Eye Candy: Herbin 1798 Kyanite du Nepal

I know lots of other folks have already reviewed the latest sparkly metallic Jacques Herbin ink. It’s not that I meant to put it off but we’ve been pretty busy here at The Desk. So, now it our turn to show off the latest sparkly goodness from the House of  Herbin. As it’s been mentioned, 1798 is the name that Herbin give to their annual sparkly ink with silver particles versus the 1670 which contains gold particles (unless it’s Rouge Hematite and then all bets are off). So, the latest iteration is 1798 Kyanite du Nepal ($28).

To quote the J. Herbin web site:

Since the discovery of the famous mining region of Nepal, Kali Gandaki, Kyanite has been recognized as a noble mineral because of its similarities with the rich tones of sapphire.

There is a good deal of fine silver in the ink and the turquoise color is  gorgeous.

When it come to turquoise ink, there are a lot of options so I had a lot to compare Kyanite with. I was able to compare Kyanite to both metallic inks and non-metallics.  First and foremost, I was able to find the closest non-metallic Herbin ink which is Bleu Pervenche ($12.95). The two Robert Oster inks that were closest were Blue Water Ice and Soda Pop Blue ($17 each). The metallics that were close matches were Robert Oster Shake-n-Shimmy Blue Moon ($24), De Atramentis Pearlescent Cyan Blue Silver ($14), and Diamine Shimmer-tastic Blue Lightning ($24). PenBBS #275 Claude Monet ($20) is a metallic turquoise but a little lighter.

Given the options, is Kyanite du Nepal worth the few dollars more per bottle than some of these other metallic inks? I don’t know. Diamine and DeAtramentis both seem more sparkly in smaller writing but all of them, including Kyanite, require constant movement to keep the particles evenly distributed. So, if you prefer the upgraded packaging and the slightly more aged silver look to the brighter, whiter silver of the others, then consider Kyanite. What I don’t recommend is buying all five metallic turquoise inks with silver particles. It really is s bit excessive.

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by J. Herbin* for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.

*I really wish that House of Herbin would go back to calling themselves J. Herbin. All these J. Herbin/Herbin/Jacques Herbin variations are tiresome. Louis Vuitton is always Louis Vuitton, Chanel is always Chanel and Hermes is always Hermes. It seems un-French to change your name three times in as many years.