(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
Pelikan Edelstein inks are usually highly regarded for their excellent qualities and colors, so I was pretty psyched to get a chance at their new 2015 ink — Amethyst.
To be honest, I had to look up the color because it didn't immediately pop out in my mind. I'd call it a medium purple, which is pretty close to the gem that probably inspired it.
After inking it up in a German EF nib, I was off to the races. The first impressions of the ink were great, and they didn't let up either.
Behavior
The ink is extremely smooth and lubricated, even in a slightly scratchy EF nib. I was actually surprised by the smoothness because the pen isn't usually that smooth with other inks. I'm still impressed by the smoothness of the ink, and that gets even better with a wider nib. I used the ink in a M nib as well, and it wrote like oil on glass, but didn't cause any bleed or pooling issues despite the generous flow.
The ink also doesn't have any issues starting after not being used for several days. Non-ordinary colors (like purple, red, green, etc.) normally have mixed results when it comes to reliability after a few days of storage, but Amethyst has no trouble at all. Again, pretty impressive.
Now, one of my favorite qualities of this ink is the shading. If you look at an amethyst gem, you don't see a single shade of the color. You see several different shades since there are different angles, thicknesses, and gem qualities. The Amethyst ink captures these qualities beautifully. The shading properties aren't incredibly dramatic, but they're beautiful and striking without being flamboyant. This is an ink that does extremely well in a broad or flat nibbed pen (like a stub or italic).
This is an elegant ink with some great surprises in store. People definitely notice the character.
Color
The color of the ink is very similar to the gem. Pelikan did a fantastic job matching the color. In use, it's a medium purple. If you're using it in a smaller nib, it looks entirely professional for most things. In a wider nib, it exhibits a nice range of light to medium dark purples. In any nib, it looks great and shows its character well.
Overall
In all, this is a solid ink and represents the Edelstein brand very well. It's the newest ink to the lineup, and it compliments the rest nicely. If you're interested in purple inks, Pelikan Edelstein Amethyst should be on the top of your list.
(Goldspot Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
