Winsor & Newton Professional Water Color offers artists the widest and most balanced choice of pigments with the greatest possible permanence. The brilliance transparency and purity of color is unparalleled to any other water color. Since 1832 when Henry Newton and William Winsor introduced the first moist water colors to the world much of our reputation for supreme quality has stemmed from the Professional Water Color range. Since then Professional Water Color continues to be formulated and manufactured according to our founding principles. Each color within this wide and balanced spectrum of 96 colors has been selected and formulated to offer the greatest choice so that artists can use a unique palette that best suits their work. Winsor Violet (Dioxazine) is a vivid mid-shade purple pigment. When undiluted it can be used as a deep black. It is a transparent coal tar pigment and was introduced into the Winsor & Newton range in the 1960s.