Sunshine and stability: Pantone Colour of the Year 2021
09 Feb 2021
We’ve waited with bated breath for the Pantone Colour of the Year 2021… and we have two: ‘Ultimate Grey’ and ‘Illuminating’ – a dazzling yellow. Something to play with for Spring windows, suggests Belinda Morris.
This is how Pantone, the colour service business, explains its decision,
Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of PANTONE (17-5104) Ultimate Grey + PANTONE (13-0647) Illuminating is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of colour that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.
A message of happiness supported by fortitude, the combination… is aspirational and gives us hope. We need to feel that everything is going to get brighter – this is essential to the human spirit.
Well Amen to all that of course.
So how will these two colours translate into the world of gems and jewellery? My advice is not to worry about exact interpretations of the shades – as long as the yellows are bright and sunny and the greys are somewhere in the mid-range, you’ll have captured the vibe. Call it artistic license.
So, for ‘Illuminating’ consider: yellow diamonds; citrine; yellow sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz and sphene; yellow (rather than orange) amber; enamel and bright shiny gold. ‘Ultimate Grey’ could encompass grey diamonds; grey pearls; grey smoky quartz; labradorite; pyrite and matte, brushed silver. Gemmologists will no doubt have more suggestions.
Here’s my selection of a few pieces (including some yellows and grey together) that fit the bill rather nicely.
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Yellow+Grey
Sarah Alexander (labradorite, citrine & yellow quartz) Sahara Sun
Yellow
Deakin & Francis (tennis balls)
Franck Herval
Gemex (yellow diamond)
Hockley Mint (yellow sapphire)
Maviada (citrine)
Mishanto (citrine, peridot & prehnite)
Pippa Small
Nomis (laboratory-grown yellow sapphire)
Sarah Alexander (silver and gold vermeil)
Tivon (lemon quartz)
Yaa Yaa London (lemon druzy)
Grey
Alexis Dove (grey diamond)
Deakin & Francis
Festina
Gecko
London Road (labradorite)
Mishanto (labradorite)
Natalie Perry (grey diamond)
Sarah Alexander (moonstone, onyx and labradorite)
Yaa Yaa London (moonstone)
Maya Selway (moonstone and grey diamond)
Claudia Bradby (grey pearl)
Don’t forget to update your Find a Jeweller profile
You may choose to highlight Illuminating and/or Ultimate Grey pieces in your Find a Jeweller profile, the NAJ’s online member directory where we send consumer and trade enquires.
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Source: The National Association of Jewellers