You are reading the Robert Oster Crystal Marine shimmering ink review. And this feature of one of the most popular shimmering inks in the Shake ‘N’ Shimmy ink series was a special request. (In complete honesty, we regularly get requests for reviews of Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy fountain pen inks. There’s just a lot of love in the world for these beauties. So, don’t let it distract you from today’s ink review and don’t let the word get out because that’s a lot of pressure, but to fulfill a chunk of Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy ink review requests, we’ll also be sharing a fantastic ink comparison in a couple weeks featuring the different blues and purples available in this coveted fountain pen ink collection. Look forward to it). But for now, read on for all the beautiful little details about Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy Crystal Marine ink.

All About the Ink Maker: Robert Oster

At the risk of sounding like pretty dedicated stalkers, we’re going to say it again. We love Robert Oster around here. His Australian ink company, Robert Oster Inks, offers the widest variety of fountain pen inks (pen people are always gushing about the amazing variety) and they’ve earned a very solid reputation throughout the pen and ink industry as dependable inks with good shading traits, vivid color options, and characteristics that are both stunning and usable (which can be surprisingly difficult to come by). We carry about 150 different Robert Oster ink colors right now in a couple different ink series:

• Robert Oster Signature Inks
• Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy Inks

Special Edition Robert Oster Inks: We also love seeing the special promotions Robert Oster comes up with like Special Edition Shake ‘N’ Shimmy NO FIXED ADDRESS fountain pen ink that is not only completely amazing, but makes the world a better place with each sale. (For every bottle of NO FIXED ADDRESS fountain pen ink sold, Robert Oster provides 4 meals to people in need).

Robert Oster Exclusive Signature Inks: Most Robert Oster inks are a reflection of the Australian landscape the company calls home. However, Pen Chalet recently released 4 Exclusive Robert Oster colors inspired by Arizona, the USA state Pen Chalet calls home. Check out the Pen Chalet Exclusive Robert Oster inks.

This week’s featured ink, Crystal Marine, is from the very popular Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy ink series.

All About the Ink Series: Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy Ink Series

This week’s ink is from the Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy ink series. The shimmering inks introduce bits of magic with a sparkle or shimmer element in each of the shimmering fountain pen inks. There are currently 26 different Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy fountain pen inks being produced, including the one Special Edition Shake ‘N’ Shimmy ink mentioned above. Each has a lovely gold or silver toned shimmer that shows up well on paper, creates absolutely stunning ink splashes, and makes your writing pop.

This Week’s Featured Ink: Shake ‘N’ Shimmy Crystal Marine Ink

Robert Oster Crystal Marine ink is a bright, blue-green teal color of ink with a silver sparkle. This Shake ‘N’ Shimmy ink is beautiful and has been one of the best-selling Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy inks we’ve ever carried (and we basically carry all we can get). The luscious teal blue-green ink shows up very dark on paper, and can be used as an everyday dark color ink or for special projects, notes, journaling, etc. We experienced a super consistent sparkle throughout our different review tests. {Quick Tip: When using any shimmering ink, an art pen, calligraphy pen, dip pen, or brush type pen is an excellent choice if you’re hoping to see the most consistent influx of shimmer in your writing}.

***Feeling impatient, and want to skip straight to the giveaway? Don’t worry – we’ll allow it. Just scroll straight to the end of the review, and you’ll see where you can enter to win! Come back and read the full review later though – you don’t want to miss out on this week’s featured ink.

It’s Time: Robert Oster Crystal Marine Shimmering Ink Review

This week we put Robert Oster Crystal Marine shimmering ink through our standard ink review tests. And we’ll share all the details right here!

Robert Oster Crystal Marine Shimmering Ink Review:

Ink Review Testing Factors (to keep things scientific):

We used a French-made J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen (with a tip comparable to a medium-fine fountain pen nib) and Rhodia dot pad paper.

Let’s Talk About the Robert Oster Ink Bottle:

Robert Oster Crystal Marine shimmering ink comes in the company’s standard PET environmentally friendly plastic 50 ml. ink bottle. The simple leak-proof cap is easy to use and offers a great seal. Each bottle is identical, with a simple white label printed with a representation of the color on the cap. Robert Oster uses no additional packaging, which keeps the cost down for everyone. This is one of the Shake ‘N’ Shimmy inks, so the cap and Robert Oster bottle label are silver.

How Much Does Robert Oster Fountain Pen Ink Cost?

This week’s Robert Oster ink is a Robert Oster Shake ‘N’ Shimmy ink. It comes in a 50 ml. ink bottle and is directly imported from Australia. As a shimmering ink, Crystal Marine is slightly higher priced than Robert Oster Signature inks, but this shimmering ink is still available at a good mid-range price. Check current pricing at PenChalet.com.

How Did This Week’s Ink Fair in the 1-Dip Test?

We conducted a 1-dip test with Robert Oster Crystal Marine shimmering ink using a J. Herbin spiral glass dip pen and Rhodia dot pad paper. (For the 1-Dip Test, we dip the pen in ink once for each of three different writing samples. The three writing samples include: “S,” “X,” and scribble lines. The test looks for how well the ink performs on paper by showing if the pen runs out of ink before completing a full line). Crystal Marine ink very easily wrote across the paper on all three writing samples with lots of ink to spare. And we noticed consistent shimmer all the way throughout the entire line.

How Fast Does the Crystal Marine Ink Dry?

Robert Oster’s Crystal Marine fountain pen ink showed a dry time of approximately 8-9 seconds with medium saturation, which is a very reasonable dry time (especially for a shimmering ink).

Does Robert Oster Crystal Marine Ink Bleed Through?

We saw absolutely no bleeding during normal use and only saw very slight bleeding during the heavy saturated cotton swab test (but only at the very wettest point).

Was There Any Feathering While Using Crystal Marine Ink?

We saw no feathering during normal use on Rhodia Paper. There was some slight feathering and line distortion during the water test, which is expected with any non-waterproof ink. The lines were still very legible.

How Does the Ink Stand Up to Water?

For the water test, we let an ink sample dry for about 3 minutes before running a wet cotton swab over the sample. We saw heavy color smearing, but that’s very typical for a dark, non-waterproof ink. The lines were still legible (with some very slight distortion and line fading. Again, expected for a dark, non-waterproof ink).

What About Shading & Sheening Traits?

Robert Oster Crystal Marine ink showed some nice shading possibilities with the right nib and penmanship. We also saw a slight dark red sheen at the wettest point of the cotton swab test. Always bringing something new to the page – such a complex, wonderful ink!

Final Conclusion on this Week’s Featured Robert Oster Ink:

Crystal Marine is a mid-ranged priced ink for the 50 ml bottle size of imported shimmering ink. The absolutely beautiful blue-green teal ink color shows up very well on paper, and comes to us from well-regarded and prolific Australian ink company, Robert Oster Signature Inks. The approximate 8-9 second dry time is very reasonable for a shimmering ink, making this shimmering ink particularly usable as it’s appropriate for a variety of projects. The packaging (if you’re not already familiar with the Robert Oster packaging) is simple and effective. As with any high saturation, shimmering, or sheening ink, we recommend that you periodically clean your pen using a pen solution such as Pen Chalet pen flush to avoid unwanted clogging. Happy writing from Australia!

Enter to Win a Robert Oster Fountain Pen Ink:

Enter to win the actual bottle of Robert Oster Crystal Marine shimmering fountain pen ink that Pen Chalet used in this week’s ink review:

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