Old Mb Bordeaux

[chromantic]

So, here is a scan of some old Montblanc Bordeaux, as I'm told it was called back then (there's no ink name on the label). I bought this in 1990 or '91 so, yes it's really, really old. I must have used it fairly regularly (as the bottle is only about half full now) until I moved to a new city in '93. I've had the ink in a kitchen cabinet but I'd forgotten I even had a pen until I found it recently, an old Parker 45 M, dark blue GT with a squeeze converter; it's in really good condition. Finding it has certainly reawakened my interest in fountain pens!

 

Anywho, here's a scan of the ink. It seems pretty obvious that darkening has occurred; I don't remember it being this dark. And color - I remember there being more color. Be that as it may, I do like the color as it is now (the 'Subtle' side of me) and am trying to figure out what new ink might be a suitable replacement: JH Poussiére de Lune - too grey?; JH Larme de Cassis - not dark enough?; de'A Elderberries - too purple?; KWZI Grey Plum - not purple enough?; Diamine Tyrian Purple - hmmm, well, that's certainly a lovely color, maybe close to how I remember this MB being when new but not that close to what it's like now, not muted/grey enough.

 

Any suggestions for other alternatives? This scan seems fairly accurate, btw.

 

[visvamitra]

Interesting - more complex than current version.

[lapis]

Nice review. The color is in fact darker than a "newer" Bordeaux (up to 2009) likely due just to evaporation and concentration. Also greyer and browner than a "true" Bordeaux wine. More of a Burgundy color and that's why they changed that name and also to a slight degree the color (in 2010).

 

Mike