HISTORY
Caran d’Ache is a prestigious Swiss brand that has been producing art supplies for over 100 years. It was founded in Geneva in 1915 by Arnold Schweitzer, after finding the first natural sources of graphite in the mountains of Switzerland. Caran d’Ache derives from the Russian word “karandash”, which means “pencil”. The word itself comes from the Turkish term “kara tash” which means “black stone”: the origins of graphite. It is not always an affordable brand for everyone, but nobody can deny its quality.
Caran d’Ache Luminance (6901) are considered one of the top pencil series. It is the “toy” that every artist wants in their collection. You even feel sad to sharpen them.
Some artists consider that Luminance pencils are overrated, but I think the main obstacle is the price (each unit costs over 3 pounds, which makes them difficult to be found in physical shops). Honestly, I don’t know anyone who has tried them and have said something realistically bad against them.
SPECIFICATIONS
Luminance 6901 series was born in 2008, and it is the Caran d’Ache line that features the smallest colour chart, with only 76 tones. According to the leaflet inside the box, the pencils are carved in Californian cedar and are manufactured using recycled products whenever possible, to be respectful with the environment. These pencils are rounded, solid and chunky. They are heavier than a standard pencil. They barely have a scent.
Luminance pencils are handy and easy to carry. They have rounded barrels and the pencil lead is 3,8 mm. It cannot be seen from the outside because it is covered with a top painted on a colour matching it. The rest of the pencil is covered on a transparent lacquer. On the barred can be read the name of the brand, the manufacturing country and the colour name in both French and English, among other details like the sustainability of the forests from where the wood is taken. The lead contains less than a 30% of wax and a 70% of oil, hence that creamy texture.
The lightfast degree of the Luminance pencils is the maximum one in the current market (61 of the 76 colours in the palette have the maximum light resistance), thanks to a research of 2 years in Caran d’Ache ateliers, which makes them one of the most valuable options for professional work.
PERFORMANCE
The Luminance tones aren’t particularly bright (Pablo ones are easily more vibrant). They are creamy, highly pigmented and they blend like butter.
The saturated pigments of the lead don’t smudge or produce clots, and they are easily blendable.
I still did not sharp these pencils, and the reason is I don’t use them too often, as I am learning colouring techniques and trying to improve my drawing, and I want to “keep” them for when I get more skilled (as a reward). Unfortunately then, I cannot offer any personal testimony on sharpening these pencils, but I have read other reviews and, apparently, they offer no trouble.
SETS AND PACKAGING
The Luminance series come in boxes of 12, 20, 40 and 76 pencils. They are presented in a hard cardboard box with an inner tray covered in a material similar to velvet, which recalls the jewell cases. Although I prefer tin boxes, this box is ideal because the pencils are sort of embedded in the trays, so they cannot be damaged in case of impact. It’s like the foam isolates them from the hit.
COLOUR CHART AND DEMO
The colour chart for my 20 pencils set is this:
Black 009 / Slate grey graphite 495 / Raw umber 548 / Burnt sienna 069 / Perylene brown 585 / 065 Russet / Yellow ochre 034 / Spring green 470 / Grass green 220 / Dark sap green 739 / Prussian blue 159 / Phthalocyanine blue 162 / Light cobalt blue 661 / Manganese violet 112 / Anthraquinoid pink 571 / Permanent red 061 / Orange 030 / Golden bismuthyellow 820 / Lemon yellow 240 / White 001 / Light malachite green 181 / Light blue 161
I owned the last two colours before I bought the set of 20, so, in total, I own 22 Luminance pencils. There are no samples of them in the picture above.
Due to the light effect (I think the picture is not too good and I will take it again when I have the chance), colours like yellow ochre and spring green look similar, but in reality they are not so.
WHERE TO BUY
These pencils are expensive, this is a fact. The best price goes to (as usual) Amazon UK, where you can find the 20 pencils set for over 40 pounds and the 12 pencils set for around 30-35. Considering the price difference is minimal, I do think it is better to get the 20 pencils set, as we are talking about 8 extra pencils that would cost more than 3 pounds each.
If you could only get one pencil in this series though, I would go for the white pencil, because it is one of the best blenders you will run into. It really makes a difference for polishing. Blues are also vivid and nice to own separately.
CONCLUSION
Luminance is one of the best lines you can work on a commission with. If you are already an artist and you are not using them, I would recommend you to go ahead and try them. If on the other hand you are still a learner or a colourist, maybe it is a better idea to only purchase one pencil to begin with, to see how you feel about it.
PROS, CONS AND RATING
The best: they are creamy, highly pigmented and easy to blend.
The worst: you guess it? The price.
Rating: 9/10
MORE INFORMATION
Learning to draw 