A new cycle of Pelikan news begins for 2025, starting with this year’s Edelstein Ink Of The Year: Apricot Achat. This year’s ink is a non-shimmering shade of vibrant golden orange, inspired by Pantone 163C (Hex: #ff9d6e/RGB: 255,157,110). The hue resembles apricot agate, making it the fourteenth gemstone-inspired ink in the Edelstein series. Like previous editions, it will be available for one year or while supplies last. Apricot Achat is set to launch in March 2025, offering a fresh shade for Spring.
Achat (pronounced aˈxaːt) is the German word for the gemstone Agate, but it actually has different meanings in various languages. All agate varieties get their name from the Italian River “Achetes” in Sicily, where ancient civilizations first found the stone. Apricot Agate is a type of Botswana Agate named for its pink and orange colors, resembling an Apricot. It is a rarer form of agate and those who believe in the metaphysical properties of stones say it offers protection, calm, and balance. Pelikan suggests that the ink represents vitality and optimism, creating a sense of excitement and modernity.
A swatch from the Pantone color matching system next to Pelikan’s own digital representation of their new ink
Unfortunately, we can’t fully understand how this ink will look in real life without a swab, which we don’t have yet. The product photos show an orangey peach or apricot color which could be intriguing, though not my personal cup of tea. Depending on your profession, this ink looks like it might be better suited for personal use than for professional correspondence. I do think that this one might have a broader appeal than Golden Lapis since many people avoid shimmer inks. Apricot Achat will be sold in 50mL bottles.
Personally, I’m more interested in the matching pen that might be coming later this year than the ink. Typically, we can expect an Apricot Achat inspired M2xx demonstrator featuring the Pantone 163C color. While it’s unlikely, I think that adding some white striations in the transparent resin to more closely resemble the gemstone would be a great touch. What I actually expect is that we’ll get a simple peach-colored demonstrator, which could be interesting if the resin color is the right hue. We likely won’t hear any news for several months, usually not until the summer. What are your thoughts on the new Edelstein Apricot Achat? Would you purchase a matching fountain pen in this color? Please leave a comment below.
I would buy the ink but not interested in a matching pen if its the usual 200 size.
No reason to suspect it wouldn’t be based on history.
Agreed. I cannot ever hold the M200 comfortably and see no point in purchasing those pens. Also, Pelikan’s prices have been jacked up so ridiculously that I stopped buying them a long time ago.
It does simplify things a bit, knowing that you never have to be tempted by an M2xx or M4xx model.
I do like the color, and a translucent body in this hue would be lovely. You’re right about the lighter swirl mixed in, though. As for purchasing the pen, I find I don’t use my Apatite pen because it is too small/light for comfort in my large, old hands. I suppose I might still buy it, if it is eye-poppingly gorgeous 😀
Yes, the M2xx size is small by today’s standards. Do you post your pens? I find the M200 to fit much better posted.
The main competitor for this ink will be Iroshizuku Fuyu-gaki (persimmon). It will be interesting to see them compared.
Interesting. Fuyu-gaki looks more orange/red to me than the orange/peach of Apricot Achat.
The ink, yes! A matching pen, no.
That seems to be the early consensus in the comments so far.
Since Edelstein Mandarin is on of my favourite inks, I might like this as well. And a matching pen would be nice, too.
I like Mandarin too and see this as a peachier version of that.
I’m thinking this might be even too light for personal correspondence versus the Mandarin one, but time will tell. I do like a vibrant orange. It is such a pick-me-up when I write with it.
Too soon to know. Funny enough, in Pelikan’s promotional literature they state, “Perfect for professional correspondence, Apricot Achat captures attention with its bold, modern tone while sparking inspiration with every stroke.” We’ll have to wait and see but that strikes me as if this is going to be a darker color.
Even in the bottle the ink looks a bit pallid. Honestly, if a pastel, washed-out color were what I was looking for, I could just dilute another orange ink. As for an M200 size demonstrator? Not thrilled. Do the new owners really plan to kill off the luxury writing division through boredom? Now, if Pelikan ever brings back the color and translucent striped barrels, I would be interested.
While it is true that the new owners are now firmly in control, I don’t think that much has changed. Aside from a shakeup in the sales division, the basic running of the fine writing division has continued as usual. Aside from an Art Collection release this year, I’m not sure that it’s going to be an overly exciting year for releases. I’m hopeful that the new owners might take heed and try to revitalize the brand while still respecting its heritage.
I like the color for personal use. As far as the pen goes, will need to see it. Having smaller hands the size should not be an issue for me.
This color is so hard to judge without an actual ink swab. I agree though, hard to envision what an Apricot Achat pen might look like without seeing it.
I’m very intrigued by the color of ink–especially with its connection with agates ( for which I hunt in the glacial outflow that covers northern Wisconsin). Like many who have commented, I’m less interested in a 200 size pen. It’s too small for my hand. With the mention of the Art Collection (of which I assume the 600 Glauco Cambon was a part), I’m anxious for the next pen in that series!
It seems many find the M200 too small. I may have to write about that phenomenon one day. The Art Collection, of which the Glauco Cambon was the first, appears to be on an every other year release schedule. You will see one later this year, likely in an M600, with the same guilloche technique previously employed. I suspect it will be an image similar to one of the prototypes previously floated.
Intrigued by the ink, hopefully it’ll be a little better behaved than Mandarin (since that one is a bit dry).
For the pen, You’re probably right, it’ll be an apricot demonstrator (boring). If they did a marble swirl (like the green swirl) now that would be interesting!
I tend to find that Pelikan’s inks run on the drier side. An Apricot demo would be a bit lackluster but adding some character to that look with a swirl pattern could go a long way.
I’m not sure if I would like either the ink or a matching pen. But definitely not the pen if it has chrome appointments instead of gold. Personally, I love the Blue Lapis ink, and friends whom I’ve written to, using the Blue Lapis ink, have loved it as well.
I can’t imagine that they would release an Apricot demo with chromium plated trim. I think that would be a complete mismatch. This apricot color clearly wants to be paired with gold-plated trim.
Judging from the golden cap I’d expect it to be a shimmer ink. I thought the golden caps are for shimmer inks, while the (previously) black / (now) grey caps are for regular inks?
That is a very astute observation and one I wondered about myself. We have had two golden caps before now, Golden Lapis (2024) and Golden Beryl (2021). Both were shimmer inks, the only two Pelikan has put out to date. Golden cap aside, two clues tip me off to this not being a shimmer ink. First, nowhere in their promotional literature does Pelikan make mention of a shimmer effect and they leaned into that when describing Golden Lapis. Second, if you look at the ink bottle in the last photo, there are no particles in suspension nor is their a layer on the bottom of the bottle. If this were a shimmer ink, you would expect to see some particulates. Lastly, Apricot Agate is not known for a shimmering effect so it wouldn’t have made sense to include it. I’m open to being proven wrong but I suspect that the truth is more mundane. Pelikan likely saved money in some fashion by using a golden cap vs black or grey.
In my opinion, there seems to have been a general decision to sell any IotY since moonstone with either a golden or silver cap.
As I only just noticed, the color of the cap matches the trim of each corresponding M20x so far.
Apart from any “surely this colour needs gold trim”-speculation, I take this as a confirmation to expect an M200 Apricot Achat.
Interesting. I have never thought to correlate the cap color of the ink bottle with the trim of its corresponding pen. You are correct though, the caps of the bottles have correlated with trim color since Moonstone. A very interesting finding that I honsetly had not put together.
This is a colour where I’ll need to see an ink swatch and writing sample and the pen in person prior to making any purchase decisions.
I’m quitr surprised so many find the M200 models too small, I always think of them as average sized pens and larger than many older pen (pre 2000) models.
I would say that the M200 was once what was considered a standard sized pen. I too am surprised that so many today find it small but that is a sign of the times. I hope to write about that phenomenon eventually.
Fun color. I’m hoping it’s strong enough on paper to be legible and scannable. (I always felt Moonstone was a little weak in that way.) Looking forward to getting a bottle. I really appreciate the Pantone color reference. I don’t recall seeing that before but given how much monitors and phone screens can vary, it’s very helpful. Are Pantone color spec available for the other IOTYs, especially my beloved Smoky Quartz?
Just the way they write about it, I have a feeling it might skew darker than it seems like it otherwise would. Pelikan referenced the Pantone system, the first time that I’ve actually seen them do so. I don’t know of any other color specs out there.
Hola y muy buenas noches estimado Josué y a todos los entusiastas de las plumas Pelikan. Tanto la tinta como la pluma, pienso que se verían increíbles en persona,
mas no compraría ni la una ni la otra, pues como, bien lo dijo John, ya tengo con la Smoky Quartz, y esta Apricot Achat sería muy pálida para mi gusto.
Secreto: “ya tengo en mi poder la Epoch Titán Silver” Es un tanto más gruesa de los esperado, es liviana y agradable al tacto. Confiable como Pelikan sabe hacerlo.
El Punto es rígido (ya lo habías mencionado), es un tamaño “F” equivalente a un 8 Jinhao,
Que por cierto ya me llamaron de la tienda Faber-Castell que ya tienen mi Tamitio Caligráfica.
(Feliz próximo día de San Valentín).
Hola. I really like the Epoch Titan-Silver. Great pen. Enjoy it!
The frequency and quality of your updates make this blog the best related to pens and ink, in general. It made me buy 4 Pelikans so far and seriously stuffed on ink. I wonder if you would create a new one for other brands considering the quality of your posts.
Ha! I barely have the bandwidth for one brand, let alone multiple but appreciate the kind words. I’m happy to keep this blog going the best that I can.
I have no aversion to larger pens, the Montblanc 149 and several Pelikan 800’s are workhorses in my rotation. That said, “standard” size pens from the original Parker 51, 61, 75 and Sonnet series, to Montblanc 320’s and later “Generations”
models, to Pelikan M200’s and 400’s all work fine for me.
Pelikan M200’s with their modest steel nibs and (relatively) modest pricing are some of my best and most consistent writers.
So, I look forward to another M200 release; I enjoy collecting the different finishes. As for the new ink, it’s hard to tell without a swatch. It seems, though, that there’s a good chance the color will be too light for everyday writing (e.g., note taking, journaling, correspondence). We shall see.
Yes, I’m very curious about where this one lands. Pelikan’s write up insinuates that this would be suitable for such writing but that really remains to be seen.
As one who likes smaller Pens, the 400 is my favorite Pelikan pen. I’m glad the ink this year is not a shimmering ink. I despise shimmering inks worse than about anything. I write with extra fine so shimmering inks are more than pointless.
I too think the 400 is really an ideal size. Unless you have a nice broad and expressive nib, the shimmer inks really don’t come through so in your use case, absolutely best to pass as you have observed. I’m of a similar vein though don’t quite despise them. I just see them as a novelty.
Pen: yes; ink: no. I collect, focusing on Pelikans, so I feel the need to add new additions to the flock. As a matter of fact, I pre-ordered the pen today. Agree that the ink is not appropriate for professional correspondence. Coming from 40 years in finance, I’m pretty conservative when it comes to business correspondence, sticking with blue, blue black or black. I think the ink might be too pale for my taste.
Joshua, thank you again for maintaining this blog. It’s a great discussion forum and resource.
I think a lot of people, particularly with this series, have to add them just for the sake of completion. You’re welcome for the resource. Sorry it hasn’t been as active lately but work has been killing me.
Another vote for pen: yes; ink no.
I have, for the most part, tamed my rapacious pen collecting urges. Accordingly, in recent years, I’ve
stayed away from expensive special or limited edition pens, including some stunning 600 series and 800 series releases. I have kept up, though, with the M2XX series; I think I have one of each release thus far. Picking up each year’s model is almost automatic for me.
I’m unlikely to purchase the ink. It seems likely that it will be too light — and not legible enough — for journaling, planner use or correspondence. I would reconsider if I saw one or more reviews that noted the ink was dark enough for the uses I mentioned.
I agree that Apricot Achat is way too light and just doesn’t really appeal to me. The pen is better than the ink though the match is good. Have to wait and see what next year brings.