(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)
Organics Studio inks are made in Maryland by Tyler Thompson. He offers several different series: Elements, Masters of Writing, Masters of Science, and Vintage Writing Ink. The Masters of Writing inks “attempt to merge a famous writer from previous centuries with a color that brings them to mind” (from the Organics Studio Masters of Writing page).
Ralph Waldo Emerson Twilight Blue is a dark blue ink with intensive magenta sheen. In fact, the ink is so sheeny, it’s actually hard to see the blue, especially in sunlight or bright light.
The ink comes in a brown cardboard box with a photo of Ralph Waldo Emerson, his signature, the dates of his life, and the date the ink was introduced (2017). The bottle is plastic and has a simple sticker with “O.S.” and “Ralph” with the photo of the writer.
For ink testing, I used my Oldwin fountain pen with a fine nib and Maruman Septcouleur paper white paper. Sometimes sheen doesn’t show up with fine nibs, but Ralph Waldo Emerson’s sheen certainly did. You can see the blue color best in the water test (the ink is not waterproof). The ink is also very wet. Even after 30 seconds of dry time, it smudged easily.
The chromatography test shows that Ralph Waldo Emerson Twilight Blue contains a base of peachy-pink with turquoise and blue tones.
The most striking feature of this ink is its exceptional sheen. I must say this is the sheeniest ink I’ve encountered so far. The magenta is so intense that it overwhelms the dark blue color.
Here are some close up photos of the sheen.
Although I am a big fan of sheen, Ralph Waldo Emerson Twilight Blue is actually too sheeny for me for a couple of reasons. First, I love blue inks, and I want to see the blue, but as I said before, the magenta sheen overwhelms the blue in this ink. Second, the sheen makes this ink sticky on the page. I used it in my Nanami Seven Seas journal, and it stuck to the facing pages and to my hand when I rested it on the page to write my next journal entry. Even after several days of drying, it still smudges and gets on my hand. Because of this, I doubt I will use this ink as a daily writer.
I wrote this journal entry on June 1 and on June 3 it still transferred to my hand
The ink also smudges even after days of drying
I love the innovative inks produced by Organics Studio. If you want an ink with intensive magenta sheen, then Ralph Waldo Emerson Twilight Blue is definitely the perfect choice. Just be aware that the ink smudges and is sticky even after several days of drying. You can purchase a 55ml bottle from Vanness Pens for $15.00.
(Vanness Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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