Ink Review: Diamine Havasu Turquoise

[Chrissy]

My latest ink is Diamine Havasu Turquoise.

I have been collecting turquoise inks and samples since I bought a bottle of Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea, and finally found the time to compare it to other turquoise inks to see which was the closest current colour match for it. IMHO, the current closest colour ink to C d'A Caribbean Sea that is available is Kaweco Paradise Blue, and it's quality is comparable. I have that ink to review soon. Meanwhile, there are others that are quite similar, and deserve a mention in their own right.

Diamine Havasu Turquoise is one of them. This is despite the fact that it's quite like a sky blue/blue turquoise, and because of this, I deliberately compared it with Pelikan Edelstein Topaz to try to show you their similarities and differences. I am also reviewing Diamine Turquoise and Diamine Marine so that you can compare these two inks.

I have previously reviewed Diamine Steel Blue ink (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/11219-Ink-Review-Diamine-Steel-Blue?highlight=Diamine+steel+blue) and you will find reviews of Pelikan Edelstein Topaz ink as MI10 'Carli' under the Mystery Ink thread (http://fpgeeks.com/forum/showthread.php/12550-Mystery-Ink-No-10?highlight=pelikan+topaz)


Although this isn't a waterproof ink, it shows good water resistance, as do many turquoise inks.


Bearing in mind the paper I use is thick with a shiny surface, and I used a Lamy M nib, this ink took 17-19 secs to dry.


It flows through the pen very well and lubricates the nib very well. I saw no skips or hard starts while I did swabs and dry time tests.


It is currently available in 80ml glass bottles, 30ml plastic refill bottles or International sized cartridges.


Diamine (http://www.diamineinks.co.uk/) sell it directly to end-users on their web-site.


It's a reasonable price


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[Laura N]

Very nice review: I like how you distinguish among all these similar inks.

For some reason, Havasu Turquoise never floated my boat, but maybe because I already had Topaz.

[Chrissy]

Very nice review: I like how you distinguish among all these similar inks.

For some reason, Havasu Turquoise never floated my boat, but maybe because I already had Topaz.

You're welcome, and thank you.:)

I don't think you would need both Havasu Turquoise and P E Topaz in an ink collection either.

[Laura N]

Very nice review: I like how you distinguish among all these similar inks.

For some reason, Havasu Turquoise never floated my boat, but maybe because I already had Topaz.

You're welcome, and thank you.:)

I don't think you would need both Havasu Turquoise and P E Topaz in an ink collection either.

Exactly. I need that space for my 1,623 blue inks. :)

[Neo]

Very nice review: I like how you distinguish among all these similar inks.

For some reason, Havasu Turquoise never floated my boat, but maybe because I already had Topaz.

You're welcome, and thank you.:)

Only ,

I don't think you would need both Havasu Turquoise and P E Topaz in an ink collection either.

Exactly. I need that space for my 1,623 blue inks. :)

Only 1,623?

[Laura N]

Very nice review: I like how you distinguish among all these similar inks.

For some reason, Havasu Turquoise never floated my boat, but maybe because I already had Topaz.

You're welcome, and thank you.:)

Only ,

I don't think you would need both Havasu Turquoise and P E Topaz in an ink collection either.

Exactly. I need that space for my 1,623 blue inks. :)

Only 1.623?

Well, I'm not counting the blue blacks in that total, of course.

[Jon Szanto]

As a rather oblique aside, in my youth we made a couple of camping trips to Lake Havasu, on the California/Arizona border. It was relatively calm back then, but eventually became a massive tourist destination, with the obligatory party boat rentals, etc.

Havasu is the Mojave word for blue.

[Chrissy]

As a rather oblique aside, in my youth we made a couple of camping trips to Lake Havasu, on the California/Arizona border. It was relatively calm back then, but eventually became a massive tourist destination, with the obligatory party boat rentals, etc.

Havasu is the Mojave word for blue.

Ohhh I should have mentioned Lake Havasu in my review.

[KKay]

I just tried the Havasu Turquoise last night. I agree with everything you said, Chrissy. I have it in a wider nib, and will have to try it in a more narrow nib. It is fairly close to Edelstein Topaz. (but lighter in color, not as blue) I will know more with future testing. At this point, I must say I am impressed. I found with the wider nib, the shading was very good. (I love shading!) The shading is not quite as good as Topaz, but still very good in the pen I used. I thought the lubrication was better than most of the turquoise inks I've tried, some of them can be what I consider to be low in lubrication. This was the last of the more blue turquoise ink samples. I then will go on to Diamine-Blue Steel. That will complete my testing in that area.

[Chrissy]

I just tried the Havasu Turquoise last night. I agree with everything you said, Chrissy. I have it in a wider nib, and will have to try it in a more narrow nib. It is fairly close to Edelstein Topaz. I will know more with future testing. At this point, I must say I am impressed. I found with the wider nib, the shading was very good. (I love shading!) I thought the lubrication was better than most of the turquoise inks I've tried, some of them can be what I consider to be low in lubrication. This was the last of the more blue turquoise ink samples. I then will go on to Diamine-Blue Steel. That will complete my testing in that area.

I'm glad you like it. :)

[SIR]

Nice colour, thank you Chrissy!

[AzJon]

Growing up in Northern Arizona and being in close proximity to various tribes, I actually think this color more accurately reflects turquoise of the region. Turquoise around here tends to be very light blue and almost absent the green undertones that most associate (ink-wise) with the color as seen in jewelry here: http://mms.businesswire.com/media/20130628005724/en/374554/5/photo-3.jpg

[AzJon]

To add to that, this comes from the Sleeping Beauty mine in Arizona, famed for it's brilliant color.