Waterman Serenity Florida Blue Ink Review

[aurore]

Waterman Serenity (formerly Florida) Blue Ink Review


Prelude

This ink is legendary. Period. Nowadays with thousands of inks available the perception has changed (and honestly not without a reason). Nevertheless it is worth to remind why this ink is a living legend.

The ink has been around for many decades (most of the time as Florida Blue). And according to my friends who used it in school 50-60 years ago it has never changed (or at least not significantly). How many such inks do you know?

The colour of the ink is not flashy yet it is not dull (unless used in a dry pen). It looks serious but not lifeless – unlike some greyish IG/Blue-Black inks. In wet pens the colour is actually quite appealing, in super wet pens it is a vivid royal blue and even shows a bit of copper/bronze sheen.

For the majority the word currently usually associated with this ink is… SAFE. Indeed it is safe. And the main reason is not the acidity (the ink is very acidic while Japanese inks are usually alkaline) but the low dye load. For instance some currently popular sheen ink have many many times more dye in them than Waterman Serenity. It also has literally not water resistance. Due to these properties it is easy to wash and does not affect sacs, barrels etc. (but dipping gold plated trims in it is not the best idea).

As with most inks people are questioning whether or not it is suitable for work. All I can say several French presidents (at least de Gaulle, Mitterrand, d’Estaing) used it on a daily basis and that not for their grocery lists but for official papers. Though indeed in dry nibs it looks somewhat dull.


I tested it in Waterman Liaison F nib (with somewhat above average wetness).

The paper used is Oxford (a coated paper similar to Rhodia).

The water test performed with a huge drop (it took about 12 hours to evaporate so we may call it a 12 hours soaking). There is no water resistence. Absolutely.
Photos taken in a natural daylight (in a gentle sunlight).


Description

COMPOSITION: Dye based. A very low dye load, easy to clean.

COLOUR: Royal Blue. Less purple than Pelikan 4001 Royal Blue. In very wet nibs it is quite impressive, in dry a bit dull.

FLOW/LUBRICATION: The flow is very good and very consistent but not very wet. No lubrication really, flows freely but the feeling is nothing like Sailor. An old school free flowing ink.

FEATHERING/BLEEDING: Nope. It has a low dye load and is not overly wet.

WATER-/FADE-RESISTANCE: No water resistence. Fades like an average blue ink (some claims it is a real fader, not in my experience – just average, for instance Pilot Blue Black fades just as quickly).

SHADING/SHEEN: Shading depends on the pen and paper. Some sheen visible only in firehoses on coated papers.

CLEANING: Nearly instant with just a bit of water.


Summary

I know people who use it exclusively. On the other hand some – seeing so many vibrant, saturated and / or water resistant inks see no reason to use it. I quite understand that. However in wet pens it is worth. It is a calm and serious everyday ink.

Thank you for reading. Merry Christmas!



Photos taken in a gentle sunlight






Water resistance. Absent.