Van Dieman's 2025 December - Christmas Beetle - 100ml Shimmering Multichromatic Fountain Pen Ink

Van Dieman’s Ink – Christmas Beetle (December 2025 Ink of the Month)

The Christmas beetle is one of Australia’s most nostalgic summertime visitors. Found across the eastern states, especially in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, these gentle scarabs emerge in early summer and often peak right around Christmas, which is how they earned their name. Their metallic colours range from soft golds and greens to vivid bronzes and pinks, giving them an almost festive sheen. For many Australians they are a cherished childhood memory. Their arrival marks the beginning of warm nights, cicada song, and the long school summer holidays. People remember them clinging to flyscreens, buzzing clumsily around verandah lights, and resting in the trees like tiny living ornaments.

Inspired by this beloved seasonal icon, Christmas Beetle is a richly expressive multichromatic shading ink that shifts in remarkable ways depending on paper, lighting and nib choice. The base colour is a warm copper brown that sits between Riverbank from our Natura Dualis collection and Woollarawarre Bennelong. It is darker and earthier than the former, yet lighter and more radiant than the latter. When it pools it deepens into umber and mahogany. When it spreads it opens into tans, greys, greens, blues and gentle pinks. Every stroke reveals something different, making it one of the most dynamic inks we have ever created.

The shimmer carries its own chromatic magic. At a direct viewing angle it glows with a soft gold. Tilt the page downward toward forty five degrees and the shimmer blooms into green. Lower it further and flashes of blue appear. Tilt upward instead and the shimmer almost disappears, allowing the underlying colours to shine through. This creates a beautifully interactive experience that echoes the way the real beetle glints and shifts in the sun.

The artwork for this release was a combined effort from the Van Dieman’s team. It layers line art with swatches of 2025 inks. Rainbow Scarab forms the background, with Peacock Spider, Firefly and Luna Moth creating the baubles, Honey Bee forming the clasps and ties, and Christmas Beetle ink colouring the beetles themselves.

Christmas Beetle is a festive finale to the 2025 collection, celebrating a creature that has charmed generations of Australians and capturing its beauty in richly shifting colour.

Special Offer:
Receive Christmas Beetle free when you buy any 10 Van Dieman’s inks within the month of December 2025. No code required. Offer valid exclusively from December 1st until December 31st.