It’s been Jacques Herbin shimmer season here at Pen Addict HQ over the past few months, and why not? Their inks are fantastic.
Back in December, Exaclair, the US distributor for Jacques Herbin, sent over a sample of Opale Nocturne. It immediately caught my attention for its unique Grayish-Blue base color, which the Gold shimmer matched perfectly. This time, I picked up a bottle of Turquoise de Perse from JetPens, primarily to use for a video I still owe from last year’s St. Jude Fundraiser. I’m getting closer to getting that done, I promise!
As the name dictates, this is a Turquoise base ink, with Gold shimmer. And wow, does the Turquoise pop off the page. It’s hard for any ink brand to do this shade poorly, but this is exactly what I want when I think Turquoise.
Sanzen Tomoe River (52gsm) Paper. There is plenty of shimmer in the letters, which doesn’t translate to the image. Still, it’s not an overwhelming shimmer, which is a feature.
From a shimmer perspective, the volume of the sparkly stuff seems lighter than the aforementioned Opale Nocturne, and other shimmer inks I’ve used recently. Even those from Jacques Herbin. I’ve never had a flow problem with any of the Herbin shimmers, but lighter is ok by me. The flow was perfect in my 1.1 mm TWSBI stub nib, never missing a beat. You can see the shimmer in the barrel and on the page, but nowhere is it overwhelming.
The bright Turquoise could be overwhelming for some, but I love it. It shades well, and makes my handwriting pop. Jacques Herbin Shogun still might be my “house” shimmer ink, but it has a competitor in Turquoise de Perse. And this is right after I fawned over Opal Nocturne.
Whatever Jacques Herbin is doing with their shimmer inks, I hope they keep doing it. They come at a premium, ranging from $32-$38 per 50 ml bottle, but I’m not sure I would rate another brand above them for color and performance.
Do you have a shimmer ink you prefer more than I prefer Jacques Herbin? I also enjoy what Diamine and Robert Oster do with shimmer inks - which others do you like? Let me know so I can try them out.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Slightly shimmery.
