Review by Laura Cameron
When I was in Arkansas last month, I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the Vanness walls of ink and, with some help from the friendly shop staff, I found a new to me ink: De Atramentis Deepwater Obsession Black-Red (35mL for $14.00).
Deepwater Obsession Black-Red is a gorgeous black cherry colored ink with rich intensity.
In lighter applications it is almost dusty looking, and in the darkest applications it is almost black.
In the course of normal writing, however, you don’t see those lovely shades; more just a rich red-black color.
The ink doesn’t sheen at all, and barely shades in the course of writing unless you vary the flow of ink to the nib (like with my dip nibs).
And those ink splotches? A bit red on the edges, but almost black!
The lighter shades of Deepwater Obsession Black-Red are similar to Platinum Classic Lavender Black, but are definitely slightly redder. Compared to Diamine Wine Divine, Deepwater Obsession is a little more plummy and of course it doesn’t have the sparkle of Wine Divine. Perhaps the closest in my swatch collection is Birmingham Pen Company’s South Side Market Boysenberry.
Overall I love the color of this ink, but if you’re looking for fun shading or sheening, this doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. It’s just plain old good deep black cherry red.
- Papers: Crossfield Journal ($24.00), and Ghost Paper Notebook ($25)
- Pen: Delike Glass Signature Pen ($37.80)
- Swatches: Col-o-Ring Ink Testing Book ($10) and Col-o-Dex Rotary Cards ($15)
- Inks: De Atramentis Deepwater Obsession Black-Red (35mL for $14.00)
DISCLAIMER: Some of the items included in this review were provided to us free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Laura, is this water-resistant ,proof? Wither or neither?
It is not part of their document ink line so it won’t be a “permanent” ink. My water test indicates it’s somewhat resistant (as in I can still see my lines), but there is considerable smearing.