Lamy Crystal Azurite Ink is one of ten recently introduced ink colors from prolific German pen company, Lamy, as part of their entirely new line of ink colors intended to inspire creativity. The regular Lamy ink line contains basic colors housed in a unique 50 ml glass bottle. In addition to their regular line, Lamy releases one new special edition ink color each year. The special edition Lamy ink color for 2019 was Bronze. However, with the release of its new “Crystal ink” line, Lamy introduced ten additional ink colors; all based on different crystals and all both brilliant and inspiring. Everything about Lamy’s Crystal line of inks is different: the price, the bottle, packaging, colors, and even the amount of ink. We hope you enjoy this introduction into Lamy’s unique Crystal Ink line.
Lamy Crystal Azurite ink is a deep purple color that is both dark and majestic. It has some nice traits that we’ll discuss below and is dark enough on paper to be used as an everyday color of ink at the home or office. Other Lamy Crystal ink colors are: Agate (gray); Amazonite (turquoise); Benitoite (blue/grey); Ruby (red); Obsidian (black); Topaz (copper brown); Rhodonite (pink); Peridot (green) and Beryl (berry). Pen Chalet is proud to be an authorized retailer of Lamy products including the regular ink line, its Crystal ink line and fine writing instruments.
Continue reading for a chance to win the bottle of Lamy Crystal Azurite ink we used for this review.
Lamy Crystal Azurite Ink Review
During our review of Lamy Crystal Azurite ink, we found the following traits that you may find useful when choosing your next ink:
Testing Factors
For our review of Lamy Crystal Azurite ink, we used a French-made J. Herbin glass dip pen on Rhodia dot pad paper. The dip pen has a tip that is similar to a fine-medium fountain pen nib. Please note that different pens and paper may produce different results.
Bottle Size
Lamy Crystal Azurite ink comes in beautiful heavyweight rounded triangular 30 ml glass bottle – a brand new look for Lamy. Each bottle comes in a professional looking cardboard box that reflects the color of ink inside. The box is well designed and includes some internal structure protecting the ink bottle. The new Lamy Crystal ink lid is a large mouthed aluminum lid with a crystal embossed on it. For extra protection, each lid seals on a plastic liner which is, conveniently, the color of the ink inside.
Cost
Lamy Crystal Azurite ink is more expensive than Lamy’s regular ink line, retailing for $16.00 in the USA, but at Pen Chalet you’ll find it is available at a discounted price, making Lamy Crystal Azurite ink a low, mid-range priced ink option in the market today.
Dry Time
During our review of Lamy Crystal Azurite ink, we found it has a very reasonable dry time of approximately 6-7 seconds, making it available as an everyday ink option.
Bleed Through
Lamy Crystal Azurite ink is a very dark ink, but we found no bleeding during regular use. However, during our cotton swab test, we did notice a slight amount of bleed through on Rhodia paper.
Feathering
We found no feathering during normal use while testing Lamy Crystal Azurite ink. While we did notice some slight feathering during the water test, the lines remained legible and distinct.
Water Test
During our review of Lamy Crystal Azurite ink, we conducted a water test where we let our ink sample dry for about 3 minutes. The results of this test were typical for non-waterproof ink: significant color smearing and slight feathering. Due to the dark color of Lamy Crystal Azurite ink, significant color smearing is to be expected. Lamy Crystal Azurite ink is not waterproof ink.
Shading and Sheening
Lamy Crystal Azurite ink is a very dark purple, but with the right penmanship and nib, may produce a lighter purple to go with the deep dark shade. In fact, with a very wet nib, you may see some green metallic sheen.
Conclusions: Lamy Crystal Azurite Ink
Although Lamy Pen Company is known worldwide for its fine writing instruments, Lamy also produces some very nice (and economically priced) fountain pen ink. Lamy Crystal ink is a brand new series of inks with an updated bottle, look, packaging and color. Our first shipment of Lamy Crystal inks sold out almost immediately with very positive customer responses. Lamy Crystal inks are now fully stocked again and ready to ship. Lamy Crystal Azurite ink has a very reasonable dry time and seems to offer some shading possibilities even though it is a very dark color. Happy Writing from Germany!
Enter to Win
Enter to win the actual bottle of Lamy Crystal Azurite ink that we used in this ink review:
