It was around this time last year that we learned of the 2019 Edelstein Ink of the Year selection so it should not come as too much of a surprise that today brings news of Pelikan’s next batch of limited edition ink. In addition to learning of the M200 Pastel-Green, our second bit of product news is all about Moonstone, the forthcoming 2020 Edelstein Ink of the Year. The palette again shifts, this time to a silver-gray hue which is a significant departure from the prior Star Ruby release. This will be the seventeenth gemstone inspired color to grace the line-up. Moonstone will join Turmaline, Amber, Garnet, Amethyst, Aquamarine, Smoky Quartz, Olivine, and Star Ruby as the ninth Ink of the Year release. Some of these special editions have been resurrected to have a second life but, at least for now, we can expect this one to be a limited run for the next year. Moonstone is anticipated to grace store shelves sometime around March of 2020.
Moonstone the gemstone can be found all over the world and is prized for its blue to white adularescence. Adularescence is the light that appears to billow across a gem giving it a moonlight-like sheen. While somewhat fragile, it is a popular choice for jewelry and is the alternative birthstone for June. Unfortunately, Pelikan does not provide any ink swabs so the exact color or properties of the ink aren’t entirely clear. The ink looks to be a rather light silver-gray and perhaps those more versed in the gray inks can shed some light on similar shades from other manufacturers. Pelikan eschews the black cap of the bottle here for a dull-silver lid, further tying together the theme. There really hasn’t been a shade like this in the Edelstein line-up which makes for a bit of a refreshing change. Moonstone will be available in 50 mL bottles and is anticipated to be produced for a limited time only. I also don’t expect this to be available in cartridge format based on the literature that I’ve seen.
Moonstone does have me a bit worried that it may be a little too light of a shade but we will simply have to await some real world swabs. More intriguingly, this release now raises the stakes on a possible complimentary M2xx Moonstone demonstrator to follow sometime later in the year. While not yet announced, I can already imagine something akin to the older Anthracite demo, perhaps with the chromium trim of the M205 line. That is a pen that I wouldn’t mind owning but we’ll have to wait for now and see what the future may hold. What are your thoughts on Moonstone? Does this shade fill a long standing hole in Pelikan’s color spectrum or are you unimpressed? I do believe that the Star Ruby will be a tough act to follow.
The Pelikan's Perch 
Thanks for this announcement, Josh, as always. I’ve been wishing for an Edelstein grey for ages, especially since that color is absent from the 4001 line. If this one has a hint of blue, so much the better. I’m in.
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I’m surprised it’s taken them so long to move in this direction.
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I’ve been lucky enough to participate in Pelikan Hubs where the Ink of the Year was distributed. Hoping that the distribution trend continues.
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Based on the past successes, I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t be the case.
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I would be very intrigued by a Pelikan grey ink. I have both of the Iroshizuku greys (Fuyu-Syogun and Kiri-Same) but I find them hard to use as they are very light in colour. A broad wet nib improves matters but I still find them difficult to use as the result on the page lacks the definition of darker colours. Still it will be interesting to see how the ink looks on the page.
And a grey/Moonstone version of a 600 or 800 with a silver nib would be wonderful!
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Grays being too light has also been something that I’ve struggled with. I’m not sure this one will remedy that but I can’t wait to find out.
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Thank you so much for posting this!
It would be way cool if the ink was a medium-to-dark grey with a light blue sheen, to mimic moonstone’s adularescence.
Another possibility might be a shimmer. To my knowledge, none of the Edelstein inks have shimmer. Perhaps 2020 will be the year Pelikan introduces such a feature in the Edelstein line.
To be sure, they are running out of gemstones that wouldn’t repeat colors from previous years. To date, I haven’t seen them release an opal, something with a light base color and blue/red/green sheen or shimmer. I’m not sure that is even possible. Does anyone out there know if it can be done?
Pelikan pens are out of my wallet range but the inks are affordable and I am really intrigued by this ink. I can’t wait to see swabs of it.
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I think if any ink was going to shimmer, Star Ruby would have been the one. While Pelikan has ventured out of their comfort zone recently, that may be asking a bit much. Hopefully some swabs will reveal the nature of this one.
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Taimdala, I like your idea of an Opal M200. I think Pelikan has the ability to render a reasonable representation of an opal, based on the chatoyance they’ve been able to get on their marble M200s. I wish they’d come out with the opal. I can only imagine how beautiful all those opal colors would be on a Pelikan.
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I’d be down for an opal if Pelikan could figure out how to pull it off effectively.
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I habitually wear a small moonstone pendant in memory of my mother whose favourite stone it was. Therefore, I am very keen to see what Pelikan make of it in ink, and in a pen to follow. I, too, hope that there is a blue sheen as is seen in good moonstones. Pelikan have set the bar high in trying to emulate the appearance of this stone!
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That is a great memento. Hopefully Pelikan does justice to the stone with their pen and ink but it may be an uphill battle. If done right, would be a nice compliment to your pendant.
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I’m interested… I have a couple of vintage non-Pelikans this might match perfectly. Yes, we definitely need some swabs 🙂
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Probably going to have to wait for February/March for any swabs to materialize.
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Maybe a multi-chromatic ink, like by Troublemaker that shades from grey to ice blue, with hints of pink too. And I dearly hope they break with the demonstrator tradition and opt for a marbled resin like they’ve been doing recently, perhaps with a base of translucent silver and ribbons of metallic white, pale blue, and darker grey, with matching dark grey cap and end cap. If only…
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I can’t fault you for imagination and while Pelikan has been stepping out of their comfort zone lately, you may be asking for a lot. Still, no harm in dreaming.
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oh my Finally some one who GETS me. the marbled resin m200 + 205s (blue and green…. and the new ones….. also a Grey one i just found out) [im hunting that one down as we speak]. this moonstone m205 O.N.I.> I hope your Idea manifests
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The marbled M2xx pens are really nice and the newer ones have a really neat luster. I’m looking forward to an M205 Moonstone. Hopefully Pelikan won’t disappoint.
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I was wondering, if Pelikan would bring a new colour at all in 2020.
Therefore, thanks for this post!
Pelikan itself seems to not know about it 😉
https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/de_CH.FWI.displayShop.260203./edelstein-ink
(note, that there 15 colours are mentioned, but 16 colours shown…)
Now, since the first month of 2020 has come to its end, why is no new ink available?
Just like the vapour-ware on the software market … is that what Pelikan has learned?
I would appreciate if Pelikan would jump on the shimmering ink train finally.
Diamine did such a fine job in this segment:
https://www.diamineinks.co.uk/listings.aspx?catid=90
Recently I tried Krishna Ink https://www.ebay.com/itm/303135107000 “Goldfish Gold”
and was a bit disappointed at first. But actually the effect was just like the skin of a goldfish.
The shimmer was rather subtle but fitting. (not a glittering)
To make a shimmering ink that looks good and does not clog any pen is a real challenge.
Does Pelikan has this ability?
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You’re welcome. Sometimes Pelikan’s website can be slow to update and they can be slow to push information out to retailers. The ink won’t be available until March as is the usual case with these. Just supposition on my part but I believe that the shimmering inks probably run a higher risk of damaging a pen and are therefore not a good venture for a large company like Pelikan. I would not expect to see any released to market anytime soon. Thankfully, we have other manufacturers to fill that space.
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Have a look at the Edelstein Ruby!
Use a brush to make some bigger traces on paper, bigger than the lines a fountain pen would leave usually.
Than You will see, that this ink has a golden metallic shimmering component.
It is best seen during the drying phase.
It is hardly seen in writing with an M nib.
So, Pelikan did try to use shimmer.
And, from my experience, in case of black as foundation, violet is the best option for the shimmering component. Other colours, especially gold, look ugly. But blue might be quite OK.
So, if Pelikan makes a more bold effort in shimmering than with Ruby and go for something in the range of blue/violet, than this new ink might become a very worthy ink of the year 2020.
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Thank you for sharing your experience with Star Ruby. While there might be some shimmer as you describe, I do not think that it rises to the level of inks that are specifically sold as “shimmer” inks where the effect is not at all subtle. That is a territory that I do not see Pelikan venturing into anytime soon.
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I was not writing about Star Ruby but about Ruby.
Star Ruby does not have any shimmering effect at all, even though it should have, because the gem stone star ruby is called “star” because of the shimmering effect which differentiates it from the common ruby. But Pelikan did it the other way around. The Ruby ink got shimmer, the Star Ruby ink not. See my insta-post for example: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8p1MJAIDQX/
Admittedly I should not have called it shimmer but sheen.
Krishna Inks calls their flock of such inks “Sheenmonsters”.
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Ah, thank you for the clarification. I do believe sheen is the better descriptor here. Thanks again for your insights.
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Oh I wish Lamy would be more like Pelikan, and make more effort with very different colors for special edition releases.
I’m looking forward to getting this ink at The Hub. I got J Herbin Gris Nuage for Christmas. It’s in a pen with an italic nib, and I think it is dark enough to read. Gris Nuage can be criticized for being light.
I like gray inks, and the Moon. Thank you Pelikan for choosing Moonstone. Hopefully they check in on Joshua’s excellent blog.
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I don’t think Pelikan pays too much mind to me. They keep me at arms length which is fine. I have never gotten into gray inks. I have tried a couple but they have been a bit too light for my taste. I’ll be interested to see some real world examples of Moonstone on paper.
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Any new experience here and now? We see the end of March, and Moonstone is already for sale in Germany…
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I’ve been so wrapped up with COVID-19 that I haven’t had a chance to play with Moonstone. Probably won’t get a bottle till next month. Not gonna count on the Hub this year as who knows what state the world will be in at that time.
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Very true!
This is a time for fast learning and adaptation.
“Dynamic” is the most friendly word one can have for the situation we are in.
Maybe the pens will get their time, when the digital channels are down.
Also it is a good method to write down ones thoughts and plans.
“Cursive” writing, as it might be called in English, helps to think in a connected, integrated way. Typing on keyboards or writing block letters don’t do that. It is of vital importance to understand coherences.
We got to learn one or two lessons from the Chinese. I suggest this channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCTVNEWSbeijing
They have reported from the beginning onward. They got also some well sorted playlists like FACTSTELL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvXhcWXfOyg&list=PLt-M8o1W_GdQtl8BFXhbjbIrfrU8D_nAH
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Is that in your professional life? Stay well, good pen friend.
Meant to put this after Joshua’s post.
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Yes, in my professional life.
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I saw a review of Moonstone on the Fountain Pen Network, and to my eyes it is dark enough to read. This is the ink that would get me to want the matching pen. I hope Pelikan comes out with one.
It does look less likely large meetups can happen in September. If Pelikan comes out with the matching pen, and sells them as a set, that can be my birthday gift.
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We usually hear about the matching pens between June and August so we should know more around then. I’m not optimistic for a Hub this year due to the coronavirus but we’ll see.
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Any news about a matching Moonstone fountain pen? I still hope for one. My birthday is in September, and a set of Moonstone pen and ink would be a very happy gift. One can hope.
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Word is that one is indeed coming. I haven’t seen pics yet. Slated for a September release which means that we may hear about it sometime this month. Of course, COVID reserves the right to screw everything up.
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Thank you so much for replying. There is hope!
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My pleasure! There is hope indeed.
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