Ink Review: Diamine Havasu Turquoise

[Chrissy]

My latest ink is Diamine Havasu Turquoise.

I have been collecting turquoise inks and samples since I bought a bottle of Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea, and finally found the time to compare it to other turquoise inks to see which was the closest current colour match for it. IMHO, the current closest colour ink to C d'A Caribbean Sea that is available is Kaweco Paradise Blue, and it's quality is comparable. I have that ink to review soon. Meanwhile, there are others that are quite similar, and deserve a mention in their own right.

Diamine Havasu Turquoise is one of them. This is despite the fact that it's quite like a sky blue/blue turquoise, and because of this, I deliberately compared it with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz to try to show you their similarities and differences. I am also reviewing Diamine Turquoise and Diamine Marine so that you can compare these two inks.

I have previously reviewed Diamine Steel Blue ink and a similar shade Diamine Soft Mint.

• Although this isn't a waterproof ink, it shows good water resistance, as do many turquoise inks.
• Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used a Lamy M nib, this ink took 17-19 secs to dry.
• It flows through the pen very well and lubricates the nib very well. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests.
• It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic refill bottles or International sized cartridges.
• Diamine sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.
• It's a reasonable price.

[Abner C. Kemp]

Thanks for the review, I really like the look of this ink. Think I'll have to order a sample!!

[ScienceChick]

A lovely turquoise; thanks for the review and - especially - the comparisons.

[lgsoltek]

I like this.

[inkstainedruth]

Thanks for the review.

It would be interesting to see a comparison between this, Diamine Turquoise, and the old Sheaffer Skrip Peacock. While I still have a fair amount of Peacock, I do have in the back of my mind the desire to find a modern equivalent for color and that little bit of extra oomph that isn't quite sheen but definitely isn't matte either....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth