Browns are fun to write with, in my opinion. When I was going through my inks to come up with some other comparisons for Smoky Quartz, I realized how many browns I have.
When looking at Smoky Quartz, it comes across as a true brown without any red undertones. Montblanc Toffee Brown is very similar to Smoky Quartz but a tad darker whereas J. Herbin Caroube de Chypre is very reddish in its brown. Private Reserve Ebony Brown is a nice dark brown but there are notes of green in it when compared to Smoky Quartz.
Smoky Quartz is a nice, rich brown color with some beautiful shading. The flow is high with Pelikan inks and this is no exception here. The saturation is good, and there is little to no sheen. It is just a delightful brown color.
On Rhodia paper, the color of the ink is rich and dark with nice shading. One thing that I really noticed was how quickly it dries on ink resistant paper. I noticed that it would be dried within 10 seconds of being placed on the page. That is fantastic.
Tomoe River paper also brings out the shading here, as it should and the dry times were also right around 10 seconds which is just phenomenal. What I found to be odd here is that the ink comes across a bit lighter on this paper compared to Rhodia.
If you like brown colored inks this one needs some consideration. Pelikan Edelstein inks are known for high quality and this ink is worthy of being the ink of the year! Hands down.
This review is based off of my opinions and experience. I do not represent Pelikan nor am I being compensated in any way.