Caran d'Ache Art Supplies Deals — Sales, Discounts & Price Comparison UK

The Complete Guide to Caran d'Ache Art Supplies — Plus How to Find the Best UK Deals and Discounts

There are premium art brands and then there is Caran d'Ache. The Geneva-based manufacturer occupies a position at the very top of the coloured pencil and watercolour market that very few brands come close to — and the artists who use their products tend to develop a loyalty that borders on evangelical. Understanding what Caran d'Ache actually makes, where each product sits in the range, and how to find it at the best UK price is worth knowing before you commit to what is, at the top end, a significant investment.

A Century of Swiss Craftsmanship

Caran d'Ache was founded in Geneva in 1915 by Arnold Schweitzer, who had spent years studying pencil manufacturing in Germany before returning to Switzerland with the knowledge and ambition to build something exceptional. The brand name derives from karandash — the Russian word for pencil, itself derived from the Turkic for black stone — which gives you a sense of how seriously the founders took the heritage of the medium they were working in.

What has distinguished Caran d'Ache throughout its history is an absolute commitment to Swiss manufacturing. Every product bearing the Caran d'Ache name is made in Geneva — the pigments, the casings, the quality control, all of it. In an era when most art brands manufacture in multiple countries and outsource significant parts of their production, that consistency matters. It's one of the reasons Caran d'Ache products perform so reliably — the same factory, the same standards, decade after decade.

Today Caran d'Ache produces an extensive range covering coloured pencils, watercolour pencils, graphite, pastels, watercolour pans and tubes, and luxury writing instruments. The art supply range is what most UK artists are interested in, and it's worth understanding in some depth.

The Caran d'Ache Coloured Pencil Range

Coloured pencils are the heart of the Caran d'Ache art supply range, and the brand produces several distinct lines at different price points and for different applications:

Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901

The flagship professional coloured pencil and, for many artists, the finest coloured pencil in the world. Luminance pencils are oil-based with an exceptionally soft, creamy lead that delivers intense, highly pigmented colour with minimal pressure. The defining characteristic of the Luminance range is lightfastness — the pigments are rated to the highest archival standards, with most colours carrying a lightfastness rating of I or II (excellent to very good). For professional artists whose work goes to collectors or galleries, lightfastness isn't optional — it's what separates work that will look the same in fifty years from work that will fade. Luminance is the answer to that requirement.

Available in 100 colours, sold individually and in sets from 12 up to 100 pieces. The full 100-colour wooden box is one of the most coveted items in the coloured pencil world — and one of the most expensive. Sale pricing on Luminance sets is relatively rare but worth watching for, particularly around major retail events.

Caran d'Ache Pablo

The Pablo range sits just below Luminance in the Caran d'Ache hierarchy — wax-based rather than oil-based, with a slightly firmer lead and a broader colour range of 120 colours. Pablo pencils are highly pigmented, lightfast, and versatile across a wide range of techniques including layering, burnishing, and blending. For artists who find Luminance almost too soft for detailed work, Pablo offers a firmer alternative without sacrificing colour quality.

Available individually and in sets. The 120-colour range makes Pablo one of the broader coloured pencil offerings on the market, and the individual open stock availability means building a custom palette over time is entirely practical.

Caran d'Ache Supracolor Soft

The Supracolor range bridges coloured pencils and watercolour pencils — these are water-soluble coloured pencils that perform excellently both dry and when activated with water. The leads are soft and highly pigmented, delivering rich colour dry and beautiful, fluid washes when wet. Available in 120 colours, the Supracolor range is one of the most comprehensive water-soluble pencil offerings available and is used extensively by botanical illustrators, watercolour artists who want the control of a pencil, and mixed media artists who work across both wet and dry media.

Caran d'Ache Prismalo

A more accessible water-soluble coloured pencil range, sitting below Supracolor in terms of price and pigment intensity. Prismalo is the Caran d'Ache entry point for water-soluble pencil work — still significantly better than most competitor brands at this price tier, but more affordable than the Supracolor range. Available in 80 colours, with sets from 12 upwards.

Caran d'Ache Neocolor II

A genuinely unique product and one of Caran d'Ache's most beloved. Neocolor II are water-soluble wax pastels — thick, chunky sticks that combine the coverage and texture of oil pastels with water solubility. They can be used dry for bold, expressive mark-making or activated with water to create rich, fluid washes of colour. Available in 84 colours, Neocolor II are used by professional artists, illustrators, and mixed media artists across the world and are particularly popular for expressive landscape work, journaling, and large-scale colour work. Highly pigmented, lightfast, and versatile — this is a product with very few genuine competitors.

Neocolor I is the non-water-soluble version of the same product — pure wax pastel, water resistant once applied, popular for resist techniques and work where permanent colour is required.

The Caran d'Ache Watercolour Range

Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle

Museum Aquarelle is Caran d'Ache's professional watercolour range — pans and tubes of exceptional pigment quality, named for their museum-grade archival standards. The pigments are intensely concentrated, highly lightfast, and produce the kind of transparent, luminous washes that professional watercolour artists require. Available in pans (half and full) and tubes, in sets and individually. Expensive — genuinely so — but considered by serious watercolour painters as among the finest professional watercolours available.

Caran d'Ache Gouache Studio

A professional gouache range offering the opacity and matte finish of traditional gouache with Caran d'Ache's characteristic pigment quality. Available in a focused range of colours suited to illustration, design work, and fine art application.

The Caran d'Ache Graphite Range

Caran d'Ache Grafwood

A premium graphite pencil range in grades from 9H to 9B — one of the broadest graphite ranges available from any single brand. Grafwood pencils are manufactured to extremely tight tolerances, with consistent lead quality throughout and exceptional break resistance. Popular with technical illustrators, architects, and artists who work in graphite and demand absolute consistency.

Caran d'Ache Technograph

A technical graphite pencil range designed for precision drawing and drafting. Available in a wide range of grades, Technograph is popular in architectural, design, and technical illustration contexts.

Buying Caran d'Ache in the UK — What to Know

Caran d'Ache products are stocked by a smaller number of UK retailers than more mainstream brands, and prices can vary significantly. Here's how to approach buying:

Use a price comparison tool first — this page compares live pricing from UK stockists so you can see the best current deal immediately. Given the price points involved, the saving from comparison shopping can be meaningful — we're not talking pennies on a tube of paint.

Individual pencils are available on open stock — for Luminance and Pablo in particular, buying individual colours rather than complete sets is often the more economical approach for artists who know exactly which colours they need. Compare per-pencil cost carefully.

Watch sale events on sets — Caran d'Ache sets, particularly the larger Luminance and Pablo tins, do appear in seasonal sale promotions at UK art retailers. Black Friday is the most reliable opportunity. Given the price of a full Luminance set, even a modest percentage discount represents a significant saving in real terms.

Buy the largest set you can justify — the per-pencil price in larger sets is almost always better than in smaller ones. If you're committed to the range, the economics favour buying up rather than starting small and adding to it.

Consider starting with Neocolor II — if you've never bought Caran d'Ache before and want to understand what the brand's quality actually feels like before committing to Luminance prices, Neocolor II is an excellent and more affordable entry point. The quality is immediately apparent and distinctive.

Is Caran d'Ache Worth the Price?

For the Luminance range, if lightfastness and archival quality matter to your work — yes, unequivocally. There is no other coloured pencil on the market that combines Luminance's pigment intensity, lightfastness ratings, and working quality. Faber-Castell Polychromos is the closest competitor and a genuinely excellent pencil, but most artists who have used both acknowledge that Luminance occupies its own tier.

For the Pablo, Supracolor, and Neocolor ranges — yes at the right price. These are premium products that justify their cost for artists who use them regularly. The quality difference over mid-range alternatives is real and noticeable.

For beginners or artists who paint occasionally — the price point may not be justified at this stage of practice. Derwent Coloursoft or Faber-Castell Polychromos are better entry points into the premium pencil market, with Caran d'Ache as the natural next step for serious practitioners.

Frequently Asked Questions About Caran d'Ache

What is the difference between Caran d'Ache Luminance and Pablo pencils? Luminance are oil-based with a softer, creamier lead and the highest lightfastness ratings in the range — designed for professional archival work. Pablo are wax-based with a slightly firmer lead and a broader colour range of 120 colours versus Luminance's 100. Both are professional-grade; the choice often comes down to preferred working style and whether archival permanence is a priority.

Are Caran d'Ache pencils worth the money? For professional artists and serious practitioners, yes. The pigment quality, lightfastness, and manufacturing consistency are genuinely at the top of the market. For casual hobbyists or beginners, the price premium over very good mid-range pencils may not be justified until your practice has developed to the point where the difference is meaningful to your work.

Where are Caran d'Ache products made? Everything is made in Geneva, Switzerland — this is a non-negotiable part of the brand's identity and manufacturing philosophy. No outsourcing, no overseas production.

Can Caran d'Ache Neocolor II be used on fabric? Neocolor II are water-soluble and not recommended for fabric without a fixative. Neocolor I — the non-water-soluble version — is better suited to applications where water resistance is required.

Where can I buy Caran d'Ache in the UK? Caran d'Ache is stocked by Cass Art, Jacksons Art Supplies, Amazon UK, and specialist art retailers. The range stocked varies between retailers — use the comparison tool on this page to find the best current UK deal before you buy.