Another year has come and gone. I’ve posted at least 52 fountain pen inks reviews if not more. It’s time for me to share my top 5 inks of 2016. The criteria to make it onto my top 5 inks list are simple. Firstly, I’ve made the purchase of the ink during the year. And, I’ve used it and loved it. With that out of the way, onto the list.
Number 5: Montblanc William Shakespeare Velvet Red
This is an ink released just this year by Montblanc. It is a companion ink to the Montblanc Writer Series fountain pen. Velvet Red is one of the surprising buys of the year. I didn’t expect to like a red ink but the shading just blows me away.
Number 4: Lamy Dark Lilac
Another ink that is released this year. Lamy Dark Lilac was released in conjunction with the limited edition Lamy Safari of the same name. I didn’t buy the pen but the ink was a no brainer. The dark purple is also another great shading ink.
Number 3: Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline
Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline was a surprising ink. I never expect to buy a bottle of pink ink, ever. Pink have never been my favourite colour. Howeverm Turmaline changed my mind about pink inks in general. I was lucky enough to locate a bottle locally. My thanks to Ana of The Well Appointed Desk for introducing this ink to my life.
Number 2: Caran d’Ache Sunset
Surprise, surprise another pink-ish ink. This is part of a now discontinued ink series by Caran d’Ache. When I initially did my ink review, I had resigned myself to only having a small sample of the ink. However my local store some how miraculously conjured up a couple of bottles from the ink series. Buying a bottle of this ink was a no brainer.
Number 1: Sailor Jentle Apricot
Orange, orange inks have always been my favourite. It is no surprise that the ultimate orange ink is top of my ink list this year. The only surprise was someone generously offered to sell me a bottle. Apricot needs no introduction. Just look at the vibrancy and shading of the ink.
Upon reflection, this year has been a year of discontinued inks. I am playing catch up with my fountain pen inks, buying the inks that I had missed out on. My list has been heavily dominated by warm colours. One special mention is the De Atramentis Singapore, this is the blue ink that caught my eye this year but my love for the above 5 inks pushed it out of the list.