Diamine Blue Lightning Shimmer Ink

With the Lamy Joy 1.1 Italic Nib.

Ink: Diamine Blue Lighting 

(From the Shimmer Collection)

Color(s): Blue

Pens Used: (1) Lamy Joy 1.1 nib &

 (2) Edison Noveau Fine Nib

Paper used: Tomoe River

What a lovely ink this is! Ever since trying the J. Herbin 1670 inks, I have become somewhat addicted to inks with glitter or shimmer. These Diamine Shimmer inks definitely have it! This is the second ink from the collection that I have tried.  However, as the specks of shimmer are not as large as they are with the J. Herbin Emerald of Chivor 1670 ink, this ink has a nice
"glitter" effect. We could compare the J. Herbin inks to the Diamine Shimmer inks, and maybe in a future review I will do that. But the can be summed up in a few words: Price, shimmer, quantity, wetness, ease of use.

So there is a review to look forward too....maybe in the very near future (hint, hint!). Okay, moving on....

With the Lamy Joy 1.1 italic nib.

I purchased a sample vial of this ink from Goulet Pens, about a week ago and inked up two diferent brand pens with two different nib sizes; a Lamy Joy 1.1 italic nib and the Edison Noveau with a Fine nib. In short, this ink performed very well in both pens. Here is what I noticed:

In the Lamy Joy 1.1 Nib:

• The ink seemed lighter in color and appeared (at first) to have less glitter.
• This changed after the ink dried, the glitter could be seen much more visibly!
• Wrote smoothly. 
• Great Flow
• Not a whole lot of shading, but enough to be more than just a plain Jane blue.

Ink in the Edison Noveau Fine Nib:

• The ink started out fairly dark.
• This could be due to the pen and how wet of a writer it may be. 
• The more I wrote with it, the lighter the ink got and started matching what the Lamy Joy was putting out. (See image below)
• Very smooth; and fairly wet.
• More shading than what the Lamy put out.
• Glitter was also more apparent at first, than it was with the Lamy.

For both pens, I noticed that this ink does not seem to clog the pens (at least not as much as the rivals from J. Herbin may. Experiences from pen to pen and nib sizes may differ in results).

Left: Edison Noveau Fine Nib.              Right: Lamy Joy 1.1 Italic Nib

As you can see from the above image, it appears that the Noveau with a Fine nib, produced much more shimmer than the Lamy Joy did. Granted, it did take longer for the glitter to appear when using the Lamy Joy. For myself, I am glad that the ink performs very well in a fine nib since that is what I tend to write with 98% of the time.

With the Edison Noveau Fine nib.

So let's talk price. The shimmer inks are a bit higher cost than the regular Diamine inks. For a 30 ml bottle of the "Normal" Diamine inks, you are looking at approximately $7.00. For an 80ml bottle of regular Diamine ink, it costs $15.00.

If you want a bottle (50ml only option currently) of Diamine Shimmer ink, it will cost $20.00 (penchalet.com)
In price comparison to J.Herbin inks (I know, I said I wouldn't!) it will cost you between $24.00 (at Penchalet) and $26.00 (at Goulet Pens) for a 50ml bottle. So somewhat cheaper!

With the Edison Noveau Fine nib.

With the Edison Noveau fine nib - right at first start up seems to be a bit darker. Lightens up with use.

I definitely look forward to adding a bottle of this ink to my collection! Don't forget to go over to Pen Chalet and check out some of the awesome deals they have on Pens and Ink! Free shipping on orders of $50 or more!

Enter PENJOURNALPASSION to receive an Additional 10% discount!

Other Similar Ink Links:

• Gourmet Pens reviews Diamine Blue Lightning$20.00