Diamine Earl Grey

[The Good Captain]

Diamine have informed me that a new ink, EARL GREY will soon be available as part of their general range, but ONLY in 80ml bottles. This will not worry me at all!
By way of explanation, I've included a comment from Phil Davies at Diamine who said the following:

"This ink colour was chosen by the members of r/fountainpens, a wonderful Reddit community of fountain pen enthusiasts. If you aren't a part of the community, join in - www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens!
"The EARL GREY will become part of our standard line but only available in 80ml."

My short review below was done using a Lamy Vista with M nib and on the usual Rhodia dot 80gsm paper.

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However, I think that this ink could well benefit from being used with finer nibs so I have included two other examples. A Lamy Vista with F nib and a Sailor Sapporo, also with F nib.

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Although never having used many grey inks, I have shown comparisons with the only other three I have. I found Earl Grey to be a nice mid to dark neutral colour, whereas Graphite has green undertones and Chopin, blue. That's of course a personal opinion. Silver Fox is too 'light' for my liking, and eyesight/legibility. It has no waterproof qualities at all.

I will be using this ink as a frequent addition to my rotation, and unlike Graphite, there's no 'interesting' smell - which we all know is just a factor in the dye components of that ink. Also, Earl Grey is dark enough to be easily distinguished from some of the 'pale' black inks that are knocking about.

I have no idea when it will be available but it's certainly worth considering.

[MarisaCactus]

Nice review, the original idea for Earl Grey was put forward by one of our members from the London, UK club.
Some people were not at all happy with going with grey, but I think it has come out rather well.

[Woody]

Thanks for that review. Interesting.

[Ahriman4891]

Thanks for the review! I was one of the Redditors who voted on the name and the color. The initial color was IMO too light to be usable (IIRC bluish like Chopin, but weak like the Silver Fox). I'm glad the organizer listened to those of us who wanted to make it darker. Will probably pick up a bottle.

[KKay]

Does it have any water resistance? I like the color, and the name.

[The Good Captain]

Thanks for the review! I was one of the Redditors who voted on the name and the color. The initial color was IMO too light to be usable (IIRC bluish like Chopin, but weak like the Silver Fox). I'm glad the organizer listened to those of us who wanted to make it darker. Will probably pick up a bottle.

My thoughts exactly. This is the first time I've seen it and will certainly get a bottle when available.

[The Good Captain]

Does it have any water resistance? I like the color, and the name.

I did my usual 30 minute soak test and rinsing, and the Earl Grey disappeared from the paper. Maybe an accidental spillage of some liquid could be mopped and the writing salvaged but I don't know for sure.

[jacksterp]

Was my choice, both color and name, on /r/fountainpens.

Will be ordering two bottles and the availability is imminent.

[KKay]

I have really been leaning towards more water resistant inks lately. Waterproof is even better, if I can get it. I do have Noodler's-Lexington Gray though, and it is supposed to be waterproof, or at least highly water resistant. I also have Iroshihzuku-Fuyu syogun. I probably won't buy that one again. I really enjoyed the Papier Plume-Oyster Grey sample. The Earl Grey is a nice color though. Did they ever say how much it would cost for a bottle?

[The Good Captain]

I hear from Diamine yesterday that Earl Grey will be made available in the 30ml bottles as well, which is good news!

[The Good Captain]

Did they ever say how much it would cost for a bottle?

As it was commented that it is to be part of their 'standard' range, I would have to assume that it will be normal price, excluding the sets or Shimmer/150th Anniversary ranges etc.

[Chrissy]

I rather like the colour, even though I don't use grey inks very often. :)

[AzJon]

I rather like the colour, even though I don't use grey inks very often. :)

I agree. Getting to vote along the way, I found this final product to be the first grey ink I like and will actually buy/use. I can't wait for it to become available.