Ink Review: De Atramentis Pearlescent Indian Blue

Today we are going to take a look at the four De Atramentis Pearlescent Indian Blue inks, and just looking at the swabs I like the copper version best, so most of the photos will feature Indian Blue Copper. I purchased my samples of ink from Vanness Pens. 

Left to right, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Copper. The copper version looks a bit purple when compared to the others.

The shimmer isn't visible when the ink is wet, it only appears when the ink dries.

Swabs:

In large swabs there is a ton of shimmer but no sheen.

Writing samples:

Let's take a look at how the ink behaves on fountain pen friendly papers: Rhodia, Tomoe River, and Leuchtturm.

Dry time: After 30 seconds the ink is completely dry, but you can still smear the shimmer.

Water resistance: Low

Feathering: None

Show through: Medium

Bleeding: None

Other properties: no shading, no sheen, and lots of shimmer. There could be some shading in there, but I didn't notice any since it was covered in shimmer.

On Staples 24 lb copy paper there was feathering and bleeding in every nib size as well as clogging.

Comparison Swabs:

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (top to bottom for mobile RSS): De Atramentis Indian Blue Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper. Click here to see the De Atramentis inks together.

J. Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean, Diamine Arabian Nights, and De Atramentis Columbia Blue Silver. The Columbia Blue pearlescent inks are pretty close to Indian Blue, so I wish De Atramentis would have picked one or the other instead of doing both. Arabian Nights is a bit more purple than Indian Blue. Click here to see the blue inks together. 

Longer writing:

I used a FPR Darjeeling Pink with a steel ultra flex nib for the Copper version, a broad Conklin Durograph Forest Green for the Silver version, a broad Pelikan M600 Turquoise with the Gold version, and a broad Pelikan M805 Ocean Swirl for the Bronze version. I think I prefer the silver or bronze version out of the four. All had some clogging issues, even with the wet flow. 

Overall, there is a ton of shimmer in these inks, but every pen had clogging and flow issues.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.