Antigua’s - Bourdeux

Antigua’s Bourdeux - rich, red ink drop

Bourdeux is a beautiful, rich, and intriguing crimson red from Antigua’s. Making pens since 2014, they now offer a well-balanced collection of Antigua’s inks, as well. They’re nicely presented in 50ml, Edelstein-style bottles, and very well priced at 11.99€ on their website (www.antiguas.es).

Antigua’s Bourdeux’s lights and dark edges

Antigua’s inks match their names well, and this is a true Bordeaux red. It’s rich and velvety, and very luxurious in both look and feel. It’s darker on coated papers than on uncoated papers, and you'll find some stroke-end shading on both, but it’s far more significant on uncoated papers. Light areas are cool with a soft, cottony appearance. The contrast is energetic.

Antigua’s Bourdeux - shades and range

In terms of writing experience, Bourdeux is all pleasure. It’s wet and smooth flowing. I didn’t have any problems with feather or bleed, and only light show through on some lighter papers. It performed beautifully on all six test papers. I particularly liked it on Fabriano uncoated and Rhodia coated papers, and I’ve included sample images of both. Drying ranged from average to slightly longer, but that is my only complaint, and it’s minor. This is a nice writing ink.

Antigua’s Bourdeux - crisp on Fabriano paper

I really like Antigua’s Bourdeux, and I’m interested in a number of other beauties in their collection. I’d love to see wider distribution of the brand, and I’d love to see a couple of the big online retailers pick up the brand. I love the price now, but with easier availability I can see them being very popular at even US$20 or $22/bottle. I definitely recommend Antigua’s inks.

Antigua’s Bourdeux - dark edge on Rhodia

Antigua’s Bourdeux - ink swatch card and drying

Antigua’s Bourdeux - ink swatch comparisons

January 2023