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.

Where I Went

A number of people who read this blog have been asking me where I've gone. I can't blame them. I've been absent from this blog for more than a year, after all. Though I have the usual futile excuses, I believe my absence is still beyond excuse. 

In my absence, I found Instagram, a simple social medium which allowed me to post my photos and thoughts. I like Instagram because it allows me to create a social post very fast. I can also edit photos, or apply filters before posting them. Sharing IG posts across platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr is also very easy. Instagram is like Twitter with followers, or Facebook status updates with photos. My Instagram affair began in June, after I finished a week of hosting Pelikan's #beingPelikan project. Now that I am going back to blogging, I feel it's only fitting that I share with you all some of the well-received photos in my Instagram account.

June 30, 2014. Lamy Al Star Ocean Blue and J. Herbin 1670 Bleu Ocean.
This was my first attempt at italic calligraphy in a looooong time. But my followers liked it! 90 likes.

July 2, 2014. Lamy Al Star Silver Green and Rohrer and Klingner Alt Goldgrun.
I've always been a Neruda fan, and I so love his Sonnet XVII. Who doesn't? 69 likes.

July 7, 2014. Lamy Al Star Silver Green and Rohrer and Klingner Alt Goldgrun.
I received a lot of positive comments from my previous posts, and around this date, friends were looking forward to my 'doodle' posts. I tried uncial calligraphy and broke away from the usual italic. This is from a book given to me by my boss a few Christmases ago. 66 likes.

July 8, 2014. Lamy Safari Blue (Diamine Turquoise), Lamy Safari Green (Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown), and Lamy Al Star Ruby Red (J. Herbin Poussiere de Lune). A mix of Gabriel Garcia Marquez quotations, and a mix of different ink colors. Lovely turquoise ink! But the quote in Poussiere de Lune is even lovelier. Deliberately used Instagram's Valencia filter on this one. 105 likes.  

July 10, 2014. Lamy Safari Creme Orange and Diamine Orange.
'Araw Gabi' (Day and Night) is a Filipino love song by Nonoy Zuniga. I heard this song over the radio and it stayed with me for a while so I doodled a part of it. What's surprising is that a lot of my non-Filipino IG followers liked this one! 76 likes. 

July 13, 2014. I used two Lamy Safari pens in this mix, but forgot the other one.
Inks are Pelikan 4001 Brilliant Brown and Diamine Crimson. I did a Marquez mix, why not a Haruki Murakami mix, right? Quotes from two of my favorite Murakami books. 78 likes. 

July 15, 2014. Lamy Safari and Diamine Orange, Sheaffer No Nonsense and Diamine Meadow.
This is the 'Glenda' doodle. On the night Glenda (Rammasun) was building up in Laguna, I was working on this doodle. We lost electricity later that night, and my calligraphy doodles came to a halt for 18 days as we languished in darkness. 88 likes.

July 30, 2014. Lamy Safari and Diamine Orange.
A friend called me 'emo' (emotional) after seeing this on Facebook. On July 30, we still didn't have power at home, which also meant no internet, no cable TV, no air conditioning, no refrigerator, no cold drinks, no lights at night!!! Who wouldn't be emotional with that?!? 101 likes. 

August 1, 2014. Pelikan M205 Duo and Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao.
Because the nights were quiter and darker, the sky became a discotheque of blinking lights. I remembered this Calvin and Hobbes quote, shared by a friend a few years back. Very, very apt. 80 likes.  

August 4, 2014. Pelikan M400 Grun and Noodler's Blue.
It was Monday and electricity was restored only a day ago. It felt like Christmas morning! Then I got introduced to the music by Brandi Carlile. Got this song on repeat for like, the whole week? 79 likes.

August 23, 2014. Platinum 3776 and J. Herbin Eclat de Saphir.
I was shooting some photos for this pen's review, and came across this wise reminder from the wise man himself. He's right, right? 88 likes.  

September 5, 2014. Pelikan M200 Cognac and Pelikan Edelstein Amber. I got a new Pelikan fountain pen and I can't get enough of it! Been using it a lot, even to wish everyone a Happy Weekend. 96 likes. 

September 9, 2014. Fountain pen inks mixed: J. Herbin Gris Nuage, Diamine Midnight, Diamine Majestic Blue, J. Herbin Bleu Ocean. I call this one my 'life event' piece. It was my first time to mix colors, and I received some excellent comments. It also became my application/screening piece for an art event in November. Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a favorite Russian author, and I will not forget this one from Crime and Punishment. 98 likes.

September 14, 2014. 'Green pens on a cloudy, gloomy, rainy, sick Sunday morning.'
Another thing I love about Instagram is it allows you to write about a topic and use a photo about an entirely different subject. Works all the time. 107 likes.

July 25, 2014. 'Updated Lamy box-fie, July 2014.'
My Lamy fountain pen collection. Two pens were added to the box and I had to do a box-fie. Thank God for 3G, this photo was uploaded to IG. Bestseller at 123 likes.

September 12, 2014. It was a Friday, and I just received some exciting news the night before.
Bliss was an understatement for all the happiness, excitement, and giddiness I felt that morning, but it seemed like the perfect word to sum it all.

So there. I went away for a while, and now I'm back. Watch this blog for new reviews and more products soon! And if you want to see my Instagram posts that did not reach this page, you can check my account at: http://instagram.com/clemdionglay. 

Ink Review: Sailor Jentle Grenade

O drops of me! trickle, slow drops,
candid, from me falling — drip, bleeding drops,

~ From "Trickle, Drops" by Walt Whitman

One of the joys from using fountain pens is the wide choice of ink colors for everyone to choose from. When I switched to full fountain pen use, I realized that there wasn't just one red or blue ink that I could use—there are a lot! In the last four years, I have built a collection of fountain pen inks including 13 red-based ink colors, and I'm still craving for more!

When Scribe Writing Essentials launched the arrival of Sailor products in the Philippines last September, I knew I had to test their ink offerings, and what better color to start the Sailor ink taste test—I chose red! Scribe sent me a bottle of Sailor Jentle Grenade to review, and I tested it on two different pens with regular and italic nibs, and on different paper types. Grenade did not disappoint, it gave me a blast!

My bottle of Grenade holds 50ml (1.7oz) of water-based ink and costs Php695 from Scribe Writing Essentials (for Philippine readers of this blog), while Goulet Pens (for international readers) sells it for US$12.50. This ink is a bit expensive, but it's worth the price.

Each bottle of Sailor Jentle inks comes with a plastic tube that serves as an internal reservoir to make filling pens easier. When the plastic tube is empty, just turn the bottle upside down and then right up again to let the ink into the plastic tube. Just make sure that the bottle's cap is tight and secure before flipping it to avoid spilling ink. The plastic tube is helpful especially when the ink level in the bottle is very low.

Grenade is a deep, dark red/purple/burgundy ink that is highly saturated, but has good lubrication and flows very well. It is smooth on all the paper samples I tried, and the shading is just amazing! While wet, it appears as dark red, but becomes dark purplish red when it dries. It is not difficult to read and looks beautiful either on white or non-white paper samples (ecru, beige, etc.)

For a saturated ink, Grenade dries fast (8mins) on the 90gsm Canson sketchpad and Kokuyo paper, but a little slower (12secs) on Rhodia paper from the Reverse Notebook I used in the written review above.

I did not have feathering and bleed through issues in the three paper types I mentioned, but Grenade bled heavily when I tried it on 70gsm copy paper.

Grenade shows unique shading when written from a wide-nibbed pen. The sample above shows Grenade (upper swatch) with J. Herbin's Rouge Hematite (lower swatch), or 1670 Anniversary ink, the only ink that I can compare Grenade to, for obvious reasons. Grenade has dark green shading, in a similar way to the 1670's gold flecks. The green shading is the reason I chose Grenade over Epinard.

Well, my red ink collection is growing, and though Grenade is only the first Sailor ink I reviewed, it is my 14th red ink. It will surely be on my top five favorite red inks because of its deep, dark purplish red color and amazing shading. Grenade is an excellent ink and I will get more of it when I finish the bottle.

Sailor Jentle ink is available in nine colors: black, blue, blue-black, ultra marine, sky high, epinard, grenade, apricot, and pêche. Sailor also offers two pigment inks, Kiwaguro (black) and Seiboku (blue-black), both  quick drying and water proof inks.

The bottle of Sailor Jentle Grenade used in this review is courtesy of Scribe Writing Essentials, the leading contributor of high-end reading and writing accesories in the Philippines. The red Lamy Safari and Rhodia notebook are from my personal collection.