Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz Ink is the 2017 Pelikan Ink of the Year! This fabulous brown fountain pen ink  is a unique soft light brown, almost caramel color that shows a very slight orange tint. Each year Pelikan releases a new Edelstein ink color. Since Edelstein which means “stone” in German each color has a gemstone name. As with 2016’s,  Aquamarine Edelstein color, Smoky Quartz is a limited edition Pelikan ink color that once gone, will be discontinued.

There has been an amazing response to this new ink color since Pelikan’s announcement and we could not wait to get our hands on a bottle in order to produce this review. We fully expect Pelikan Smoky Quartz to be a popular color like 2015’s Amethyst and 2014’s Garnet, all of which are sold out. Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz is the 14th Edelstein ink color Pelikan has released. As with all Edelstein inks, Smoky Quartz is an easy flowing, easy to clean luxury fountain pen ink that ink connoisseur’s and novices alike have come to love and expect.

Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz Ink

Please note the following traits we have experienced while testing this German manufactured high quality fountain pen ink:

Testing Factors

We used Rhodia Graph “Block” paper with a J. Herbin Glass “dip” pen for this review. The dip pen is equivalent to using a fine fountain pen nib.

Bottle Sizes

Pelikan Edelstein ink comes in one of the best ink bottles on the market. The rectangle shaped bottle, has a wide lid and a large 50 ml. capacity size. The bottle itself is slightly concaved on its four sides and is a heavy bottle that serves well as a displayable ink well on any desk or credenza. The shape of the bottle not just beautiful but functional allowing the user to grab those last few drops of ink when running low by placing the bottle on one of its 4 sides.

Cost

Pelikan Edelstein ink is considered a luxury ink, retailing for $35.00, but is available at Pen Chalet for $31.50.

Dry Time

With the fine tip glass dip pen, the dry time was a reasonable 6-7 seconds. There was no color smearing after the ink had dried at all.

Bleed Through

We experienced no bleeding using Rhodia paper and the glass dip pen and a completely inked cotton swab.

Feathering

We experienced no feathering using Rhodia paper with the J. Herbin dip pen.

Water Test

We ran a soaking wet cotton swab over a ink sample that had dried for about 3 minutes, which produced some ink color smearing and feathering of lines. Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz ink is not waterproof or water resistant.

Shading

Smoky Quartz can produce some nice shading, when using a larger sized nib or italic/stub nibs. There is a nice dark brown color with the wetter, thicker lines, where the thinner lines produce a light caramel shade of brown.

Conclusion about the Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz Ink

Pelikan Edelstein Smoky Quartz ink will be a hot ink for 2017. The color is a very pleasing brown color that can be used for journal, notes, letter and office uses. This high quality ink flows well and will be easy on your fountain pen. The cost is expensive, but we have come to expect the higher cost with luxury inks such as Edelstein, Iroshizuku and Caran d’Ache inks and they are usually worth the cost. Smoky Quartz will not be around long as we expect it to sell quickly. Happy Writing.