J. Herbin Bleu Ocean 1670 Anniversary Ink

J. Herbin's new addition to the 1670 Anniversary line is Bleu Ocean, a great complement to their 1670 Rouge Hematite.  Like it's sister ink, Bleu Ocean's packaging is fun and elegant, touching on M. Herbin's travels as a sailor to India and other places on the Spice Trade.

While it's been touted as a blue-black ink, I'm not seeing much black in it. What I do notice is an icy tone I haven't seen in my other inks, something almost silvery-cool to this color.  The shading is fantastic, as the pics (all taken outside, mid-day to get the best light) show.

 

I was curious to see how the Bleu Ocean compared to Diamine's new Sargasso Sea, and was surprised at the closeness of the colors.  Sargasso Sea does seem to have a deeper hue, but Bleue Ocean is very close.  Both samples were swabbed twice, to really layer the color and look for differences/similarities.

I loved writing with this ink, especially in My Noodler's Ahab Flex fountain pen (which writes much better once I trimmed the feed).  I think the Bleu Ocean will become one of my go-to inks that I'll keep in one of my pens at all times for immediate use.  Drying time wasn't an issue, but that could be the Rhodia paper. If you find Bleu Ocean, grab a bottle and enjoy this beautiful blue ink.