Diamine - Starlit Sea

Diamine Starlit Sea - silver shimmer stars!

Starlit Sea is available in Diamine’s Shimmering series. Making inks since 1864, they know what they’re doing, and offer a huge selection. Their shimmer inks are generally well-behaved, and trouble-free in terms of clogging and cleaning. The name Starlit Sea matches this dazzling ink perfectly. It’s similar to Diamine Shimmering Seas which had a gold shimmer on the blue. With Starlit Sea, we have a silver shimmer to match the stars in the sky over the sea.

At its lightest, Starlit Sea is a soft, rich prussian blue that deepens to a midnight blue in darker shadings. These are reassuring, resolute blues. They inspire confidence. However, it’s the fine particle, silver galaxy shimmer that really brings the ink to life. In areas of pooling, the shimmer dominates the foundation. Thankfully, in written strokes, the shimmer is more reserved and refined, and acts as a beautiful accent in harmony with the blue backdrop. As you can see in the splatter, a multicolored sheen borders areas of pooling, and can often be seen on the edges of written strokes. It’s more pronounced in broader, wetter nibs. This isn’t a new ink, but visually it's very much on trend. I can think of several from 2022 that combine similar elements.

Diamine Starlit Sea - ink swatch card

As a writing ink, Starlit Sea has a lot to offer. I found best results on Rhodia, Kokuyo (both are coated papers), and Apica (uncoated) with no feather at all. Rhodia and Kokuyo produced a stronger halo, but strokes were clean, sharp, and very well-defined on all three. Drying times ranged from 25-40 seconds. I didn’t get the same performance on Mnemosyne (coated) or office copy paper. Feathering was moderate, giving strokes a blurry profile, although drying times were at or under 5 seconds on both.

So, do I recommend Diamine Starlit Sea? Absolutely! There are countless blues on the market, and it takes a lot to stand out. Starlit Sea stands out. The combination of the gorgeous, calming blue, and the lively accents of silver shimmer is as mesmerizing as a glistening sea beneath a clear night’s starry sky. Diamine didn’t sacrifice performance for looks, either. With the right paper, this ink performs nicely. If you’re looking for a nice, deep blue with some playful silver shimmer, and a very interesting sheen, take a look at Diamine Starlit Sea.

October 2020