Today I’m excited to show a new ink from Montblanc – Homage to Victoria and Albert. I purchased my bottle from the online Montblanc store, but it is also available at Dromgoole’s, Pen Boutique, and other Montblanc retailers.
Homage to Victoria and Albert (referring to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) is a minty green ink that is much darker than the box had lead me to expect.
I love the artwork on the inner box, but I was disappointed that the outer box is plain white. Most Montblanc inks have artwork related to the theme of the ink on the larger box along with a colorful inner drawer box featuring the color of the ink. I wonder if this could be a sign of Montblanc cutting costs on printing.
While some mint-colored inks lean heavily blue, Victoria and Albert is absolutely green with blue undertones.
Callifolio Teodora is close in color when swatched, however, in writing, Victoria and Albert is much brighter.
Shading is the biggest feature of Victoria and Albert with no apparent sheening or haloing.
The combination of Victoria and Albert on Cosmo Air Light doesn’t show the same extreme shading as Tomoe River paper.
My newest paper addition, Midori MD Light, is cream-colored paper (not my favorite), shows the ink as a greener shade and darker as well.
Tomoe River paper (top) and Cosmo Air Light paper (bottom) in the same photo make it easier to see the shift in blue tones.
The 50mL bottle of Montblanc Homage to Victoria and Albert sells for $40 or $0.80 per mL. Compared to the price of Sailor 50 States inks ($20-$25 per 20mL), Montblanc special edition inks are beginning to seem more reasonable. I’m always excited to add a new color to my collection and I’m very glad to see another original color from Montblanc!
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were purchased by myself. Please see the About page for more details.
Hmmm…
Not quite bright enough for me. But I am curious what mint green has to do with Victoria and Albert. Do you know?
This is a color that the Royals in the mid 19th Century seem to have loved. I believe it started a generation before Victoria, in the time of Adams, the great English interior designer. He used a similar palette in the classical interiors he designed: mint greens, eau de nil, cool tones that contrasted with classical, white or off-white moulding, without being too “hot”. It is interesting that the late Queen loved a robin’s egg blue (with a touch of green), which seems to be why Tower Bridge is painted that color.
Interesting, my use of the ink shows something darker and less vivid…!
Thanks for sharing your exprience, though.