Ink Review #73: Montblanc Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Today's ink is Montblanc Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Encre du Desert. Holy cow is that a long name for an ink. For the purposes of this review, I will just call it Antoine. The color is based on the desert at sunset. Antoine de Saint-Exupery was a French writer, poet, aristocrat, journalist, and pioneering aviator (after I photographed the writing seen above, I realized I spelled Exupery wrong, sorry).

The bottle is 50 ml of ink. I purchased mine at Anderson Pens. 

I'm in love with Montblanc bottles. They are gorgeous. Montblanc knows how to nail presentation.

The packaging:

This ink box is the best box I've ever seen. Most ink bottles open from the top, and it's easy to wear out the box or tear it by accident. This box has a little ribbon tab that lets you pull out the inner part of the box, which holds the bottle. There's a foam support in the bottom, that keeps the bottle from rattling around. 

The color...

Antoine is a burgundy (reddish-purple). Depending on the lighting, sometimes it looks more purple and sometimes it looks more red. There is a subtle gold sheen as well. Seasonally, I would use this ink in the fall (and I spelled Exupery wrong again...dangit). 

In ink drops, the ink looks more purple, with some subtle gold sheen. 

Dry time: Antoine dried in 30 seconds, in a medium nib on Rhodia paper.

Water Resistance: Antoine had low water resistance. Most of the ink was washed away in 20 seconds.

Feathering: Antoine only feathered on Baron Fig paper, but did great on the other papers.

Show through: Antoine had low to medium show through on all of the papers.

Bleeding: Antoine bled on Baron Fig paper in all nib sizes, and on the large swab on Tomoe River.

Other properties: Antoine had low shading, and a tiny bit of gold sheen.

Ink swabs for comparison, left to right (or top to bottom for RSS): Diamine Syrah, Montblanc Antoine de Saint-Exupery, and Diamine Tyrian Purple. To see all of the Montblanc inks together, click here.

Diamine Grape, Robert Oster Australian Shiraz, and Robert Oster Maroon 1789. I think Tyrian Purple is the closest to Antoine. To see all of the Burgundy inks together, click here. 

Longer writing:

I used a Noodler's Ahab flex nib on Tomoe River paper. I do think this ink is pretty wet, but it still dries within 30 seconds.

Overall, I like this ink. It was wet and behaved well, but to make me love it, it either needs more shading or more sheen. I do love the bottle though, because it's gorgeous. This ink just lacked some oomph for me, especially for how expensive it is.

Disclaimer: I purchased this ink myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page.