Unlike the 4001 line, Pelikan’s Edelstein inks are premium products. This specific ink retails for about € 12.- for 50 ml of ink, a per-millilitre price of € 0.24. Its qualities in both colour and shading are comparable to Diamine’s more affordable Blaze Orange, but Mandarin is on the drier side.
In large swabs, Mandarin appears less saturated than in actual writing. There, its shading qualities present some strokes as highly saturated orange, some as paler and similar to the large-area swab. In my experience, legibility can be an issue in drier, finer nibs. Mandarin shines in broad and stub nibs and does a good job in a medium nib.
