I admit it. I’m a sucker for a vivid blue ink. There is something luminous and soothing about the swimming pool/Caribbean sea blue colors that can be created with fountain pen ink. They are translucent like watercolors and show a range of shading like rippling waves on a crystal blue waters. 3 Oysters Hanuel ($18 for 38ml bottle) is one of those ink colors.
Its hard to effuse about this ink as I feel like the photos speak for themselves. The color is eye searingly bright blue — a light cerulean sky blue.
(I confess I had to check online sources to verify its a cerulean blue not azure. Thank you, Mental Floss! Or maybe more Arctic? That would be fitting for this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere.)
What made me realize my penchant for this particular shade of blue was when I went in search of comparison inks. I eventually just cut myself off because as you can see above, I have amassed quite a collection. The Hanuel swatch is at the top with Diamine Turquoise (though Beau Blue is probably another option from Diamine, $15 for 80ml bottle), vintage Montblanc Turquoise, Pen BBS #275 Claude Monet ($20 for 60ml bottle), Sailor Jentle Yuki Akari (20 for 50ml bottle), and Waterman Obsession Blue (AKA Inspired Blue, $9.60 for 50ml bottle).
With so many bright turquoise ink options, there is no real reason to choose the 3 Oysters version over another brand. Waterman is half the price essentially and can be used in any fountain — modern or vintage. It also has a wicked sheen. The 3 Oysters Haneul has a little bit of sheen but its only visible in the large swatch and a tiny bit around the edges of the dip pen writing. If you like sheen, I’d recommend the Waterman. The Pen BBS Claude Monet is a bit cooler blue and also has a lovely sheen. The Sailor and Montblanc are almost identical in color and I suspect the Montblanc Turquoise is very close in color to the Montblanc UNICEF Turquoise ($43 for a 50ml bottle) that was released last year. And there’s also Lamy Pacific ($12 for 50ml bottle) which is a dead ringer for the Montblanc UNICEF Turquoise and not that far from the Haneul.
So, while I’m definitely a fan of this ink and color, if you already have a couple bright turquoise inks in your arsenal, there’s no real reason to purchase this one. And pricewise, if you want to get Turquoise-y, the Waterman is a much better deal with Lamy Pacific (previously known as Lamy Turquoise) coming a close second.
I feel like all my Inkmas reviews have been ho-hum about the ink colors. I am not an Inkmas scrooge, I promise.
Tools:
- Paper: Rhodia Ice No. 18 Lined with 6mm guide sheet
- Pens: Dip nib holder with Zebra G titanium nib ($33.50 per 10-pack), Acrylic dip nib pen (Approx. $15), Ferris Wheel Press “The Brush” Fountain Pen in Sunset Yellow ($183 CAD)
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) & Col-o-dex Rotary Cards ($15)
- Brush: Princeton Neptune #6 Round ($5.97)
- Ink: 3 Oysters Hanuel ($18 for 38ml bottle)
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