Diamine - Earl Grey

Diamine Earl Grey - ink drop with a hint of sheen

Diamine Earl Grey is a very popular ink, and I’d been looking forward to finding out why. Well, I understand now! It’s a lovely, multidimensional grey, and a great alternative to sometimes boring, old black.

This ink has an interesting backstory. It was originally created in 2018 for Reddit’s r/fountainpens community, after the color was chosen by the group’s members. Instantly popular, it became a regularly offered Diamine color.

Diamine Earl Grey - swatch card and drying

Earl Grey goes on black, and fades to various greys as it dries. On better papers, there’s some shading, which really makes this ink stand out. Its darker shades are a powdery, dark charcoal grey. In lighter areas, it’s a soft, smoky, ash grey, and subtle pink undertones are revealed. A flash of gold sheen appears in the splatter, but it didn’t carry over to written strokes on the various, popular papers that I use for testing.

In the right conditions, this is an excellent writing ink, but results are dependent on the nib and paper you choose. It came alive on Mnemosyne, Kokuyo, and Rhodia. Strokes were laser-sharp with no feather on these three coated papers, and drying times were from 25-40 seconds. Shading was slightly better on Mnemosyne and Kokuyo, and they were the only ones to show halo edging on strokes. Feathering was a problem on office copy paper, but if it can’t be avoided, it’s still usable. Apica (uncoated) was simply unusable. I tested for water resistance, and on good papers it was very impressive. On copy paper, it was a feathery mess.

Diamine Earl Grey in the 30ml bottle

It’s easy to see why this Diamine is so popular. Earl Grey is an attractive, powdery, dark grey, and the undertones make it interesting. It’s a fantastic option if you want something with character to replace black. These days, there are a lot of interesting greys on the market. (Kala Inks makes a wide range of interesting, pigment-based, water-resistant greys with muted undertones of various colors, for example.) However, Diamine inks are always reliable, widely available, and very affordable. If you’re considering Earl Grey, it’s easy to recommend.

October 2020