Here are two stationery brands i thought i’d have to always admire from afar: Aurora, because i’d be bankrupt otherwise, and Colorverse, because it was difficult to find their inks outside of South Korea. Turns out, Aurora does sell a not-egregiously-expensive pen and Colorverse is more widely available now. Reader, you know i had to. For scientific reasons.

Let’s start with the ink. Colorverse can only be described as “quirky”: while they offer ten basic “office” inks, they’re mostly known for their catalogue of 170 (!) vivid shades, including 33 glitter-infused formulations. They’ve released many of their inks in “seasons”, thematic batches that are mostly space-related, and some are sold in indissociable pairs.

I could have chosen any and all of their 17 purple inks, but i was drawn to “Delicious Sleep”, a muted hue from their “Joy in the Ordinary” season. Thanks to Wikipedia, i now understand what a dyne is, but i’m not sure i needed to know that Delicious Sleep has a surface tension of 51.2 dynes. It might tell you that it’s not the wettest ink around, but it doesn’t tell you that it has a slightly grainy texture that might irk some, even though i find it pretty satisfying.

I do like that Colorverse advertises the pH of their inks, however, as acidic inks have a tendency to play havoc on steel nibs. Delicious Sleep is a safe ink in that regard… and in general. It’s pretty water-resistant, but easy to clean out with a bit of dish soap. Its pink undertones rarely peek through its dusky lavender hue and it has no sheen to speak of. Delicious Sleep is the perfect name for it and my Aurora Ipsilon is the perfect match.

Were it not for the distinctive shape of the clip, you’d be hard-pressed to identify this as an Aurora fountain pen. It features the same plain plastic barrel, slightly bulbous cap and flat top as countless others. I have an older model with a plain section and it’s frankly boring. The Italian brand made a great choice by switching to a transparent section and more saturated colours on newer models.

The black leatherette box includes an international cartridge converter. The steel nib is decidedly fine, even if mine is a medium. It’s hard as a nail, but it’s been perfectly ground, without a hint of scratchiness nor glassiness. I was expecting the glossy plastic to be slippery, but it’s not been the case. The pen is so light (23 g fully loaded) and well balanced that you don’t even feel like you’re holding on to it. There’s a reason you’ve seen this design a million times before.

The only thing i don’t like about the Aurora Ipsilon is its clicky cap. At the €150 level, i expect a screw-in cap with some sort of gasket to prevent the ink from drying. I’ve never experienced any dry starts, but i know i’ve lost some of my precious ink to evaporation. I wouldn’t trust it in a drawer, but then again, i wouldn’t want to throw it in one. It’s a very competent pen that i’ve had pleasure writing my daily log with.

Truth be told, i’d have preferred it if it would have put me off Aurora. I really, really shouldn’t be looking at the purple Optima Auroloide. (By the way, did you know that you can support me on Ko-Fi?)