Winsor & Newton Series 7 Kolinsky Sable - World's Finest

The world's most recognised watercolour brush — a 160-year standard

In 1866 Queen Victoria, who held a Royal Warrant with Winsor & Newton, ordered them to produce the very finest watercolour brush in her favourite size — the Number 7. The standards set for that brush have governed the Series 7 ever since: rapier-like point, perfectly balanced spring, and colour-carrying capacity that allows flowing gestural strokes without reloading. Each brush is handmade in England by craftspeople who must have more than ten years of brush-making experience before being permitted to work on the Series 7. In the larger sizes, the name of the individual brush maker who made that brush is printed on its individual box. This is not a marketing detail — it is a quality assurance mechanism. The Series 7 is used in botanical illustration, professional watercolour painting, and illustration by artists who have tried everything else and come back to it. It is the benchmark.

Three defining qualities — point, spring, and flow control

Winsor & Newton defines the Series 7 by three properties. Point: the brush comes to a crisp tip that maintains its sharpness during use — not just when you take it out of the sleeve but through a sustained working session. Spring: the brush snaps back into shape with the right degree of give and take — neither too stiff nor too soft — allowing the artist superior control over the contact between brush and surface. Flow control: colour flows evenly and consistently from the point, with enough capacity in the belly to lay down a flowing gestural stroke. These three properties together are what practitioners mean when they describe a brush as 'balanced'.