For over 150 years Winsor & Newton have produced the Series 7 brushes, with a reputation unrivalled in quality and performance offering exceptional colour load, consistent flow and even application allowing for clean lay down of colour and line used and converted by artists from all over the world who have acclaimed Series 7 and carries its world-wide reputation for the finest quality sable available.
The standard of quality for this brush were set in 1866 when Her Majesty Queen Victoria gave orders for Winsor & Newton to create the very finest watercolour brush in her favourite size (7). These highest quality brushes are still handmade in England today by skilled master craftspeople, using only the finest quality Siberian Kolinsky Sable hair, seamless rust-proof nickel-plated ferrules with a black polished Birchwood handle which is stamped with the brush size and logo in gold lettering.
Her Majesty Queen Victoria was a passionate and accomplished watercolour painter creating portraits of family members and beautiful landscapes. The original brushes were made of ivory, silver and the finest sable, and while some of those materials have now changed, the skill and quality used to make this highest-quality brush have not. Queen Victoria awarded the Winsor & Newton a Royal Warrant in 1841 endorsing the quality of their product, a distinction they still hold today.
The Winsor & Newton Series 7 watercolour brush owes its quality to the skills of the brush makers of which there are only 9 people in the world! It takes years of training and practice to create series 7 brush and the skill and knowledge is passed from generation to generation.
Other watercolour brushes are made with natural and synthetic hairs, but for many watercolour artists there is nothing that can match the quality of Sable for the highest pigment carrying capacity and ability to maintain a point and spring for superior control. The highest quality Siberian Kolinsky Sable is used with every strand being combed, measured and carefully rolled into a precise dome shape to ensure the perfect point. The largest series 7 brushes can take almost a week to make at the brush-making factory in Lowestoft, UK.
The finest soft Siberian Kolinsky sable hairs are chosen for the Series 7 because tiny interlocking scales running in one direction increase the surface area of each strand ensuring the hair has exceptional strength and colour-carrying capacity. The naturally tapering hair and a selection of different lengths of hair create a well-shaped round-bellied brush which finishes at a fine point which is maintained when being used.
Each brush is wet point tested to ensure it meets the precise criteria and any materials of brush which does not meet this is discarded. Only a small percentage of the Kolinsky's hair meets the strict criteria for the world-leading Artist watercolour brush.
Winsor & Newton now create two types of series & watercolour brushes:
Winsor and Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable Watercolour Brush - This is the traditional Series 7 watercolour brushes available in sizes from 000 to sizes 10. These offer the greatest quality and control for a watercolour brush using only the best materials. Larger sizes Series 7 watercolour brushes, sizes 5 and above, are packed into an individual sturdy black, velvet-lined, presentation box with a tag with the name and signature of the skilled Brush maker who made that individual brush.
Winsor and Newton Professional Series 7 Miniature Brush - from 000 to a size 6 made with the same finest quality materials and highest standards as the regular Series 7 watercolour brushes the only difference is that they have short hair perfect for fine detail and greater accuracy and control miniature pieces.
