This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 17 door:

Day 17’s ink is Diamine Winterberry, a bright red ink with chameleon shimmer that ranges from pink through red to gold. I used a Lamy AL Star with an extra fine nib to test it out.

After yesterday’s drab Diamine Tundra it’s very nice to a truly festive, joyous ink. Is Winterberry practical? No, but who cares: it will make you smile and brighten up your day. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need an ink to do.

The chameleon effect on Diamine Winterberry makes the letters shimmer and glow, and also tones down the red colour. The effect is an impressive red that isn’t harsh thanks to the chameleon shimmer.

Diamine Winterberry is the perfect ink for anything holiday related, and it’s bound to impress, especially if you use it in a wide nib. Even with this fine nib you get the impact of the red colour with some of the impact of the chameleon shimmer:

Here’s a photo of the writing sample from a different angle, where you can see the chameleon effect better:

Diamine Winterberry is a relatively “flat” ink (there’s not much shading going on with it), which is why the chameleon shimmer compliments it so well. There’s something about this ink that wants you to write greeting cards full of Mariah Carey lyrics.

Today’s bear is a small German bear in a very unusual green fur colour. He’s called Apfelino and is No 39 of 133. I bought him in York.

It’s nice to have a completely impractical, utterly joyous ink like Diamine Winterberry. Would I want an entire calendar full of inks like it? No. But after some of the greys and browns in this year’s Inkvent it’s nice to have an ink like Winterberry make its appearance.

What do you think of Diamine Winterberry? Do you see yourself using it regularly?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 16 door:

Day 16’s ink is Diamine Tundra, a standard grey brown ink with a good amount of shading. I used a Lamy LX fountain pen with a fine nib to test out this ink.

Diamine Tundra really brings out the drab in this year’s calendar, because what’s Christmas without a mousy brown ink?

I had the same reaction to Diamine Tundra as I had when seeing 2025’s Pantone colour of the year: but why?

Diamine Tundra is a pale raw umber colour so it work well for sketching, especially with its shading properties. That’s one of the few things it has going for it.

Today’s bear is tiny (not much larger than the size of your hand) and is a one of a kind British bear called Murdock. I bought him in York and he’s designed and made by Carole Richardson.

I have no idea what made Diamine think that including Tundra in this year’s calendar was a good idea. Was there a need for a depressing colour? Did someone lose a bet? In any case I’m not going to purchase a full bottle of this ink, even though I often use my fountain pens for sketching and it’s a decent colour for that.

What do you think about Diamine Tundra? Do you like it?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 14 door:

Day 14’s ink is Diamine Mint Twist. It’s a dark Eau de Nil or light viridian green coloured ink with some shading and chameleon shimmer that goes from green to blue. I used a Pilot Metropolitan with a CM (Calligraphy Medium) nib. This nib is weird one – it lays down a wide line but somehow it’s also a dry nib.

The chameleon effect on Diamine Mint Twist is less impressive than on other chameleon inks. The base colour itself is a nice artificial pastel-y green.

Here’s a close up of the chameleon effect. I think an additional colour here – a pink for example – would have punched it up a bit.

Here’s a writing sample on original Tomoe River Paper. You can see the shading, which is there but isn’t very pronounced, and some of the chameleon effect.

Every Diamine Inkvent has to have its share of green inks, and this year’s calendar isn’t an exception. Diamine Mint Twist isn’t the first or even the second shade of green you’d think of when “Christmas” comes to mind, but it is a nice, calming shade of green with the addition of some shading and a bit of chameleon effect to add interest to it. It really reminds me of the green that Fortnum and Mason uses, and as I love F&M that’s a bonus for me.

I had trouble sketching today’s teddy bear. The first sketch came out wonky because I was distracted while sketching out the initial proportions, so I made a second sketch further down on the page. That’s when I discovered that I had managed to write the pen dry (I purposely don’t fill the Inkvent testing pens full). That meant that when it was time to write the name of the ink used for the sketch I was writing on ink fumes.

Today’s teddy bear is a German Hermann teddy bear, numbered but not named. I bought him in York, mostly for his unusual eyes.

Diamine Mint Twist isn’t the most festive of green inks not the most dazzling ink in Diamine’s lineup (or indeed in this year’s Inkvent calendar). It is somehow in the “also ran” category of Inkvent inks for me, likely because it isn’t very practical due to the chameleon shimmer, yet it also doesn’t have much of the wow effect that the chameleon shimmer usually adds. I’ll be skipping a full bottle of this one, though I have some fondness to the base Eau de Nil colour.

Would you have changed Diamine Mint Twist’s chameleon effect? Do you see yourself using it?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 13 door:

Diamine day 13’s ink is Diamine Lullaby a standard lilac/purplish-pink with a nice amount of shading. I used a Waterman Phileas fountain pen with an extra fine nib to test out this ink.

Diamine Lullaby is a light and unsaturated ink, and so you get a lot of shading even with a very fine nib.

It’s difficult to photograph inks on the purple spectrum but Diamine Lullaby is about halfway between Diamine Memory Lane and Diamine Harmony. It’s pinker than Memory Lane and bluer than Harmony.

You can really see the shading you can get with Lullaby in this original Tomoe River Paper writing sample:

Diamine Lullaby is a readable lilac ink – but only just. It shades nicely, and has a nice and interesting colour variation between pink and light purple. Would I use it as a daily writer? Likely only in a wider nib or if it was a shade darker. As it is there’s something about it that feels a bit washed out. Here’s a writing sample on Rhodia paper:

And here’s today’s bear sketch on Midori MD Cotton paper. You can see how pale Diamine Lullaby is, especially in a true to size extra fine nib like the Waterman Phileas (which is one of my favourite pens to use for sketching).

Here’s today’s bear, Dean’s Rag Book Company Centenary Bear, Truffles:

Diamine Lullaby doesn’t really say “Christmas” to me, and in terms of practicality it scores low because it’s not very readable (even though it is a standard, non saturated ink so I’d feel comfortable using it in a vintage fountain pen). The colour is nice enough and you can’t have all the inks in the calendar fit perfectly with the theme, so I’m fine with Diamine Lullaby being included, though I won’t be buying a bottle of it.

Do you like Diamine Lullaby? Would you name it differently?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 12 door:

Day 12’s ink is Diamine Snow Globe, a dark blue ink with Chameleon shimmer in blue, silver, pink and purple. I used a Pelikan M205 fountain pen with an extra fine nib, that like most Pelikan nibs writes on the wider side.

Diamine Snow Globe is a lovely, shading dark blue ink and the chameleon effect gives it interest. The resulting ink is a nice, festive, readable blue that would work well on greeting cards.

On original Tomoe River Paper you can see the shading of Diamine Snow Globe quite well. It’s a also clear that it’s a lighter blue than Diamine Chilly Nights and the shimmer effect of the chameleon is much less pronounced than the star bright shimmer effect.

Diamine Snow Globe is perfect if you want a more subtle “wow” effect than Diamine Chilly Nights provides. You can see it in this angled photo of the original Tomoe River Paper writing samples:

If Diamine Chilly Nights is the marching band of shimmer on dark blue inks, then Diamine Snow Globe is the jazz quartet. The chameleon shimmer is finer, less visible, and changes colour constantly in different lighting conditions and in different angles. Of the two Diamine Chilly Nights is more impressive, but Diamine Snow Globe is more classy and would never be mistaken for a gel ink.

Today’s bear is Beezy, a one of a kind bear made by June Whitehead. The sketch is angled because this bear isn’t really designed for standing, and I didn’t want to sketch him seated because I’ve sketched too many seated bears lately.

I couldn’t get a decent photo of the chameleon effect, but here’s a photo that better shows off the shading properties of this ink and hint of chameleon sparkle:

Here’s Beezy the bear. I love his face, it’s so unusual for a teddy bear.

Diamine Snow Globe is slightly more practical than Diamine Chilly Nights because chameleon shimmer will be easier to clean out than star bright shimmer. It’s also less impressive, so if you’re looking for a dark blue inks with some kind of shimmer effect you might opt for Chilly Nights over Snow Globe if you’re going for the wow effect. Personally I don’t see a need for either of them in my ink collection, so I won’t be buying a full bottle of this ink.

What do you think? Do you prefer Diamine Chilly Nights or Diamine Snow Globe?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 11 door:

Day 11’s ink is Diamine Grotto, an “Extreme Sheen” reddish-orange ink. “Extreme Sheen” is a new ink property added to the calendar this year, and Diamine believe in truth in advertising: there’s an astonishing amount of sheen in this ink. I used Lamy Safari with a fine nib to test out Diamine Grotto and even with a fine nib the sheen came through on ever letter.

The base ink colour for Diamine Grotto is a deep, rich reddish orange, and it would have been welcome even without the extreme sheen, after all the grays and blues we’ve had.

The sheen, a golden green sheen, glows on every letter, making them pop almost as much as “Star Bright” glitter does. There’s a bit of shading with this ink, but it’s hard to see with all the sheen going around.

I compared Diamine Grotto with Diamine Fireside Snug, one of my favourite and most used inks from last year’s Inkvent, and Diamine Grotto is more saturated and tends a bit more to the red than Diamine Fireside Snug. It also has a lot of sheen, of course, which Fireside Snug doesn’t have.

If you prefer shading to sheen, you’d like Fireside Snug more. If you like a punchier ink, then Diamine Grotto is for you.

Here’s a writing sample on Rhodia paper. This Rhodia pad is fairly absorbent and so normally wouldn’t show much sheen, especially with a fine nib fountain pen, but even on this paper the sheen was obvious. However, because there was less sheen than on less absorbent paper you can see the base orange colour better here:

Angle the paper a bit and the sheen is immediately apparent. All the places that appear to glitter have the sheen effect on them:

Here’s a writing sample on original Tomoe River Paper, angled so that the light catches the masses of sheen here:

And here’s today’s sketch of one of my favourite bears, “Mud Pie”, on Midori MD Cotton paper. This ink is really warm and lovely and works well with the colour of his mohair.

And this is Mud Pie. He’s small and very cute and cuddly.

Diamine Grotto is a bright and warm ink with eye-catching golden green sheen that makes every letter glow. It’s not an ink I’d use in a vintage pen, but it’s still a fairly practical and fairly seasonal ink and a nice break away from the grays and blues we’ve seen in previous days. I have a bottle of Fireside Snug and so I doubt that I’d get a bottle of Grotto, but if you’re in the market for a reddish orange ink Diamine Grotto might be the ink you’re looking for.

Do you like sheening inks? Do you see yourself using Diamine Grotto? What do you think of the “Extreme Sheen” effect?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 10 door:

Day 10’s in is Diamine Chilly Nights, a blue-black “Star Bright” ink, which means shimmer, a lot of shimmer. I used a Lamy AL Star fine nibbed pen to test out this ink.

The base ink offers some nice shading, though you can barely see it because there’s so much silver shimmer going on. Here’s a close up of the Col-O-Ring swab:

It looks like there’s a hint of red sheen to this ink, which isn’t surprising as it’s a dark and pretty saturated ink, but again – the masses of silver shimmer mask all other properties of the ink. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing: Diamine Chilly Nights definitely has a wow effect to it, and it’s a stunningly beautiful ink.

You can see the letters glowing with shimmer here:

Here’s a writing sample on original Tomoe River Paper. You can see a hint of shading and sheening here:

And from a different angle you can see the dazzle of the shimmer effect. Compare it to yesterday’s Diamine Wishing Tree directly above it – that one’s a Chameleon ink. You can barely see the shimmer effect on Wishing Tree and you absolutely can’t miss it on Diamine Chilly Nights.

I flipped the nib around for the fine lines on today’s bear sketch. Teaberry is an unusually shaped bear but there are quite a few Charlie Bears that come in this style. I had to shade the lamp to get a decent photo due to the glint from all the glitter.

This is Teaberry the bear. If you watched the “Wicked” movie you’d understand me when I say that she would fit perfectly on Glinda’s bed.

Diamine Chilly Nights is a stunning, if impractical ink. It’s perfect for the season: a readable ink with a big wow effect, which makes it perfect for greeting cards. I don’t see myself using it regularly, but it definitely works as a “special occasion” ink.

What do you think of Teaberry, today’s bear? And would you buy a full bottle of Diamine Chilly Nights?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 9 door:

Day 9’s ink is Diamine Wishing Tree, a grey green ink with chameleon shimmer in it that is silver, green, blue and copper coloured. I used a Lamy AL Star with a fine nib to test out this ink.

Here’s a close up of the col-o-ring swab. You can see the shading on the ink itself (like Diamine Marley there’s a lot going on here in terms of shade), and a bit of the chameleon effect.

Here is a writing sample on original Tomoe River Paper. It mainl shows off the shading properties of Diamine Wishing Tree.

Diamine Wishing Tree is a greener and cooler toned ink than Diamine Marley, but it’s still very similar to it in terms of its general properties and tonal family. The chameleon effect is much subtler than regular shimmer, and it adds a mystique to this ink that is befitting its name.

You can see some of the shading and chameleon shimmer from this angle:

On Midori Cotton MD paper Diamine Wishing Tree’s shading properties are even more pronounced:

You can better see the shading and a bit of the chameleon shimmer here:

Today’s bear is Hogarth from Dean’s Rag Book Company. He’s a membership bear from 2007, and is a black bear, a relative rarity in the collectable bear world (it’s harder to see the seams and sew black bears properly and so there’s fewer of them).

If Diamine Marley wasn’t part of this year’s Inkvent, then I would have found Diamine Wishing Tree more impressive. As it is, it’s a very good grey toned ink with a lot of interest. It’s not the most practical (because of the chameleon shimmer) or the most festive (though the shimmer does add here), but it’s a solid entry for this year’s Inkvent.

Which of the two do you prefer: Diamine Marley or Diamine Wishing Tree?

This is the Diamine Inkvent 2024 Day 8 door:

Day 8’s ink is Diamine Marley, a purple grey standard ink that is actually multi chromatic, like some of the Sailor Studio inks. I used a Lamy Safari with a Fine nib to test out this ink.

Here’s a close up of the Col-O-Ring swab. You can see that Diamine Marley shades a lot, but in the swab itself it’s easy to see just how many shades of colour are in this ink: grey, pink, purple, turquoise, green.

Here’s a writing sample of Diamine Marley on Rhodia paper. It writes like a Sailor Studio ink, but it’s a Diamine ink, so it will be a fraction of the price. It didn’t photograph very well, but this is far from a bland warm grey. You want to just keep exploring this ink as you write with it.

Here’s a writing sample on original Tomoe River Paper. I wasn’t able to capture the full magic of the different shades of colour in this ink, but it’s there. It may not be the full Sailor Studio experience, but it’s close enough.

Here’s today’s teddy bear sketch. Diamine Marley has a good flow and excellent shading properties, and it’s a lot of fun to sketch with this ink. Is it grey? Is it purple? Was there a hint of blue there? And a hint of pink? This ink keeps you guessing.

This bear is one of my only Steiff bears (I don’t like the Steiff look), and one of the few bears in my collection that is unnumbered (though he’s more expensive than a good number of my one of a kind artist bears). It’s also a black bear, which is uncommon, and is a replica of the first black bear that Steiff ever made. It’s called “Teddy bear 1912” and it has an interesting story. From Steiff’s site:

After the dramatic sinking of the “Titanic” in 1912, Steiff produced black Teddy bears for the very first time to reflect the mood of the grieving nation of Great Britain. These “mourning bears” have remained in the memory of many people to this day . This beautiful black bear with its copper-backed, “red-cried” eyes honours the memory of the people aboard the “Titanic”, but also looks to the future with hope.

Diamine Marley is the first ink of this calendar that I will be purchasing. I like grey inks, and this one is a more accessible and affordable Sailor Studio style ink. It scores high on the pragmatic side for me, as it’s a standard ink that’s not overly saturated and yet remains readable and conventional enough to use in many settings. By calling it “Marley” Diamine tied it to the Christmas theme, while in reality it’s not the most festive of colours. It is a nice wintery colour though, and a very attractive ink.

What do you think of Diamine Marley? Do you write with grey inks?