It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of ink available in today’s fountain pen market, and even I have trouble keeping the various brands straight (not to mention the literally hundreds of individual colors out there). To me, those brands that stand out are those that make an effort to cultivate a true sense of identity, often by drawing on their place of origin. Such is the case with the latest arrivals, a series of nine inks from Monarca Stationery inspired by the colors of Mexico’s landcapes.
Monarca color swatches, still wet. The inks dry fairly quickly but these were wet swatches with the side of a Drillog on Tomoe River Paper.
The colors themselves are gorgeous - a balanced mix of dark and vibrant with a special edition shimmer ink (Rey Jaguar) thrown in. Colors include: Manglar (Mangrove), a dark green; Mar Caribe (Caribbean Sea), a bright turquoise; Nopal (Cactus), another green; Cardona (Cactus Fruit), a burgundy/red with sheen and shimmer; Arena Blanca (White Sand), a light sandy brown; Cenote, a deep blue with sheen and shimmer; Cielo Cruel (Cruel Sky), a shading grey-blue; and Tierra Colorada (Red Soil), a deep reddish brown.
Cardona, a dark burgundy-red inspired by cactus fruit, is one favorite that I plan to get into rotation soon. Writing samples in this post were all done with a Drillog Metal Dip Pen (in a much better .8mm kindly sent to me by the manufacturer), on 68gsm Tomoe River Paper in a Lochby Notebook.
I’ve very much enjoyed the design work that Monarca put into packaging their ink. The boxes themselves look like works of art, with images of the Mexican coast, rainforest, and semidesert, depending on which scene inspired a particular color. Each box contains a bottle of 30ml ink along with a banak wood ink stand/pen rest, particularly helpful if you are using these inks with a dip pen. The one downside I’ve noticed with Monarca inks is that the mouth of the bottle is very narrow, making it impossible to fill even medium-gauge fountain pens like the Pilot Custom 823 unless you decant the ink into a different bottle or a sample vial. (You will likely also have to do this once the ink level in the bottle gets low, given it’s tall, narrow shape.)
Monarca ink swatches when dry. The most interesting of these inks, even if not my preferred colors for everyday use, are the Arena Blank and Rey Jaguar.
For a “real world” writing test, I loaded Cielo Cruel and Mar Caribe into two Parker 51s from my collection (original vintage on the right, Nick Pang Fantasy 51 on the left). So far, they’ve performed well on nearly all papers but I will follow up after some long-term use.
Takeaways and Where to Buy
While this is just a “first impressions” review, and I’ve not had an opportunity to extensively test all inks in the Monarca lineup, Cielo Cruel and Mar Caribe have shown themselves to be excellent daily writers, with no feathering, no bleed-through, and relatively quick dry times. I look forward to rotating the rest of these inks through my pens, especially some of the more unusual colors such as Arena Blanca and Rey Jaguar.
You can purchase Monarca inks directly via the Monarca Stationery Etsy shop, or via authorized U.S. retailers including Dromgoole’s and Amarillo Stationery. Ink is currently sold either individually in 30 ml glass bottles starting at $20 USD ($24-29 for shimmer inks), or as part of a full set containing all nine inks for $180. Smaller four-color bundles are also available. Despite having to travel from Mexico and clear customs, shipping was incredibly fast.
Disclaimer: I received the set of nine inks featured here from Monarca Stationery, free of charge, for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review, and this post does not contain third-party affiliate links. Many thanks to Monarca for making this review possible!