Exceptional, is the word that comes to mind in answering this question about Rouge Hematite. The color is brilliant and beyond what I was expecting. All of the inks that I have ordered from Jacques Herbin have been outstanding and I only purchase Herbin inks.

I want to like this ink, and do like its color. I love the Storm Grey and the Emerald of Chivor, but this red ink does not behave as well as they do. The grey and emerald inks flow easily in a wet pen, and deliver variable but significant amounts of shimmer, but for some reason the Rouge ink does not deliver the shimmer well at all; it seems not to pass through the capillary-tube-like feed system (a wet-writing Conklin pen... I never use these shimmer inks in a really expensive pen, as the shimmer does build up in the feeds. I only use in pens whose feed I can easily remove and clean). As the shimmer builds up, the pen becomes progressively drier. Won't buy again, though I will continue to purchase the grey and green versions.

This is the best red I have ever used. I use it with a broad nib.

Very nice ink, great shade of orange. Yellow-gold sparkles and sheen under correct light. I was worried it would clog up my pen, but actually flows better than Monteverde California Teal in my Conklin All American Limited Addition with a Broad nib.

I got this in my birthday sample group. I had sort of rolled my eyes at the idea of shimmer inks before, but this beautiful ink made me a believer. It sat in my pen for a month and there was no clog. It flowed smoothly. The base rosy color is gorgeous to begin with, and the golden shimmer was subtle but unmistakable. I took notes on a Zoom meeting and it made me happy.

I enjoy this ink. As a novice fountain pen user, I have that inks seem to have an individual feel. I have obtained both green and Red for Christmas Cards.

Really nice ink. Beautiful dark raspberry pink. I didn't not get any of the gold shading as seen in the color sample on line. I'm fine with that, I inked up a Pineider Sunset yellow fine nib pen. I didn't see any of the color shading that other have commented on nor is this what I would consider a Christmas red. I have Visconti Bordeaux or Herbin Rouge Grenat for Christmas Red. Since I'm a overhand lefty I didn't get any smearing. Overall I am happy with the qualities of this ink.

This fascinating red is so deep and unusual undertones of gold. It's just bautiful

I tried over a dozen reds and Hematite showed the most promise, but the more I played with it the more I resented the shimmer or whatever you call it. I winced as reds turned to brown. It's not pleasant. Now I've found 3 Oysters Delicious Chilli Red I'm happy although I would have settled for Pelikan Edelstein Grenat.

My wife wanted me to use an ink with punch on our Christmas cards this year. I have never been much for shimmer inks. I have always seen them as somewhat feminine plus they have a reputation, even if undeserved, of clogging feeds. I used this ink in a Edison Collier with a steel 1.1mm stub as well as a Platinum 3776 with a gold custom architect grind. It worked flawlessly in both pens. It ran a bit wet in the Collier, which is my preference. Running a bit wet also allowed a little extra shimmer to come through. Although this will be a special occasion ink for me, I am glad I bought it.

Ok so I now have this ink in two of the, too many, fountain pens I have. A Jinhao 599 fine nib and Jinhao 159 medium nib pens. This is truly a unique and amazing ink. Sometimes the gold flecks in this ink are quite visible and at other times not. It depends on how much you shake the bottle when you are filling the pens. Shading is very interesting and visible. At first I was worried it would clog up my pens and cause problems but I have experienced none of that. In either the fine or medium pens. Great unique ink. Good flow. I would identify this as a wet ink similar to the Monteverde Inks I have. The only issue I have with this ink is ironically with the beautiful bottle the ink comes in. The have very small throats/small diameter caps so not all pens, such as the Jinhao 159, a large diameter pen does will fit into the bottle. As a work around I take the converter out of the pen and fill it, then reinstall into the pen.

I love the red base, it shades brilliantly, but I don't get a ton of sheen compared to emerald of chivor. If they sold this as a red without the flake, I'd call that one a five star red. One problem I notice is that it does tend to clog my ahab with a 1.1 stub that emerald of chivor doesn't clog up. The reason is that when you hold this next to a bottle of stormy grey or chivor, you can see there's at least five times as much particulate. This translates into an extreme amount of sparkle, high surface tension (works great in a flex nib) and enough fleck to choke a pen once or twice even on its first fill, whereas the chivor doesn't clog the same pen over 3 fills and a month without cleaning in between. So bear in mind that this stuff is heavy and dense and is not really suited to daily use like chivor and to a lesser extent stormy grey. That said, its bleedthrough is almost none, its saturation is high, feathering almost nonexistant, it's a very wet writing ink and also has an exceptional dry time of under 10-15 seconds on rhodia. It also looks good and doesn't feather on bad paper.Overall, I would much prefer this ink without any particulate, and if it didn't **** up the ratios, I'd actually just use the ink without shaking up the bottle. It barely gets 4 stars because of the properties it has apart from the clogging. PLEASE, J. HERBIN, MAKE THIS EXACT INK SANS THE PARTICULATE!If you are looking for your first 1670 or sparkling ink, it's no contest. Get Emerald of Chivor.

This ink looks a lot more warm and rich than the web images show and flows beautifully. I would write text (not just headings) with this ink. I wish there was a smaller bottle since the large bottle is a commitment but I feel like this is an ink I could live with..

I bought this ink about a month ago and received it a week later and after the excitement of unwrapping my new inks I had an tiny amount of dismay as the cap had a large ***** on the outside (from the terrible handling of ups in Alaska-.-) and yet that was the only problem i've had with this ink it flows really nice has a fairly quickly dry time and is surprising easy to clean up and out of a pen, along with that I havn'the had any problems with clogging or residue from the pigment being left in my feed. All in all this is all really nice ink and is a nice investment if your looking to give some personality to any letters or art you decide to write/draw.

...and the pen. I loaded it in a 1.5mm Pilot Parallel to write a Valentines day card, mehh.... Looked like a nice red ink. Then I put it down on some Nobel life and the gold came out. Then I tried some Rhodia and it really popped the gold sheen, just gorgeous. You need a good paper and pen combo that will allow the ink to dry without being absorbed too fast. I found the same parameters useful with their Emerald of Chivor.

This ink lays down a stunning colour. I'm using it in a TWSBI EF for comments and edits on legal documents. The EF requires reasonable grade paper due to the infusion of copper. It is smooth and fun to work with. All the staff are envious of the unique colour. Would recommend, and would buy again.

Love:1. Absolutely exquisite sheening!The red base colour is a perfect match with the gold sheening, far better than that of Emerald of Chivor! It appears as blood red at the beginning and the golden sheen gradually shows up when you write on ink-resistant paper (I used Tomoe River Paper). It's just a pleasure to see the colour change! Cannot take my eyes off the paper until the ink dries!2. Elegant and classic bottleThe ink bottle is a stand-alone art piece by itself! You'll fall in love with the bottle even before trying the amazing ink inside.Hate:1. Difficult to cleanThe main drawback is undoubtedly the ease of cleaning. I use the ink with a dip pen only and not dare to put it into any fountain pen yet... Residues remain on the nib of my dip pen even I clean it with toothpaste and toothbrush each and everytime after use... If you use this ink with a fountain pen, please make sure you use a wet pen with broad nib...2. Gold shimmers can be removed easilyThe gold shimmers can be removed easily off the paper in a light touch even when the ink is completely dried... It messes up both your writings and everything in touch with it...Just LOVE this ink and also HATE it at the same time. An INTERESTING ink worth trying after all ;)

Based on other's reviews, this ink has varied color qualities. I put a sample vial into a Noodlers Ahab as I wanted a broad wet line. The ink went on orange & dried to a lighter orange> green. Really pleasant to see.

This ink simply looks amazing on paper. It shades from red to gold through orange without encouragement. It is presented in the only bottle I have ever seen that can compete with Iroshizuku bottles in terms of classiness, and it looks great on a desk or a shelf. The gold-coloured elastic ribbon and faux wax seal really make it look nice. The problem with this ink is how it performs in a feed. It works quite well until you leave it in a pen for a while, but then the gold-coloured flecks can get stuck in the channel of the feed. I left it in my Noodler's Nib Creaper for half a week, which is a time that would cause no problem with any normal ink, and then I tried to write with it again and the flow was dry. I tried pulling out the nib and feed and re-seating them, but it did not help at all. A few days later, I realized that the ink I had left in it was this ink, and that the flecks were probably clogging the feed. I gave the pen a good clean and soaked the feed in Goulet Pen Flush overnight, then loaded the pen with OMAS Green and it started working as expected. A wet feed that was a little finicky, but not too much. I found that it caused no problems when i used it for half a day in my Pilot Stargazer then cleaned it out. With a pen holder and some dip nibs this could be an excellent ink, but it is not what I would call a good everyday ink, even if you are trying to get a stand-out colour. When it comes to it, this ink is not worth it for me. But I do like to have it around, because those gold flecks make flexy calligraphy really pop.

I bought this ink completely on a whim without first ordering a sample, which is unusual in itself, but especially so considering that this ink is pricey and that I'm not a person that usually likes red (nor do I have a need or a desire for a red ink). I was just so intrigued by the description of this ink along with the beautiful pictures that I've found online of writing samples and drawings using this ink. I filled my cheap red Sheaffer Calligraphy pen and was pleasantly surprised at how well it wrote because I assumed this was more of a novelty ink. I would call the color a true red. If you look very closely it has a very subtle sparkle, not gaudy. So subtle that you could still use this ink in a professional environment where red ink was appropriate (editing, correcting, etc.). (Although, there is a lot of gold sediment on the bottom of the bottle, so if you gave the bottle a good shake, you could probably get more sparkle, if so desired. I didn't do this because I wasn't sure what this would do to my pen--I just inverted it a few times prior to filling the converter). I left this ink my pen for about three weeks and just picked it up again and it immediately wrote great--no drying out or skipping issue.Also, the bottle is beautiful. I think this is the most beautiful ink bottle I own, surpassing Caran d'Ache, Pelikan Edelstein, and Pilot iroshizuku.

I use the in my medium nib Lamy. I would recommend that size or better when writing with the ink to allow the intensely red ink to show and to allow the sparkles to come out. The ink is wet, even with a finer nib, so allow plenty of dry time before moving on with what you're writing. This is not my everyday ink, and I use it for cards and letters. I have used it on different papers, and would recommend use paper that is less porous, since there will be significant bleed through. I am looking forward to using it will this year's holiday cards when something special is called for.

I first tried this ink in a Lamy Al-Star with a medium nib. I am not sure if it is because I filled it with a syringe kit but the ink, while a gorgeous crimson, had almost no gold sheen at all. However, I then filled my Noodler's Ahab flex nib with it and MAN.. this ink is Spectacular!This ink is for writing love letters, at least that's what I am going to use it for.

Red ink hurts my eyes.Red ink isn't really readable.Red ink reminds me of school.But this red doesn't do any of these. It is GORGEOUS. I write with this ink, and I just stare at what I wrote, waiting for it to dry and to get that wonderful golden-green sheen that is so characteristic of it. And then I write another sentence and do that again. I could almost hate this ink for making me slow down my writing a lot, but I don't. It's way too pretty to hate it. It does have precipitate into it and you have to shake it really good before using it, but once you do, it just goes back into the ink and you can use it safely. Stormy Grey does that too (I keep both of these ink colors into my pens for two or three weeks in a row without worrying, I just make sure I can pull out the nib and feed to clean them). I would recommend it to anyone, even if you don't like red ink.

I first tried a sample of this ink and was terribly underwhelmed. I hadn't cleaned my pen out properly and there was still water left in my nib. So when I tested it out on the closest sheet of paper I had this ink showed up almost PINK on my absorbent paper. I angrily flushed the rest back into my sample vial and cleaned my pen out immediately.After toying with Bleu Ocean and loving it, I decided perhaps I should give this ink a second fighting chance. This ink really shines when used on nonabsorbent paper. And I mean REALLY shines! It's not glittery like Bleu Ocean or Stormy Grey, or even Emeralds of Chivor, but it does have this reflective almost pearlescent sheen to it. When I use it in my planner I get some red lines and some gold lines where the ink goes down wet. Even on absorbent paper this goes down beautifully. Only on the most absorbent papers does it begin to turn more bright red. It's not as wet as my Noodler's Catfish Black but it's very close. My pen also writes extremely wet so even on my Goulet EF nib I see the full beauty of this ink. If you're on the edge, SERIOUSLY, snag a sample and be sure to shake it up before inking up. This ink doesn't require much shaking once it's in the pen for me (my pen usually stays horizontal in my purse or on my desk). I will certainly be buying a full bottle of this stuff after the holidays and after I've tried some of the other samples sitting on my desk!

One of my favorite inks of this color. I do not see much of the sheen in my writing however I only write simple notes on legal paper and use fine nibs. Great deep color however it does tend to clot on the nib when not used for a day or two. Easy enough to clean just a minor inconvenience.

Doesnt seem to be able to show the gold color very well when used with fountain pens. but if used with dip pens they should have a much better color.