In former entries I classified coloured pencil series from brands such as Koh-I-Noor or Derwent. This time, I will classify Caran d’Ache series in order to discriminate better the differences between them:

LUMINANCE

Luminance series is one of the highest quality series of Caran d’Ache. These pencils are rounded and solid, they are made of cedar wood and have a transparent lacquer covering the barrels. They are made of high quality pigments which possess the maximum lightfast degree in the market. Luminance leads are 3,8 mm and their colours are ideal for blending. The white pencil in this series is one of the best blenders that exists.
Luminance pencils come in velvety carton boxes of 12, 20, 40 and 76 units. Unfortunately, these pencils are not cheap: the smallest set rarely costs less than 40 pounds.

PABLO

This is the second best series of the brand, and it is also cheaper for this reason. Pablo pencils can be used for professionals and students. Their colours are permanent and each lead is 3,8 mm and is embedded in a hexagonal barrel which is painted in a colour matching the lead. Pablo pencils aren’t too soft nor too hard, they can cover big surfaces and they are also apt for detailed work. Pablo sets come in 18, 30, 40, 80 and 120 units. The smallest set is under 30 pounds.

MUSEUM AQUARELLE

Museum Aquarelle is the professional watercolour pencil line. They are highly pigmented and have a great lightfast degree. These pencils are hexagonal, soft and have leads of 3,8 mm. They can be used both dry and wet. They come in velvety carton sets of 12, 20, 40 and 76 pencils. The smallest set is around 25 pounds.

SUPRACOLOR

Caran d’Ache Supracolor pencils can be used both for artists and students. These hexagonal pencils have 3,8 mm leads and come in tins of 18, 40 and 120 units, and there is a special limited edition of 30 pencils. Supracolor are watercolour pencils, but they can also be used dry. They are made in cedar wood that come from responsible forests. The smallest set usually costs over 25 pounds.

PRISMALO

This is a more economical watercolour pencil series. They are hard pencils, ideal for technical drawing. Prismalo pencils are hexagonal and have a good lightfastness. Their leads are 3 mm and they are made of cedar wood. Prismalos are available in sets of 6, 12, 18, 40 and 60 colours. The smallest set is around 10 pounds.

FANCOLOR

Fancolor is another economical series by the brand. The pencils are soft and have bright colours. They are designed for colourists, students and children. They are watercolour pencils that can be used both wet and dry. Fancolor pencils are hexagonal and have 2,8 mm leads. Their barrels are painted in a colour matching the lead. They are available in sets of 6, 12, 18, 30 and 40 pencils. The set of 6 pencils is also available in a tin and in mini-size, and the set of 18 pencils is available in maxi-size. The Fancolor line also includes a markers and a gouache series. The set of 12 pencils costs around 12 pounds.

SWISSCOLOR

Swisscolor is a watercolour pencil line. It is economical and it is thought for colourists. These pencils are hexagonal, with leads of 2,8 mm and a barrel painted in a colour matching the lead. Swisscolors come in tins of 12, 18, 30, 40 and 120 pencils. The set of 12 is around 10 pounds.

PASTEL

This is the pastel pencil line. The colour chart includes 76 colours and have 4,7 mm leads with a strong point. They are hexagonal pencils made in cedar wood. Caran d’Ache pastel pencils are quite expensive: the set of 76 pencils often exceeds the 200 pounds. However, they are exceptionally good.

As we can see, Caran d’Ache has up to 5 different sets of watercolour lines and only 2 lines of dry pencils. Prices vary, from expensive Luminance to affordable Swisscolor. Regardless the price, all the Caran d’Ache lines are high value.

Luminance | Pablo | Museum aquarelle | Supracolor | Prismalo | Fancolor | Swisscolor | Pastel