Diamine Earl Grey Ink is a highly anticipated new release for 2017 by Diamine Ink Company. Diamine Ink Company has a wide variety of ink colors and bottle sizes as well as different types of inks as shimmer inks.
Diamine Earl Grey ink has sparked tremendous excitement and fanfare amount fountain pen writers. Although the color is a muted color, it is not a standard grey color of ink such as Diamine Grey or Sipula Fading Grey ink. Diamine Earl Grey ink has a darker shade of grey, allowing it to be used as an everyday ink color, The grey color doesn’t fade or diminish as it dries and has a slight purple hue to the color. Some reviews mention the ink as a slight blue hue, but we found the more of a purple hue to be prevalent.
Diamine inks are manufactured in the UK and are known to be easy on fountain pens. They are an inexpensive ink option in today’s ever increasing ink choices.
Continuing reading for a chance to win the bottle of Diamine Earl Grey Ink we used for this review.
We found the following traits while reviewing Diamine Earl Grey ink that you may find helpful:
Testing Factors
For our review we used French made Rhodia dot pad paper with a J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen. The glass dip pen has a tip that is equivalent to a fine fountain pen nib.
Bottle Sizes
It was first reported, or better speculated, that Diamine Earl Grey ink would only come in Diamine’s larger 80 ml. standard glass bottle size. However, Diamine has released the Earl Grey color in both their regular 80 ml. standard size bottle as well as their smaller travel sized 30 ml. plastic bottle. This makes it easy to test the ink without making a large purchase commitment. The smaller plastic bottle has a small opening, which makes it harder to gather those last few drops of ink but is more economical as a trial.
Cost
Diamine Earl Grey ink is reasonably priced for a UK imported ink at $15.00 for the large 80 ml. glass bottle and less than half that price for the smaller 30 ml. plastic bottle, retailing for $7.00.
Dry Time
We experienced a fairly quick dry time of 4-5 seconds when testing Diamine Earl Grey ink. This makes this ink a easy option for every day use.
Bleed Through
We did not experience any bleeding while testing Diamine Earl Grey ink, even during the cotton swab tests.
Feathering
We did not experience any feathering during normal use with Rhodia paper using Diamine Earl Grey ink. However, during the water test, we did see some slight feathering, but only at the wettest point of the test.
Water Test
During our water test, where we ran a wet cotton swab over a dried ink sample of Diamine Earl Grey ink, there was some feathering at the wettest points as well as slight color smear. Although, Diamine Earl Grey ink is not water proof, it held up reasonably well under the water test.
Shading
Diamine Earl Grey ink produces some nice shading characteristics from a dark grey color to a lighter grey-purple hue. The contrast is very nice and distinctive.
Conclusion about the Diamine Earl Grey Ink
Diamine inks are always a good buy and a reasonable value They offer a wide assortment of colors as well as other ink characteristics that we love. The dry time for Diamine Earl Grey ink is fantastic and the color is unique. Because the color is darker than normal grey ink, it shows up well and can be used as an every day color. The two bottle size options are great for those that would like a travel size or just a “sample” size to test a new color such as Earl Grey. Happy Writing!
Enter to Win
Enter to win the actual bottle of Diamine Earl Grey ink that we used in this ink review:
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I’m pretty much telling everyone this is what I want for Christmas. Looks so interesting!
How many bottles are you expecting?
What a great grey! Thanks for the review!
I actually voted for this color combo on reddit. I cannot wait to try it out!
Omg!!!! How exciting!!!! The color is absolutely stunning!!!
I’d love to see a review of Robert Oster Hippo Purple….
This looks like a Grey ink I would use often.
Oh, that looks great. I am always on the search for a good gray ink!
Would love to win the Reddit ink. Thanks for the giveaway!!
I’d love to see a review of the new Robert Oster Shake N Shimmy inks!
Ooooh, now this is a Gray I can get behind!
I do use one grey ink, but only rarely. I will definitely want to try the Diamine as I am know as a grey person.
I love grey inks and I love earl grey tea. Looking forward to trying this one! Thanks for the lovely review
I love the softness of the Diamine Earl Grey! I would definitely use this as an everyday writing ink.
I love this gray! The only way this would be better is if it smelled like earl grey tea! I love it!
Looks great! Love the purple color.
I’m definitely interested in trying this ink. It is seen all over the internet!
Would love a chance to win this ink, do t have much for my pen. Beautiful color
This is a great color. My favorite gray is Noodler’s Lexington Gray but this could change this.
As a fan of all sorts of earl grey teas and a fountain pen fan, I don’t there is a more aptly named ink for me. That said, my favorite ink is still Herbin eclat de saphire. The Herbin ink is almost the same color as the corn-flowers in creamy earl grey teas… Maybe creamy early grey should be the next ink someone comes up with.
I never considered gray ink until I read your review. I like Diamine ink, and Earl Grey looks like a winner. Thanks for the review and a chance to win.
I, too, voted for this color on reddit. Can’t wait to write with it!
I’ve only dipped a pen in it during a pen meet. It is a lovely ink.
Oooh! I love unusual greys, and this one looks fascinating!
My current favourite is noodlers back swan
I’ve never tried a grey in but this one looks pretty cool to start with. I also love Diamine as a brand.
This looks like a good grey ink
Very interesting grey ink!
I’m looking for another grey ink to go along with Lexington gray
I love this color and can’t wait to get some of my own! I also found out about it via reddit.
My favorite tea in an ink color! (That said, I think Earl Grey tea has more brown tones than the ink does).
I would like reviews of the new Diamine Shimmertastic inks.
I am excited to try it.
Thanks for the giveaway. I’d love to win this ink, just in time for winter. I’d love to see a review of waterproof inks.
This ink looks fabulous! I like a good grey ink (and Earl Grey tea as well) and one that could be an everyday ink. Great review.
The official ink of r/fountainpens, I’d love to have a bottle of it
This is a great review and I love Diamine inks but I’m still iffy on the color. It might be a bit light for me.
Thanks for this giveaway. As a tea fan, this would be a great ink to have!
Lovely color, I’d like to try it
I don’t think I’ve ever used grey ink, so this would be a nice change.
I’d love to see the new Diamine shimmertastic inks reviewed soon!
The shading is probably my favorite part
That’s such a great color !! I don’t have any grey in my collection.
What a beautiful grey! Thanks for the review! I think I’d love to see how it compares to Diamine’s graphite.
Everyone keeps telling me how amazing this Grey ink is. I have to know!
Omg!!! This is a awesome giveaway!!!
My favorite, most versatile ink is Diamine Prussian Blue. I love the understated blue-gray of that ink!
Have you reviewed Aurora Blue Black yet? I really want to try that!!
Yes we have: https://www.penchalet.com/blog/aurora-blue-black-ink-review/
I am just now running out of a large bottle of Diamine Grey. Would love to win this and see how the two compare.
Favorite ink- Sailor Yama Dori
I love Earl Grey tea, so I NEED this ink!