New Chesterfield Antique Inks
Chesterfield recently released four new antique inks. They were on a serious sale from XFountainPens, so I picked up a 50ml bottle of each. I think most Chesterfield inks are re-branded Diamine colors. I’m not sure if these new ones are also Diamine, but I’m blown away by all four of them.
The image below shows writing and swab samples of all four. I apologize in advance for my horrible writing. I’m a menace with a dip pen. I’ve got some quick write-ups below the photo, so get your butt down there and read them.
Antique Slate
Antique Slate is a deep and striking blue-gray. The ink looks completely gray when it does down, but takes on a blueish hue as it dries. Ranges from almost black to a medium gray in a finer line, but comes out much grayer and bluer with a broader stroke.
Antique Raspberry
Antique Raspberry is a dark, dusty rose color. While all four inks have nice shading properties, this one is probably the most striking. Goes on very dark, but lightens and reddens as it dries. Red and pink inks are often hit-or-miss, and rarely look professional, but Antique Raspberry has a refined and classy look to it. It would be perfectly fine in an office setting.
Antique Orchid
This is the biggest surprise of the bunch. I’m not really that big a fan of purple in general, but Antique Orchid is just plain regal. So regal, in fact, I want to slap on a king’s crown while I’m writing with it. It’s closer to a purple-black, but has enough purple to really pop off the page. Stays very dark with a fine line, but lightens and shades really nicely with a broader stroke. This is the first purple ink I’ve seen that I would happily use on a daily basis.
Antique Jade
Easily my favorite of the four! Antique Jade is very similar in tone to Antique Slate, but a little lighter and (of course) greener. It goes down as a dark gray with a slightly greenish hue, but then the green really pops as it dries. It shades beautifully in a broader line, but remains a very dark green-black in a finer line.
Bottom Line
All four of these inks are stellar. Each one a winner. I would say they’re all perfect for everyday use while remaining interesting enough to enjoy using. I’m glad I got the 50ml bottles of these…because I plan to use them a lot.
Hi! I’m looking for obsidian chesterfield ink for a friend of mine, but I can’t find it anywhere. I did look on xfountainpens, as well as a general google search. I didn’t find anything. Is there something specific I need to search for?
Thanks,
Crimson
Hi Crimson, thanks so much for reading. The folks behind XFountainPens opens a brick & mortar store called Birmingham Pen Company and closed the XFountainPens site. Their Chesterfield inks were made by Diamine, but were discontinued. They released a new line called Birmingham ink, but I’m not sure if the are made by Diamine or not. If you can’t find a comparable Birmingham ink, you could check the standard Diamine line to see if they have something close. Good luck and thanks so much for reading!