(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
Sometimes, an ink name is simple and direct. Black, blue, green, etc. But, in most cases, these colors are bland compared to their exotic alternatives.
With Diamine Turquoise, the simple name does not indicate a simple, bland ink. It goes to show that you don't need an exotic name for an exotic, beautiful color.
Diamine Turquoise is a beautiful blue-green color with excellent properties. It dries quickly, it shades nicely, and it works like a champ in every pen I've tried. Really, it's a typical Diamine ink, and the only difference from the others is the color. That beautiful turquoise color.
Unlike many of my favorite blue-green inks, this ink has a lighter shade that shows off more of the variety of hues. With Sailor Yama-dori or Iroshizuku Ku-jaku, the shade is darker and harder to discern. It's subtle, which possesses its own beauty and delight. But Turquoise doesn't hold any punches, it's not meant for business use, and it delights with its bright, Caribbean hues. If you want to liven up a page, this ink is a great choice.
When you get down to it, Turquoise is a standard Diamine ink. It flows well, it dries relatively quickly, it exhibits some nice shading, and it's dependable. I really have nothing bad to say about the ink at all. The main draw is the color — the bright, turquoise that jumps from the paper when you write. If turquoise or bright blue-greens aren't your thing, you won't like this ink. But, if you happen to like the color, you can be assured that the ink behaves admirably.
One significant characteristic about this ink that's worth pointing out is the shading. It doesn't exhibit a crazy amount of shading, but it's definitely noticeable when writing normally. You can coax out more shading with a larger nib and slower strokes, but it isn't a slouch by any means. If there's one complaint about this ink, it's that the shading is a bit light for my taste. But, I'm not qualifying that as a complaint, because it has plenty of shading for most occasions. No ink is perfect, right?
In the land of standard Turquoise inks, I only have experience with Diamine's. I know that many people are fans of Lamy's offering, but I haven't yet tried it. With how pleased I am with Diamine's, I'm not sure I'll ever need to try another one.
It's turquoise, it's dependable, and it's affordable. As long as you like the color, it's a big win all around. As with other Diamine offerings, you can score this in a large 80ml bottle or a pack of 18 cartridges. It's a great ink, and I highly recommend it.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
