Fountain Pen Inks Review: J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary Ink Bleu Ocean

In September 2012, two years after the successful launch of the revolutionary ink Rouge Hematite, J. Herbin introduced their second limited edition 1670 Anniversary Ink, Bleu Ocean. This deep blue ink was created to celebrate the adventurous sea voyages of J. Herbin to the Mughal (Mogul) Empire of India, the world's earliest center of production and processing of indigo dye during the time.

After Bleu Ocean, three more inks have been added to the 1670 Anniversary line — Stormy Grey, Emeraude de Chivor, and Caroube de Chypre — all with gold flecks and reminiscent of J. Herbin's experiences during his voyages.

I received a bottle of Bleu Ocean a couple of months after its launch, but I was unable to write a full review for a couple of reasons. The reformulated Bleu Ocean with gold flecks was launched in April 2015, replacing the previous ink without flecks. Now that I have samples of both, it's time for a review!

Two of the same: Bleu Ocean without gold flecks (left), and Bleu Ocean with gold flecks (right).

As a blue ink fanatic, Bleu Ocean has been one of my favorites. It's the only ink I use in my Ocean Blue Lamy AL-star, because their colors (and names) match. I can write with it for legal documents, journaling, calligraphy, and notetaking. When this ink was launched in 2012, J. Herbin followers were not happy with it. Its predecessor, Rouge Hematite, had a successful launch and fans raved about its color and the gold flecks in it. After the announcement for Blue Ocean's release, most people (okay, that included me) expected the ink to have silver flecks — as a follow up to Rouge Hematite, and to match the bottle's silver cord and wax seal as well. When it came out without the flecks, people were disappointed, and branded Bleu Ocean as "just another blue ink."

See the gold flecks in the bottle's opening? Cool! The 1670 bottle has a unique design, but it has a smaller opening than most other ink bottles. Filling big pens requires the help of a pipette or syringe. 

Flecks or no flecks, I love Bleu Ocean. Like its four siblings in the 1670 Anniversary line, it's a collector's item. The box design represents the life of J. Herbin as a French sailor. The 1670 bottle, despite the narrow opening, is lovely. The silver cord, wax seal, and waxed cap are beautiful, making every 1670 box and bottle true collector's items.

Gold flecks at the bottle's bottom.

The 1670 Anniversary inks box represents the life of J. Herbin as a sailor and his voyages to different places.

Although unconfirmed by J. Herbin, the blue color of Bleu Ocean seems to be derived from indigo dye, a natural plant-derived dye with a distinctive blue color. Once considered by the Greeks and the Romans as a luxury product, indigo dye is the color that is often associated with blue jeans.

To test the inks, I wrote on Tomoe River Paper using Lamy Safari and AL-star fountain pens, both with 1.1 nibs. 

Bleu Ocean reminds me of indigo Mediterranean tiles and the blue and white houses in Santorini. This exquisite ink also reminds me of both Van Gogh and Picasso and the depth and poignancy of their work. Van Gogh's Irises and Starry Night; Picasso's The Old Guitarist and The Blue Room.

Bleu Ocean evokes memories from years ago when I used to associate dark blue color with dusk and twilight and their accompanying sounds: crickets chirping, newscast on TV, my mother cooking dinner, our dog snoring, my brothers' banter.

Bleu Ocean has a dark, rich, deep blue color with soft hints of purple. It is a versatile fountain pen ink, and goes from bright purplish blue (Eclat de Saphir) to a dark, almost blue-black shade (Blue Nuit). It is more saturated than most J. Herbin inks, but flows smoothly, and can be cleaned off pen parts very easily. Fortunately, it dries faster than Rouge Hematite, and does not show any of the ugly nib creep in the fountain pens that I have inked with it.

A swab of Bleu Ocean without gold flecks. 

These ink drops took almost an hour to dry. I got this almost blue-black shade in my previous fills of Bleu Ocean in pens with broad, wet nibs.

Dark Bleu Ocean with sheen up close. Do you see this blue in Picasso's The Old Guitarist? I do.

Bleu Ocean with gold flecks was launched in 2015.

These ink drops took longer to dry than the ones without the flecks.

It's a thrill to see the gold flecks up close!

Because Bleu Ocean is a highly saturated ink, it takes longer to dry, around 8-10 seconds more than the regular Herbin inks, depending on the nib and paper. On Rhodia and Tomoe River Paper, it takes a bit longer to dry. It can be prone to smudging and is not water resistant.

It's a big help for fountain pen users to be able to clean their pens easily. Both inks are easy to clean off nibs and feeds of the two pens I used in this review, but I had a hard time taking off the gold flecks in the Lamy Z24 converter that I ended up disassembling it for a full cleanup.

Gold flecks and shading in my writing sample.

Bleu Ocean in Ocean Blue and Blue. Blue on blue.

If you use fountain pens regularly like I do, if you like J. Herbin inks, and if you have any of the 1670 Anniversary inks, I recommend getting a bottle of Bleu Ocean. Make this ink a part of your collection! The one without gold flecks has been out of production already, but the one with gold flecks is a versatile ink with beautiful shading and shimmer. Get one in your ink collection now! 

Both bottles of 1670 J. Herbin Anniversary Ink Bleu Ocean are from Exaclair USA, through the kindness of Karen Doherty, Marketing VP. 

The Tomoe River paper is from Scribe Writing Essentials, the leading distributor of fine writing instruments, specialty paper including Rhodia; fountain pen inks, including J. Herbin; and other fountain pen related accessories in the Philippines. 

J. Herbin products are widely available worldwide. For a list of authorized retailers, visit the J. Herbin website.

Fountain Pen Ink Review: J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary Ink Caroube de Chypre

When I chose to use fountain pens full time, I became enamored with fountain pen inks while most of them were unavailable in the Philippines, including the French brand J. Herbin. I like J. Herbin inks because of the variety of colors they offer. My favorites are Rouge Opera, Orange Indien, and Poussière de Lune. In 2010, J. Herbin introduced the limited edition 1670 Anniversary Rouge Hematite ink to commemorate their 340th founding anniversary. Rouge Hematite became so popular, that J. Herbin added four more inks into the selection.

My favorite J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary ink has always been Rouge Hematite. Even after three more inks were added to the collection, and though I thought that the non-sparkling Bleu Ocean is a beautiful blue, I always go back to Rouge Hematite. Stormy Grey and Emerald of Chivor are equally beautiful inks, only not as charming as Rouge Hematite to my eyes.

Caroube de Chypre, the fifth addition to the Anniversary Ink collection, was introduced this year. I did not get a bottle until last month, and I have to say that I was smitten. The rich, deep, brown color of this ink, with vivid red sheen and green halo, and the shimmering gold effect has bewitched me beyond Rouge Hematite.

Caroube de Chypre, or Cyprus Carob, got its name from the dried carob pods in Cyprus that were said to be a favorite snack food of the sailor J. Herbin during his voyages. In ancient Europe, carob pods were known as the "black gold of Cyprus."

The new Anniversary ink is presented like the four previous 1670 inks. The collector's edition box design represents the life of J. Herbin as a French sailor. The 1670 50ml bottle, despite the narrow opening that makes ink refilling difficult, is lovely. The gold cord, wax seal, and waxed cap are beautiful and make the 1670 bottle a true collector's item.

Caroube de Chypre's deep color takes me back as a young child in my grandmother's backyard, when on hot summer afternoons, my cousins and I would play hide and seek, careful not to rustle the dry leaves and reveal ourselves.

Caroube de Chypre brings me to Christmas breakfasts from the past, where my grandfather serves the family’s specialties: suman (glutinous rice cake) and thick, sweet, frothy dark tsokolate (chocolate) whisked expertly with the family's batidor (molinillo).

Caroube de Chypre reminds me of the big, colorful, shiny beetles that my young brothers and their friends collected in the mango and tamarind trees in our backyard.

Ah, Caroube de Chypre is full of nostalgia and reminiscences. A glimpse of its swatch on paper brings a rush of fleeting and hurried memories: a cup of steaming, hot, strong coffee shared with a friend; freshly baked chocolate chip cookies; aged wood; worn leather. Deep, rich, vibrant, and intense — memories or ink, these I will surely hold on to.

The gold flecks of Caroube de Chypre settles faster than the gold flecks of earlier Anniversary inks.

Caroube de Chypre writing sample on Tomoe River paper.

There are just two things that I do not like about Caroube de Chypre: it takes longer to dry (~8-10 seconds more than the regular Herbin inks, depending on the nib and paper), and it's not water resistant, but, hey, who would want to mess up this beautiful ink on paper? Caroube de Chypre is not as saturated as the original formulation of Rouge Hematite or Bleu Ocean, and the Edison Colier that I filled with it wrote smoothly. (And by the way, I don't care if I need to wait longer for it to dry up.) Despite being a saturated ink, Caroube de Chypre has good flow and does not have clogging issues. Contrary to other reviews, cleaning fountain pens that were inked with Caroube de Chypre was not difficult at all.

Double passes of Caroube de Chypre show this ink's depth, exceptional shimmer, and halo.

I tried some ink swabs to see the beautiful mix of dark red/brown, gold, and green. A single pass (top) shows lovely dark reddish-brown, and a moderate amount of gold flecks. Double and triple passes (middle and bottom) reveal a darker brown color with lots of gold flecks, and that incredible green halo around the swab.

I used three types of paper for this ink: Tomoe river Paper (ivory), Canson sketchpad (white), and a Korean brand sketchpad I received from a friend recently. Shading, shimmer, and halo are all present in both Tomoe River paper and Canson sketchpad. The sketchpad from Korea, however, absorbed all of the ink, and I did not see any shading and halo, but only a bit of the gold flecks and a lot of feathering.

There are a lot of gold flecks in this writing sample of Caroube de Chypre in Tomoe River paper. 
Despite the thick lines, it did not feather or smear at all.

Caroube de Chypre has a green halo!

More of this ink's beautiful shading, green halo, and gold shimmer.

This writing sample is written on white Canson sketchpad. Caroube de Chypre is such
a versatile ink that it goes from reddish brown to dark cocoa brown, to golden brown,
and greenish brown depending on the nib, paper, or light exposure.

The single pass ink swab is beautiful, but the double pass swab is incredible!

Caroube de Chypre feathered in this Korean brand sketchpad. I could still see some gold flecks, though.

The Q-tips I used for the ink swabs show the range of colors of Caroube de Chypre:
deep red, dark brown, gold, and green.

All five J. Herbin 1670 Anniversary inks (from top): Rouge Hematite, Bleu Ocean, Stormy Grey,
Emeraude de Chivor, and Caroube de Chypre

Perfect pairing: Caroube de Chypre and Edison Colier with stub nib.

If you use fountain pens on a daily basis, I recommend getting a bottle of Caroube de Chypre. It's a versatile ink with beautiful shading, shimmer, and halo. Get one in your collection now!


The bottle of 1670 J. Herbin Anniversary ink and Tomoe River paper in this review are from Scribe Writing Essentials, the leading distributor of fine writing instruments and accessories in the Philippines. A bottle of Caroube de Chypre retails for PhP1,195 at Scribe.

To get J. Herbin products, visit any of Scribe's stores in Eastwood Mall, Shangrila Plaza Mall, Glorietta 5, SM Aura, and SM Megamall. Scribe also has stores SM City and Ayala Center in Cebu. For their complete location/address, contact numbers, and store hours, click here.