Review: Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea Fountain Pen Ink

Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea is a gorgeous turquoise blue fountain pen ink that comes in a pretty little glass bottle.

The packaging is very simple - just an outer shell of a box, but who cares, it's the sexy bottle inside we want! It looks like a cool inkwell from the side. Although it's a little deceiving because you'd think based on the weight of the bottle, there's a ton of ink in it. Alas, still just 30 mls. It makes a very attractive paperweight once empty as well.

Drying time is not too bad - between 20 and 30 seconds. This paper is fountain pen friendly as well though not as smooth as Rhodia/Clairefontaine paper, so drying time is not terribly long. There is no water resistance whatsoever, so don't be fooled by its name. It looks very pretty when swirled around with water and used with a waterbrush, but all your words will wash away. I tried swabbing the top line but failed, so it just ended up being a heavy swab. The bottom line is the proper one! Sorry. I have issues apparently. The top swab and 3x shows the depth of the color well, and the outline.

 

And just like on Rhodia/Clairefontaine-type paper, on this thin paper, there is no feathering, which is pretty awesome. 

There was bleed through on very thin paper (Staples sugarcane based notebook paper) but of course none on more fountain pen friendly paper.

The ink does look a little different when using a wet flexible type nib (Waterman 52V F-BBB in this case), and a wide nib (a TWSBI 540 1.1mm stub). In a flex nib, the ink tends to pool at the bottom of letters, whereas it is more evenly spread in broader nibs. Using this ink with a flexible nib is absolutely delightful - it's truly gorgeous to look at it, and flows very well.

Umm...sorry. I had issues while doing this review. Like not being able to spell properly. Or write.

Apparently, I have very few other blues or greens that are similar in color. Except Organics Studio Nickel, which I only have a little sample of.

 Caribbean Sea certainly resembles the beautiful Punta Cana. Le sigh. I tried to make the ink blob here look a bit like... something. Something serene. But it mostly looks like a hideous octopus.

Octopus-type smear.

Pretty Punta Cana waters.

In case you are curious, these are the supplies I used for this review. Pen supplies, that is. And what my desk looked like in the process.

Price
Goulet Pens - $23.00 for 30 ml

Overall
This is a gorgeous, well-behaved turquoise ink. Looks fantastic with all nibs, and the shading really shines with flexible nibs. And you also get the treat of a pretty little bottle. Highly recommended!