Emerald Of Chivor - J. Herbin

[visvamitra]

http://imageshack.com/a/img909/898/oFbkCv.jpg

 

J. Herbin was established in 1670.

 

M. Herbin was a sailor, and from his many journeys to India he brought back to Paris formulas for manufacturing sealing wax. His special lacquer formula improved the quality of the seals in adhesion and neatness, helping him to become famous throughout the kingdom.

 

J. Herbin is also the oldest name in ink production in the world.

 

By 1700, the company was producing “l’Encre de la Tete Noire,” followed by “Perle des Encres,” (The Jewel of Inks) and “l’Encre des Vaisseaux” (The Ink of Ships).

 

J. Herbin made ink for Louis XIV, and a black ink for the sole use of Victor Hugo, author of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables. These formulas still reside in our company headquarters in Paris.

 

At the moment company belongs to Exaclair Inc, that has rights to brands like Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Brause or G. Lalo.

 

J. Herbin offers 30 standard colors:

 

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/1839/N2gPxp.jpg

 

Additionally every year J. Herbin offers 1670 ink:

 

1. Rouge Hematite
2. Ocean Blue
3. Stormy Grey

The inks collected in the series have great bottles and contain "goldish" particles.

 

Emeraud de Chivor is quite intriguing. I was sure I wouldn't like it. People would try to talk me into it but I and teals / dark turquoises don't go well together. Surprisingly I find it quite elegant and what I like about my bottle is the fact it seems to contain less "goldish" particles than Bleu Ocean or Rouge Hematite. I haven't shaken the bottle so you won't see amazing effects in my review. But I prefer it this way.

Bottle

http://imageshack.com/a/img631/967/ArKiYO.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img631/9510/Y7EqMt.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img905/9793/XSnKeR.jpg

Ink splash

http://imageshack.com/a/img633/447/upJ5Jc.jpg

Drops of ink on kitchen towel

http://imageshack.com/a/img910/8497/qS661F.jpg

Software Id

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/3489/xa9ysi.jpg

Color Range

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/2803/NHZrUq.jpg

Water resistance

http://imageshack.com/a/img911/9955/T17RkP.jpg

Tomoe River, TWSBI 580, stub 1,1

http://imageshack.com/a/img901/7350/FhOB1y.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img905/5708/1m8INF.jpg

Rhodia, Hero 5028, stub 1,9 + 1,5 + 1,1

http://imageshack.com/a/img633/6073/6j14Zu.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img901/7461/78I8nc.jpg

Michael R. - a venerable ink enthusiast and enabler's sent me some samples recently. He added a note written with Montblanc Meisterstuck 134 from 1930's. I hope he won't mind I reproduce this part of his note but I find it fascinating how different effects we can have depending on the pen / ink / paper combo.

http://imageshack.com/a/img909/1217/Ue835I.jpg

http://imageshack.com/a/img912/1235/A787X6.jpg

And to finish a photo of the sheen. I took it with some old smartphone, so there's no white balance but you'll see it does shine even while used without stirring the fluid.

http://imageshack.com/a/img912/1687/Bi0xiU.jpg

[Hallel]

A lovely review of a lovely ink. I particularly love the red sheen. There's a lot going on with this ink, sheen, shading and shine! I've almost used up my sample, I think I need to own a bottle though.

[haruka337]

I typically love such colors, but this one leaves me a bit cold.

[TSherbs]

I typically love such colors, but this one leaves me a bit cold.

Yeah, and it is a lot of money. But I'll likely add a sample to an order at some point. If it wows me, and a couple of weeks later I still feel wowed, then I'll begin to consider purchasing a bottle. I have been cutting back on purchases. But I sure don't have anything like this ink.

[bitterwonder]

Am enjoying this ink very much in a wide music nibbed pen. It is especially nice to write with although i have been drawing with it.

[lgsoltek]

I find it prone to feather a lot with a wet nib. Not as much as Stormy Grey but still quite a lot of feathering.

[jasonchickerson]

This is gorgeous but does it smear when dry? I have all but stopped using Rouge Hematite because it smears weeks after drying.

[mhosea]

This is gorgeous but does it smear when dry? I have all but stopped using Rouge Hematite because it smears weeks after drying.

 

I cannot confirm that one ink has the same problem as another when I observe the problem with neither the way I use the inks. Having said that, given that I can smear it a little bit by rubbing it unreasonably with my thumb several minutes after it dries, I'd have to lay my bet on you having the same problem, or worse, with Emerald of Chivor as you have with Rouge Hematite.

Edited October 5, 2015 by mhosea

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review. I'm still trying to make up my mind about this one. I love the sheen and gold, but would have to see the underlying color in person....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[jasonchickerson]

 

I cannot confirm that one ink has the same problem as another when I observe the problem with neither the way I use the inks. Having said that, given that I can smear it a little bit by rubbing it unreasonably with my thumb several minutes after it dries, I'd have to lay my bet on you having the same problem, or worse, with Emerald of Chivor as you have with Rouge Hematite.

 

Bummer. It smears for me because I use(d) it exclusively with a dip pen and laid down a lot of ink. Normal writing, with my medium Lamy 2000, would likely not smear, sheen or glitter.

[jandrese]

Thanks for the good review. If the bottle is shaken first the sheen or shimmer or glitter can be almost overpowering. Perhaps teenage girls would love this ink. Nevertheless, I am becoming a fan myself. It is better behaved than Rouge Hematite (I have version 1.0 with very little glitter), which I love, but find to be a bit problematic especially as I'm a lefty. The color is unique, it behaves better than other 1670 inks, and indeed better than could possibly be expected from a saturated ink full of glitter. A strange winner.

[BullFly7]

I find that I love this ink in a fine nib where the colors are more subtle. I used this ink in a letter to my kids' teachers yesterday and recieved a note of compliment because of the ink. So i really like it in a fine or medium nib. Anything larger than that is just too flashy

[Mishka5050]

 

Emeraud de Chivor is quite intriguing. I was sure I wouldn't like it. People would try to talk me into it but I and teals / dark turquoises don't go well together.

 

yes, that is true

Nice review, thank you!

[Pira]

Lovely review of this fascinating ink. Thank-you. The comments are also illumnating as I haven't yet tried this ink in a pen. Good advice all around.

[mmg122]

Excellent review, Vis. I like this ink quite a bit and am a fan of JHerbin 1670 series.

[Quynhlii]

I love this ink, huge fan of the 1670 series.

 

But if they don't fix that dang awful bottle the ink comes in, I'm just going to continue ordering samples. It's THAT bad in my opinion... Can't get a fill without having bright green hands afterwards.

Edited October 7, 2015 by SweeteTea

[mk2579]

Yes it's definitely better behaved than Rouge Hematite- I passed on the silver one because of it, also goes on very smooth with Tomoe River paper. Here is a pic I took of my TWSBI Vac 700 with Emerald of Chivor...

 

http://s18.postimg.org/jcapjghah/DSC00649.jpg

 

And accidental ink splash with tons of gold...

 

http://s8.postimg.org/m1082i2ph/J_Herbin_Chivor_gold.jpg

[visvamitra]

Nice

[thudthwacker]

I got my bottle recently, and I really love it. I do like the shimmer, but even without it, I like the ink -- love the shading and sheening, it's got nice lubrication, it doesn't bleed or feather on any of the papers I've been using (which, granted, are by and large at least decent-quality). This is my first 1670 ink, and I confess that I worried that the shimmer was a gimmick -- not so, to me. It's a delightful ink before the shimmer even comes into play.

 

Thanks, as always, for your review. They're always among my favorites.

[Studio97]

I just ordered this ink so I hope it doesn't smear as I am a lefty. It should be OK if it dries quickly enough.