Jacques Herbin Les Couleurs de Paris | Tour Eiffel Writing Ink, 30 ml
There is a particular shade of warm, yellowish-brown that belongs entirely to Paris. It is the colour of wrought iron in late afternoon light, of the Eiffel Tower as it stood in the early twentieth century. Jacques Herbin has captured it here, in a 30 ml bottle of writing ink that carries more history than most people realise.
The Tour Eiffel ink is part of Les Couleurs de Paris, a collection created as a tribute to the French capital - the city where the House of Herbin was founded in 1670. Each colour in the range takes its reference from a specific landmark or element of Parisian life. This one draws directly from the restoration project carried out between 2019 and 2022, during which the tower was repainted in the golden brown it first wore between 1907 and 1953. It is an unusual and specific shade: not quite sepia, not quite ochre, somewhere quietly between the two.
On paper, the ink rewards attention. It shades noticeably, with golden-yellow tones in thinner strokes deepening to a richer warm brown where the ink pools. The effect is particularly pleasing on quality papers - on Japanese or cotton-content sheets, the colour has a luminous, almost honeyed quality. It performs best through a smooth nib, as the lubrication sits on the lower end of the spectrum. On standard copy paper it will ghost and bleed, which is worth knowing upfront. Match it with a good notebook and it behaves beautifully.
The formulation is dye-based, vegan, and produced in France. It flows freely through fountain pens and dries reasonably quickly, with adequate water resistance once dry. It is also compatible with converter rollerball pens and glass pens, making it useful across a range of instruments.
Jacques Herbin has been making ink since the reign of Louis XIV. The house holds the distinction of being the oldest ink manufacturer in the world. That history sits behind every bottle they produce, and it is evident in the care with which these inks are made.
Pen compatibility
Suitable for all fountain pens, converter rollerball pens, and glass pens.
Key details
A note on paper pairing
This ink performs noticeably better on fountain pen-friendly papers. Clairefontaine, Rhodia, Tomoe River, and similar papers will show the shading and colour at its best.
On cheaper paper stocks, ghosting and bleed-through are likely.
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