Posted 08 November 2014 - 15:54

Anniversary Collection – on release from 17th November 2014.

To celebrate 150 years of the Diamine brand they have created the “Anniversary Collection”.

The new triangular design ink bottles contain 40ml and will be available in eight stunning

colours: these bottles when collected can be arranged into a beautiful round desk display. I haven't been given any notification of price point yet but unlike the previous two Diamine collections, all these new inks will be available separately from the start.

AND there are possible rumours of additional colours in the future!

As usual, my scans are of dip-tested writing, using Lamy Safari pens with M nibs. I use a small sable paintbrush for the 'swatches' but don't re-dip the brush between each one. The paper is my normal Rhodia 80gsm dot grid A5.

Diamine 1864 Blue Black

As you might expect, this is my favourite of all the Anniversary inks. A wonderful, rich dark blue-black with plenty of character. Obviously suitable for business and personal use and when compared alongside a black ink, 1864 definitely isn't! Fabulous!

Diamine Silver Fox

This is a mid grey in my opinion and although not one of my favourite 'colours' this one from Diamine will almost certainly be a winner. Along with Graphite, it will certainly find its way into my collection.

Diamine Regency Blue

A wonderful, deep blue which is nice and rich. Plenty of character and this again could be used for business and personal writing. Diamine have been careful not to make these inks similar to any others of their range and I can't compare it to any at all. Obviously, others out there might well liken them to others by different manufacturers but that's all part of the fun, isn't it?!

Diamine Safari

What can one say? The 'missing link' between Salamander and Evergreen! A fantastic colour and one which will definitely get into the Limoges collection. My joint second-favourite, it reminds me of that wonderful 'bush' grass colour and if I had to compare this one, I'd say it was like Epinard. But I could be wrong...!

Diamine Carnival

Gorgeous red – if that's your bag! I don't use them as a rule but have to say that this ink and colour impressed me a lot. I can imagine it being popular and, along with Ciamine/Cult Pens Deep Dark Red, could well complete my collection at this part of the spectrum.

Diamine Blue Velvet

This wonderful ink is my second-favourite of the set; but only just and by the proverbial gnat's whisker! Bright and cheerful are the best words I can use to describe it and I just love it. It seems to be between Aster and Cornflower from the Flower set and it fits in that gap nicely. A lovely blue and my second favourite of the set.

Diamine Terracotta

This one has grown on me since I did the test and have typed this out. Not too pale at all and even dipped and on Rhodia it seems to shade quite well. Not that that bothers me in the slightest. A good colour but not one of my usual ranges.

Diamine Tropical Green

A good mid green with just a hint towards the blue side, according to my eyes. I bet it would look great on ivory or yellow/legal paper. It could be the only green to get if that's a colour that you hadn't considered before.

As I mentioned, these eight inks are being sold separately and that is going to be a real bonus for Diamine. A newly-designed and hand-illustrated box with ink colour label completes the packaging. Each bottle is labelled uniquely, with the colour on the label and side panels which are printed on the sides of the boxes although that isn't quite clear from the photograph, supplied by Diamine.)

This example is for the 1864 Blue Black.

Finally, as if we didn't know, the inks have been developed to celebrate the 150th Anniversary.

May we all wish Diamine well - a wonderful British achievement!