Perle Noir is one of the most recommended and well reviewed black inks out there. When I bought this ink a few years ago, I was disappointed. It is not the blackest, not the smoothest, not the fastest drying ink, not an archival ink, not the cheapest. I decided to give it a second chance so I eyedropped a Preppy with it and filled a Lamy All-star. Over the past few days I have written many pages of work notes with the ink. Perle Noir is a well behaving black ink that is sold at a reasonable price, but it doesn't excel in anything. Below some writing samples, followed by drying times and test in water resistance. Drying times are about average to slow, 45 secs with a broad nib on Tomoe River 52g paper. The ink is certainly not water resistant, but it can handle an accidental drop. The full characteristics: Feathering none Shading hardly any Show through negligible
Swan Illusion, a Montblanc limited edition from the Patron of Arts series. It's brownish, grayish, greenish. I don't know what to think of this ink. It is intriguing and boring at the same time. It can be used for office note taking, no one would take offense. If you are going to use it for personal correspondence, first make sure the recipient appreciates this color.
As any Montblanc ink, it is well-behaved, quite dry, and expensive. Exactly what you would expect. Shading is very heavy, too much for my liking in the Parker. With an EF nib the shading in this ink is a lot more attractive. Drying time is average, water resistance poor. No feathering or show through.
To compare the color to another isn’t so easy. At first it reminded me of Cacao du Brésil but that ink is way darker. Lie de Thé comes closest but is less grayish and leans more towards yellow/green.
Next time I encounter a swan I will pay more attention, I never realized they had this color. The color doesn’t fit summer, I think I will get it again in November, on a calm morning with some fog, little sunlight and no wind.
