We recently began carrying Pelikan Edelstein inks. I first saw these at one of the pen shows and fell in love with the bottle. Truth be told, I’m a sucker for a cool ink bottle design.
The outer cardboard box is fairly standard, study cardboard and not excessively oversized. One nice touch is the front panel, which has a slightly slanted extra facet with a colored panel that corresponds to the ink color inside. The nice extra touch inside is the pair of styrofoam pads that rest on the “shoulders” to help keep it more secure in the box. (I know, you are thinking enough about the box, get on to the ink!!!) Hang in there, I’ll get to it…
The bottle itself is lovely. Very nicely done. A thick, heavy, solid-feeling clear rectangular shape with a twist – all four sides are slightly concave, and the lettering is very discreet. If you close your eyes, you would think you were holding an expensive bottle of men’s cologne.
Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire Ink Bottle
OK, on to the ink. Pelikan has been around for quite a while now, and is generally considered a safe & decent quality ink. The Pelikan Edelstein line is no exception. This line is named after gemstones, as Edelstein means gemstone in German. Currently, there are 10 colors available, including, Amber the LE Color of the Year for 2013. The other colors are:
Onyx
Jade
Aventurine
Topaz
Sapphire
Ruby
Mandarin
Tanzanite
Turmaline – Color of the Year 2012
Onyx is a nice deep dark black. For comparison, it seems to be as deep and intense as J. Herbin Perle Noire or Platinum Black. What else do you need in a black ink, really? A nice deep dark black ink, with no real hint of any underlying colors such as red or blue.
Pelikan Edelstein Onyx
Jade is a pretty color, more of a blue-green than a pure green. Very pretty on the swab, and even prettier on the page. Similar to Sheaffer’s Green, which I have always like for its intense “look at me” color.
Pelikan Edelstein Jade
Aventurine, the other green Edelstein color, is also very pretty. This is definitely more of a brighter green-y green, not quite as dark as Noodler’s Forest Green, but a little darker than J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage. I could see this as a pretty Christmas card signing color, or for St. Patty’s Day party invites.
Pelikan Edelstein Aventurine
Topaz has caught my eye, and my heart if you must know (Don’t tell Brian). A gorgeous deep turquoise, almost reminiscent of the ocean in Cancun one vacation I took a few decades ago. But that doesn’t help you imagine the color very well, does it? Similar to Noodler’s Navajo Turquoise and slightly darker than Sheaffer’s Turquoise. Between the color in my pen, and the way the light hits the bottles from the window in my office, this one stays with me.
Pelikan Edelstein Topaz
Sapphire is of course, one of my favorite stones. My engagement ring from Brian was a custom-made sapphire and diamond ring, and his ring (modeled after the Esterbrook cap trim band), has matching sapphires. So, this was definitely on my list to snag when our first order arrived. I was not disappointed. Gorgeous color, nice and intense, but not too dark. In fact, almost on the purple-y side of blue, definitely not a deep dark nay-ish shade here, folks…. A little brighter than my beloved Aurora Blue, and a little more intense and a hair darker than J. Herbn Eclat de Saphir, Edelstein Sapphire is now part of my permanent rotation.
Pelikan Edelstein Sapphire
Ruby is a pretty red. I notice that I’m describing all of these so far as pretty. Yes, my vocabulary is larger than that, but these are all really well done, pretty colors. Sheaffer’s Red is a little brighter than this, and Noodler’s Red is a little bit darker. I would call it a good Valentine’s or Christmas red. I like that it’s not too washed out, nor too brick-y, nor too orange. If I did red inks, I’d pick this one in my top 5.
Pelikan Edelstein ruby
Mandarin. Now, let me start by admitting that I’m not an orange person. I like orange juice, and I’ve always been a Syracuse University fan (Go Orangemen!!). I think Monarch butterflies are incredibly delicate and graceful. And, yes, my hair is sort of orange, but I digress. I’m not really an orange ink-minded writer. Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin is interestingly the only color not named after a gemstone, unless you count Mandarin Garnets. A nice bright intense orange, and quite lovely. I do like that the color is not as subdued as Noodler’s Apache Sunset, and if you have J. Herbin Orange Indien, you’ll find that Mandarin is a tad brighter I think, a little “sunnier”. It certainly brings to mind summer, Florida, and fun.
Pelikan Edelstein Mandarin
Turmaline was the LE Color of the Year for 2012, so if this color speaks to you, grab it before they discontinue it (just in case). Like with orange inks, I’m usually not a pink ink kind of girl. Maybe I’m biased because I can’t wear pink, or maybe I can’t stand the thought of bubble gum pink or Pepto-Bismol pink on the paper. Fear not, Turmaline may have reformed me!! Now THIS is a pink I can get behind, and even sign my name with. Definitely still in the pink family, not plumy, not Barbie pink. A deeper, more intense but still pink color. Really quite lovely, even I have to admit. I’m struggling to even find something close to compare it to, honestly. Brighter by a little and sharper than J. Herbin Rouge Bourgogne, and definitely brighter and pinker than Noodler’s Ottoman Rose. Noodler’s Shah’s Rose is close, but Edelstein seems a little clearer and cleaner, than that. For a non-pink ink girl, this one stays with me, and honestly, that says a lot.
Pelikan Edelstein Turmaline
Tanzanite had me holding my breath until it arrived. In a former “life” I had a number of pieces of tanzanite jewelry, and I was greatly looking forward to seeing the stones come to life in an ink color. I must confess, I was a little disappointed when I initially saw the swab of color. Don’t get me wrong, Edelstein Tanzanite is a pretty color, just not how I had envisioned it. Edelstein Tanzanite is a deeper, rich color, but more like a blue-black than the purple I imagined. Noodler’s Midnight Blue is very close, while Sheaffer’s Blue-Black seems washed out compared to this one. Rorher and Kingner’s Verdigris has similar intensity, but Verdigris is slightly more green than Tanzanite. This I could picture as a serious ink – one for work, for notes, for grocery lists. While I may have found my good all-purpose darker blue, I have not found my tanzanite jewelry purple ink.
Pelikan Edelstein Tanzanite
As a final note, Pelikan Edelstein inks do come in a truly lovely, heavy, solid clear glass bottle, almost heavy enough to double as a weapon. Starting at $22 a bottle, or slightly more for Tanzanite, Turmaline and Amber, it may seem like a lot of money, but some of the colors are truly unique, and the bottle is worth displaying, whether empty or full.
Lisa & Brian