Blue Pearl completely wowed me. The ink is a deep medium blue, with high saturation and great shading, and the silver shimmer is the cherry on top. Blue Pearl even sheens. To me, Blue Pearl is like Parker Penman Sapphire with added silver.
Blue Pearl is one of the Shimmertastic inks in which the particles harmonize rather than contrast with the underlying ink color. So when you look at a page written with Blue Pearl, you don’t immediately think “silver” or even “shimmer.” Instead the silver particles add depth. The best way I can describe it is that the silver gives the ink more body, and in places where there are larger amounts of silver, almost a three-dimensional feeling.
I also think the silver almost mellows the underlying blue ink rather than amping it up. The underlying ink looks like it could have been a very bright ink on its own, and while the silver adds luster and shimmer, it also seems to darken it a little.
Though I just used the word “mellows,” Blue Pearl is the opposite of a wallflower ink. This is a wow ink. You may not see the silver shimmer when you look at a page lying down on a table, but you cannot miss it when you hold up the page. Here is a closeup of the page above, which shows the shading and the sheen.
Here it is on Rhodia dot paper.
Here it is on Clairefontaine.
I am a blue ink fanatic. And Blue Pearl is pretty much a blue ink fanatic’s dream. I just love this ink.
I should also mention that Diamine has another blue Shimmertastic ink with silver particles, Blue Lightning, which I talked about here, and that I also think is gorgeous. The blue and silver combinations really work for me.
I received this Blue Pearl ink sample from Diamine, along with the next three Shimmertastic inks I’ll be looking at. I would love to pass along the favor and let someone else try Blue Pearl. So if anyone would like to receive a free sample of Blue Pearl from me, just leave a question or comment below. So far I’ve looked at seven Shimmertastic inks, and I’d particularly love to know what your favorite is.
At the end of the week, I’ll randomly choose one person to receive a sample of Blue Pearl, and I’ll post the winner on the blog. I’m going to do the same for the next three Shimmertastics, too. Feel free to enter each one you’d like.
Fountain Pen Follies 
[…] like every single Shimmertastic, but Blue Pearl is my very favorite. It’s a medium blue with silver particles, with shading and […]
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It seems like the flakes stay more evenly dispersed in the ink than the j. Herbin inks. Would you say that is the case?
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It sounds like the flakes stay more evenly dispersed than the j. Herbin inks. Would you say that is the case?
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It may depend. I think J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor is stunning, and shimmery. But I didn’t have great shimmer with my bottle of Stormy Grey. I haven’t used the newer 1670 red and blue enough to really know them.
I like to gently shake or rock the pen before writing to help disperse the flakes; seeing them in a demonstrator really underlined that lesson, too. 🙂
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The blue and red 1670s are beautiful but difficult. The Rouge hematite stains my pens and bleeds and feathers. But it is such a rich ink, sometimes worth the hassle. Blue is easier but still feathers a lot. And I didn’t always get an even amount of sparkle. All these diamine inks looks like they behave wonderfully, I can’t wait until they come out! I think I’ll have to take a tip from you and buy a clear demonstrator haha.
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This one’s beyond gorgeous! I see what you mean about the sparkles giving this almost 3d appearance, it comes through especially in the last photo. It seems to deliver on the promise of J. Herbin 1670 Blue Ocean, which underwhelmed me a bit!
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Please enter me in the Blue Pearl sample giveaway. Blue inks are my favorite, but always used cartridges until just a few months ago. I’m starting to explore bottled inks now and this one looks very interesting, so it would be great to have a sample to try. Thanks for the offer!
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Wow! Very nice.
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When is this going to be available in stores?
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The estimate is October 9, in the UK, Europe and the US.
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I can’t wait to try this in my BBB Pelikan M1000!
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I’m up for a blue sample. Great reviews:)
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