses and the Further Notes is even lighter still. Is that just my imagination/monitor or is anyone else seeing that?

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. I like this ink because it's the closest match I've found so far to vintage Skrip Peacock (yes -- even closer than modern Skrip Turquoise) for color and shading.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[DrDebG]

Thank you! Great review, very informative. Looks like Iroshizuku Ama Iro... On a good day, on the right pen, with no evaporation ... At probably half the price.

 

Thank you. Ama Iro is one of the few Iros that I haven't tried. Looks like I need to get a sample.

[Chrissy]

Thank you for the review. Diamine Turquoise is a very nice colour.

[DrDebG]

​The first two lines in the top Writing Samples section are a bit darker (and more appealing), then the color keeps getting lighter as the paragraph progresses and the Further Notes is even lighter still. Is that just my imagination/monitor or is anyone else seeing that?

 

You are correct in what you are seeing. Before I do a pen review, I let the ink sit in the pen for a couple of days, and my pens are always stored horizontally. When I go to write, there is usually a "pool" of ink in the nib, so that the first two lines are generally darkest. then it lightens up to a medium point. Also, I do not use a flat bed scanner, but a portable scanner. I have noticed that bottoms of single pages are a bit lighter than the top. I will see if I can adjust this in the future.

[DrDebG]

Thanks for the review. I like this ink because it's the closest match I've found so far to vintage Skrip Peacock (yes -- even closer than modern Skrip Turquoise) for color and shading.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

Yes! I would agree. I used to think that Bleu Pervenche was close, but it always seems a bit too blue. But this seems much closer.

[DrDebG]

Thank you for the review. Diamine Turquoise is a very nice colour.

 

Thank you, Chrissy!

[overwriter]

A favourite now for years. Nice review and beautiful handwriting too.

[DrDebG]

A favourite now for years. Nice review and beautiful handwriting too.

Thank you. You are very kind.