It is hard to believe that 2021 is just two weeks away from drawing to its close. Not only is another disjointed and surreal year ending but it seems like the long shadow of the coronavirus pandemic will carry well into 2022. To counteract the doldrums of the pandemic, many have sought refuge and solace in this hobby of ours. Something that always brightens my spirits, whether I’m buying or not, is news of a new product release from a favorite brand. Thanks to the good people over at Federalist Pens, we now have fresh news of the first new product of 2022. Coming hot on the heels of this year’s M200 Golden Beryl is word of the next Edelstein Ink of the Year release. The 2022 special edition ink will be called Apatite, the nineteenth gemstone inspired ink to grace the Edelstein line and the eleventh special edition Ink of the Year. It will join the likes of Turmaline (2012), Amber (2013), Garnet (2014), Amethyst (2015), Aquamarine (2016), Smoky Quartz (2017), Olivine (2018), Star Ruby (2019), Moonstone (2020), and Golden Beryl (2021). These special edition inks are generally produced for just one year therefore availability will only be while supplies last. At the moment, Apatite is anticipated to have a March 2022 release date giving us another reason to look forward to the spring.
Apatite is a calcium phosphate mineral which naturally occurs in a variety of colors including blues, greens, yellows, grays, and browns. It was first discovered in 1786 by A.G. Werner, its name derived from a Greek word meaning “to deceive” due to its frequent misclassification as Beryl or Peridot. Large deposits have been found in Russia, Brazil, Burma, Madagascar, and Mexico. Apatite is an important constituent of phosphorite, which is mined for its phosphorus content and utilized it the production of fertilizers, acids, and other chemicals. Those examples with excellent color and clarity are sometimes polished and cut into faceted gemstones. One of apatite’s claims to fame is that it serves as the index mineral for a hardness of five on the Mohs Hardness Scale. That falls in the middle of the scale making apatite too brittle for most jewelry applications therefore, as a gemstone, it is more popular with gem collectors than with jewelry buyers.
We have yet to see an ink swab so it is difficult to judge just what this one might look like on paper. Pelikan describes the shade as a blue-turquoise hue and its appearance, in photos at least, reminds me of the previously released Aquamarine. I will be interested to see how this one stands out in the crowd. The silver-colored cap is something that we’ve only seen on the Moonstone ink bottles to date. I first thought that it might indicate a shimmer ink like the Golden Beryl, just with silver flecks instead of gold, but no mention of that is made in the product literature. Apatite will only be available in 50 mL bottles. Pelikan’s product literature states;
“Colors create emotions, light up our fantasy and open up new spaces for our thoughts. To the honor of the fascinating gemstone Apatite a new harmonic color creation was born. The blue-turquoise shade of color leads to a felicitous association of the natural element of water. An ink color that let all thoughts flow. Written as words on the paper. Let your customers be fascinated by this new color from the Edelstein® Ink of the Year. It completes the range of blue and green shades of colors in a totally harmonic way. Definitely a Must-Have!”
Apatite could make for a pleasing blueish green ink but there is a lot of competition in that space, and it may be hard for it to distinguish itself. I do think that an M2xx Apatite demonstrator would look good in the chromium plated trim of the M205 line. Of course, the recent Golden Beryl release has shown us that we cannot take anything for granted these days. What do you think of Edelstein Apatite? Will you be picking up a bottle? Leave a comment below and let me know whether or not this one is on target or a big miss for Pelikan.
This needs a look see . Big turquoise fan; but hoping it’s not a turmaline wannabe – more turquoise would make it more interesting
So hard to gauge from the photos currently available.
Maybe it’ll turn out to be a blue-ish turquoise as opposed to Aquamarine’s green-Ish? With Topaz and said Aqua already in my stash, I’ll probably pass on the unfortunately named Apatite. Hoping that the Philadelphia Show will take place as planned and that I’ll see you there! Thanks, Josh—as always.
Yes, my big question is how this fits in the line with past releases. We’ll have to wait and see I guess. I hope to be at Philly this year. See you there.
Not another teal! I have no appetite for this one.
LOL. I’m hoping there is something more to it, something that might wow when seen on the paper.
Really, Jay…hahaha! Just for that, you can’t have it!!
Thanks for the news; it will be interesting to see how the colour turns out; a chrome trim m205 could indeed be interesting, sans flecks…
We are 3/3 past releases with “flecks.” I kind of liked it better before they introduced that look. I get what they are doing and it’s not a bad implementation but it would be nice if they gave it a rest for this one.
Very fond of greenes. Would love to see swaps. Now owning Aquamarine, Aventurine and Jade. And for turquoise Waterman Inspired Blue. Would there still be a niche for Apatite? Hope so. And then, what pen for it?
OMG, forgot to mention our favorite green: Pilot Iroshizuku Chiku Rin. Simply to die for. Put in the M400 tortoiseshell white.
And for a more brownish green the Pilot Iroshizuku Ina-Ho. In our Lamy Al Star Bronze.
I’ll have to check out those. I love Iroshizuku but don’t have too many as I’m not as big an ink guy.
That’s my question too. This one seems to flirt dangerously close to a lot of other past releases. Hopefully it brings something fresh.
Since my only Pelikan near-turquoise is Topaz, I might be interested. I think of Pelikan inks as somewhat in a separate category, since they can usually be relied upon to be at least a little on the dry side, which has its uses.
Yes, they do tend to be drier, a necessity for taming those wet feeds.
This is intriguing. Lamy Turquoise gets quite a bit of use, this seems to be between that and Diamine Steel Blue which is more green.
I’ve never used Lamy Turqoise but have admired it from a distance.
I’m intrigued by the photo and will certainly order a bottle when it available. I have a sense of depth and mystery as I look at the mineral and the color sample.
So hard to tell from the available photos. I guess we’ll know in a few months.
I agree that this ink is entering into a range on the spectrum where there is a lot of competition. I sure hope it looks more saturated on paper then what the picture indicates. Ink color aside, an M205 in blue-turquoise would be amazing!
That was a thought of mine as well. These pictures can be so misleading though.
I think that there are too many inks of distinctive color in this color family for Apatite to make a strong showing. Granted, I do not purchase every Pelikan ink to be rolled out. And my enthusiasm for all things Pelikan cooled considerably after the, IMHO, less than stellar M205 Petrol Blue fountain pen.
Totally understandable.
Thanks for your unique and valuable work Christmas greetings and a prosperous New Year From Twomudpigs
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You’re most welcome and same to you.
As a big fan of all things teal & turquoise, I’m really looking forward to this one. Personally, I’d like to see an M200 in this color; the gold would provide an unexpected contrast to the cool blues. But then, I am partial to gold. I’ll be impatiently waiting for both the ink and the pen.
I’m having a hard time imagining this one on a pen with gold trim but I’m not great with the imagination either.
I know; lots of people prefer silver with blues, rather than gold. Just call me different.
The silver seems a natural fit for blue but then again, my M600 Blue/Black with gold trim became an unexpected favorite so I can definitely see where you’re coming from.
🙂 I’m very curious and looking forward to seeing the true color.
Happy Holidays! 🙂
Hopefully a swab will surface sooner than later. Happy Holidays to you as well!
As others mentioned it will be interesting to see how this compares with Lamy turquoise. Any official word on the pronunciation? There is an obvious pronunciation, but other possibilities.
I think the Lamy Turquoise is going to be a big comparison for this one. The English pronunciation is just how it looks, ap-uh-tahyt.
Apatite is one of my favorite stones from 2021 so looking forward into how it’s translated by Pelikan. In a guess, were I to be setting the goals for this ink, I’d have one with transformative properties depending upon the colors surrounding it. Blue in some light. Green in another. With variations from paper and pen and no two reactions the same. Wait. That sounds like fountain pen ink
I think those are some lofty goals. Hopefully this ink can measure up and provide even half that.
That sounds like an awesome ink to me! I wouldn’t be surprised if Pelikan pulled it off.
same, I also love Apatite stone.
If the photos are even close in color, it seems that Aquamarine and Topaz might be the benchmarks against which to evaluate this as an alternative in the teal/blue range. I look forward to seeing it.
I agree, I would also like to see a pause in the sparkles on the associated M20xs.
I agree with a pause in the sparkles but I don’t think they continue on for now. I think this demo would find it harder to distinguish itself from the previously released M205 Aquamarine if it didn’t sparkle.
I’m hoping it has glitter …I love the golden beryl! Otherwise it seems too similar in color to their other inks.
Yes; I’d love to see a shimmer in it, too. I like shimmer inks and Pelikans handle them beautifully. Of course, I do clean them regularly. But I’ve never had any problems with shimmer inks in my Pelikans.
I find that it all comes down to proper pen hygiene. If you don’t keep up with your pens in terms of use and flushes, I would caution anyone to avoid the shimmer inks. But, if you’re good about routine use and maintenance, I think most get by rather well.
I agree that they are running very close to being too similar and a swab would go a long way to disproving that. I think that if there was glitter in this one, Pelikan would have made a big deal about it. I haven’t seen anything to that effect yet.
Do you know if they killed the Suveran line? There is no trace of it on the Pelikan website and they only display cheap fountain pens now. The Pelikan fountains pens are out of stock everywhere.
It looks like they are working on their website right now. That’s probably why you can’t find the pens you are looking for.
This transition to the new site is taking a while to get all of the pieces in place. I would think that a professional company would have had a better implementation but what do I know.
The Souveran line is not dead though we have had a dearth of releases recently. I’m anticipating a new M8xx for the spring. Pelikan has re-done their website and it seems that they have struggled to put all of the pieces together. If you look for an old page, you get redirected to one that says; “Coming soon We’re are hard at work, please come back soon :).” I agree that they are not advertising their full range of products well. It has nothing to do with the demise of the Souveran line but rather poor web management. The lack of supply is due to manufacturing issues related to the supply chain interruptions. That’s largely on COVID.
it would be amazing if they did a shimmer pen to go with the ink
I guess we’ll have to wait until late 2022 too see what they are going to do.
Yes, I’ll buy it. Didn’t buy the last one. However as soon as Pelikan hits E-20 there will be no more purchased. Same as MB.
I have not seen this ink in person yet, but I can’t help but wonder why Pelikan is making another ink that looks nearly the same as their Jade ink? I am not a fan of teal colors, and I don’t think I will buy this one (although, I have nearly every year’s ink and I may have to keep the collection complete).
They had laid out a swatch of the inks on their instagram account. It’s just a bit lighter than Jade but doesn’t look to me that there is enough here to distinguish it to stand out on its own. It’s definitely not one that I’m particularly excited about.
i supppose I will know soon enough. I was just notified from the Pelikan Passion Instagram account that I won their birthday raffle for a bottle of Apatite! Not sure when it will arrive but I’ll post my impressions when it does.
Congratulations! Even if it doesn’t impress, nothing wrong with a free bottle of ink.
Hi Joshua,
Do you know if the Pelikan Hub is a go this year? I looked online for info. Couldn’t find anything. Normally, registration would be around this time or even be done with. Thanks.
I have not heard any news about 2022 as of yet and frankly I’m not sure what they are going to do. 2020 and 2021 were understandably cancelled. This year is much less clear cut. I believe any news either way will first appear on their social media outlets, eg Facebook and Instagram, where they are most active. Of course, I’ll publish something here as soon as I hear. I’m not sure if a virtual event would be feasible but its better than nothing if the global situation is deemed too tenuous to safely gather. Of course, that is a more controversial position these days. Hopefully we will know soon. If you’ll recall, it was August before we learned of 2021’s cancellation.
Thank you for your answer. 🙂
I’m anxiously awaiting the Apatite Pen Of The Year. I’ve got five from the series so far, with a new Amethyst coming in from The Netherlands this week and a new Smoky Quartz coming in from Japan early next week. I started with the Star Ruby, which is still my favourite from the series, and had to immediately follow it with the rest. By next week, I’ll have 13 Pelikans in the flock 🙂 Anyways, thanks much for all that you do for us Pelikan fans. Stay safe out there, Joshua!
It may be a while still. The release cycle is all out of sorts from what it once was. We didn’t hear about the M200 Golden Beryl until October last year so there is still plenty of time between then and now that they could drop something on us. That’s a great flock that you have. I remember the days when I only had a dozen. How the flock has grown. Appreciate you reading. Working on some neat stuff that takes a detour from the usual so stay tuned…
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