Pen : Lamy AL-star, M-nib
Paper : Rhodia N°16 notepad 80 gsm
Zürich, spring of 1848.
I recently visited St. Beatus Caves at the Thumersee, where – according to legend – the holy man fought a dragon. Sun rays from the cave’s mouth lighted up the dark interior, casting a yellow-green reflection on the walls. You can almost imagine the dragon guarding its golden treasure, its scales a green-golden sheen in the reflected light. Ah… this setting inspires my muse. Yes… I see an epic hero-filled story spanning several operas. I will call it “Der Ring des Nibelungen”.
In 2015 Diamine released the Music Collection, a set of 10 subdued ink colours named after well-known composers. In this review, we take a look at Wagner. After the above introduction, you’re sure to remember that this is an inspiring yellow-green ink.
Diamine Wagner is probably the most intriguing colour from the Music Collection. A wonderful yellow-green ink that looks especially nice on white paper. The ink behaves really well on all the papers I tested – even on Moleskine there was no visible feathering and only limited show-through and bleed-through. What I really appreciated is that the ink works wonderfully in all the nib sizes – even the fine ones – getting a bit darker in the broader nibs. The contrast with the paper is excellent, resulting in an easy read without the ink dominating the page. This inks also shades beautifully with just the right balance between light and dark parts. I’m loving it !
Not an ink for the workplace, but what a great choice for personal journaling ! A comfortable chair, a journal with quality paper and a fine pen filled with Wagner… and I’m happily purring like a kitten 😉 Water resistance is poor – that lovely golden-green colour quickly dissipates, but a readable faint-grey residue remains.
Diamine Wagner is a great ink, and probably the crown jewel of the Music Collection. If you’re looking for an ink outside the usual colour spectrum, this ink will definitely fit the bill. It’s a gorgeous ink for personal correspondence. I really enjoyed it, and I’m sure you will too !
Technical test results on Rhodia N° 16 notepad paper, written with Lamy Safari, M-nib
See also: doodle – ink challenge – perfect match
[Originally published on the Fountain Pen Network, on 25 March 2017]
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