(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)
Last year's Inkvent Calendar from Diamine was a huge hit, and this lovely hue was in pride of place as the December 24th offering. Yes, Purple Bow seems like the perfect color to top off all the gifts!
This is a deep, blue-toned purple that leans more toward violet than magenta, and even appears to be blue under some lighting. It has a ton of character, showing some shading, and a hearty amount of sheening. The sheen is a copper color that looks red at some angles and gold at others, and deliciously opulent at any angle.
In fine lines, it has a fast dry time, with minimal smudging at 15 seconds and none at all after 20. In bolder, wetter lines, it takes a very long time to dry, and even showed no change in smearing after 30 seconds. It's a well-lubricated ink with great flow.
It is not a water-resistant ink, but it did not wash away completely in a splash test, even when the water was wiped away instead of dabbed. Your work may survive a minor tea accident, but probably don't take it swimming.
Despite my rather extensive collection of purple ink samples, this one was not a duplicate for any of them. It's more blue than the other rich purples, but richer than my other blue purples. In tone and sheen, it was closest to De Atrementis Alexander Hamilton, but that one is far more rosy than this one. If you're a purple ink fan looking for a new purple with lots of character, this one is a big winner.
It comes in a wild glass bottle with concave sides and wee ball feet--it almost looks like a sea creature. I dig it. And it's only about $10 for a 50ml bottle via Stilo & Stile, which is such a good price I had to triple check it, because I thought that couldn't be right. All around, this one is too good to miss.
(The Pen Addict purchased this pen at full retail from Stilo & Stile.)
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