Ink Line Preview: Monarca Stationery Inks

Monarca Fine Writing Ink is a new line of inks from Mexico. The first thing that apparent from the outside is that these are from somewhere tropical. Each box features full color artwork of a desert or ocean landscape. There are four bottles in the “Caribe” line and four inks in the “SemiDesierto” and the limited edition shimmer ink, Rey Jaguar.

All inks come in 30ml glass bottles and every box ships with a wooden base that holds the ink bottle and includes a rest for your pen.

There is a bit of foam on the inside of the wood stand that helps keep the bottle snug and stable.

Inside each box was also a small color card showing the full product range.

For full swatch comparisons, click below to see more.

Caribe Collection:

Mar Caribe (Caribbean Sea) is a bright turquoise blue. Of course, the closest ink color I could find is my beloved Robert Oster Torquay. Sheaffer Green and J. Herbin Bleu Calanque are both just a bit darker.

Manglar (translates to Mangrove which is a shrub that grows along coastlines) is a deep green with slight blue undertones. Despite my massive assortment of green inks, finding a similar shade of green was a challenge. Diamine Salamander is the closest I could find. Noodler’s Army Green is more yellow and Taccia Midori Green is much brighter. Trust me, I looked through dozens of inks and these were the closest in color and hue.

The most unique color in both collections is Arena Blanca (translates to White Sands) which is a pale golden tan. What’s so delightful about this light color is it is still legible. I so wanted to love Ferris Wheel Press Cream of Earl (she says as she drinks a cup of Earl Grey tea) but it is too light to be legible. I don’t have a lot of pale warm inks so this comparison is a little bit of a hodge podge. Pen BBS #401 Afternoon Ink is the closest ink in my collection but it is darker, truly more the color of an afternoon cup of black tea.

Cenote is named after limestone water pools. The ink is deep indigo with a bit of sheen. I compared it to other deep blue and sheeners and was stunned to find it didn’t quite look the same as any other ink in my collection. I’m always so shocked when this happens. While this sort of deep dark blue isn’t an earth shattering color, I’m still surprised how different Cenote looks. The closest color I could find was Diamine Majestic Blue. Krishna Moonview, Vinta Dugong Bughaw and Maharlika Azure are all much sheenier.

Semidesierto Collection:

The colors in the Semidesierto Collection are inspired by the more arid environments of the high desert landscapes.

Tierra Colorada is named after a city in southwest Mexico. In researching, there are many photos of Tierra Colorada that show soil this bright red. Like the land where terra cotta pots are made. Its a very warm red brown. Tierra Colorada does shade but does not sheen. Similar colors include Diamine Ancient Copper (more red), Krishna Goldfish Gold (more red-orange), Robert Oster Hippo Purple (more purple) and Diamine Roasted Chestnut (probably the most similar overall).

Nopal (Nopal is a common name in Spanish for Opuntia cacti) is a deep green tinged with warmth (I see both yellow and a hint of red in the swatch). There is little to no sheen in this color but it does show some shading. Diamine Safari and PenBBS Tolstoy are both more yellow and Sailor Epinard and Tokiwa-Matsu are both considerably more sheeny.

Cielo Cruel (Cruel Sky) is a deep dark blue that shades but has no noticeable sheen. It has a little bit of violet in the blue making it unique. It’s not quite a blue black nor is it a bright, vivid blue. When writing, Cielo Cruel shows more of the bluish purple color. If you compare it to Sailor’s Sailor or Sailor Souten, the fine lines are more of a bright blue but the fine lines of Cielo Cruel are noticeably more lavender grey.

The Semidesierto collection includes one sheeny color: Cardona. I attempted to research the origin of the name. I was unable to come up with a direct connection but the deep purply red with a brilliant green-gold sheen reminds me of the skin of the prickly pear cactus fruit. Due to the high sheen of Cardona, there is very little shading but WOW! that sheen. Interestingly, J. Herbin Rouge Hematite was probably the closest comparable color though it may have a more red base, the sheen makes it hard to actually determine the base color once the ink is dry. Vinta Sandugo Sikatuna is similar in sheen but the color feels darker.

Rey Jaguar Shimmer Ink:

The final ink color to look at is the limited edition shimmer ink: Rey Jaguar. Rey Jaguar ink ($29 for 30ml) is a special limited edition ink. Only 600 bottles were produced and a percentage of the sales of this ink will be donated to conservation efforts to save the Jaguar from extinction.

The color is a warm golden color with gold shimmer. Its a color that reminds me of Robert Oster Honey Bee with shimmer. Upon further digging, Diamine Shimmer Golden Sands is almost identical in color. If you were looking for a beautiful golden shimmer ink, Rey Jaguar ties with Diamine Golden Sands.

Final Impressions:

DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Monarca Stationery for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.