Jacques Herbin Prestige Ink Cartridges "The Essentials" – Violet Boreal

There are violets, and then there is Northern Violet. Deep, cool, and faintly mysterious, this shade takes its inspiration from the northern lights - that particular darkness in the sky just before colour erupts across it. It is not a soft or decorative violet. It has presence on the page.

Violet Boreal belongs to Jacques Herbin's Essential Inks collection, a range conceived for everyday use without sacrificing intensity or character. These are working inks - colours you'll actually reach for.

The Ink
The formulation is dye-based, vegan, and made in France, producing colours that are bright and luminous rather than muted or flat. On paper, it glides smoothly and dries quickly - two things that matter when you're writing at length or working with finer paper stocks. The ink is pH neutral, which means it's gentle on pen components and won't degrade seals or feed channels over time.

Compatibility
These are standard international (long) cartridges, compatible with the vast majority of fountain pens on the market. If your pen accepts international cartridges - and most do, from entry-level Lamys to vintage European nibs - these will fit. As always with cartridge inks, avoid mixing with other inks in the same pen, and if a pen has been sitting unused for a while, flush it clean before loading a fresh cartridge.

What's in the Box?
Seven large standard international cartridges, giving you a meaningful supply before you need to reorder. The format makes colour-switching straightforward: pop one out, seal the used cartridge if it's only partly spent, load the next.

The House
Founded in Paris in 1670, Jacques Herbin is the oldest ink manufacturer in the world. Over the centuries, the house earned the patronage of Louis XIV and Napoleon Bonaparte - not through novelty, but through consistency of quality. The 1798 marker in the brand's history notes the moment Jacques Herbin, the fourth-generation family member, formalised the house's commitment to writing ink as the steel nib began to replace the quill. That same seriousness about craft runs through the Essential Inks range today.

Violet Boreal suits correspondence, journaling, annotation, and drawing alike. It reads as considered without being fussy - the kind of colour that says something about the person using it without making a scene.