Pelikan Edelstein line is great proof of Pelikan’s marketing team efficiency. Beautifully packaged inks bear promise of amazing writing experience. The line is popular all around the world and concurs with the likes of Pilot Iroshizuku or Graf von Faber-Castell.
Packaging and bottle
The packaging is impressive.
The outer cardboard box is, more or less, standard. It’s not overisized and made from cardboard. The front panel has a slightly slanted extra facet with a colored panel that corresponds to the ink color inside. Care was also taken to keep ink secure in the box – the pair of styrofoam pads rest between the neck of the bottle and the box.
The bottle itself is really, really nice. The glass is thick, heavy and rectangular but with slightly concave sides. The lettering fits the design. I believe Caran d’Ache Chromatics inks bottles are more interesting, Iroshizuku probably nicer but Edelstein offers great and solid cap.
The inks can be bought in 13 colors, seven standard.
- Aventurine
- Jade
- Mandarin
- Onyx
- Sapphire
- Ruby
- Topaz
And 7 LE inks of the year
- Turmaline Ink of the Year 2012
- Amber Ink of the Year 2013
- Garnet Ink of the Year 2014
- Amethyst Ink of the Year 2015
- Aquamarine Ink of the Year 2016
- Smoky Quartz Ink of the Year 2017
- Olivine Ink of the Year 2018
I have mixed feelings about Edelstein as a line. The inks aren’t bad. But they’re not as good as the price tag would suggest. On the other hand Pelikan does a great job communicating with pen enthusiasts and engaging them in activities (Pelikan Hub, creating the color of the ink of the year).
My feelings, though, change nothing – each year I’m eager to try their new ink.
This year Pelikan has finally offered green ink. There was a debate concerning the color, and while Olivines can have a wide range of hues, it’s not the one I expected. I wanted something yellow green. If the color matched the color on the box, it would be nice. it doesn’t, sadly.
It’s not bad, but I can’t say I’m crazy about it. Truth be told in 2018 I’m disappointed by both Lamy and Pelikan LE inks. A shame.
Color perception is always subjective. Physical properties less so. Let’s examine them.
Flow: the Ink feels wet.
Saturation: level of saturation is satisfying for my needs. The ink doesn’t look oversaturated, it remains fully legible in alli light conditions.
Lubrication: very good.
Drying time: rather reasonable. 15-20 seconds on Rhodia, 10 – 15 seconds on absorbent paper.
Clogging issues: None experienced. The ink may dry in the nib but only after few minutes. You can leave the pen uncapped for 2-3 minutes and everything should be fine. I’ve tried it in Wing Sung 658 and hard starts were experienced only after leaving the pen uncapped for 4 minutes.
Feathering: practically none. Maybe some barely perceptible feathering on Moleskine.
Bleedthrough: experienced only on Moleskine (crappiest paper ever)
Water resistance: it’s not water resistant.
Ink Splash
Drops of ink on kitchen towel
Software ID
Color range
Copy paper, Graf von Faber-Castell Classic, medium nib
Velin paper, Graf von Faber-Castell Classic, medium nib
Fabriano, Hero 5028, stub 1.9
Water resistance
Wondernaut in the world of stationery wonders 
Thanks for the great review! It’s a nice darker green, just not the olive green we were expecting.
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wondernaut, thank you for this post. Its very inspiring.
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