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Pantone Colour of the Year: These Jewels are a Ray of Light in the Dark
Pantone, the world’s authority on colour and the provider of professional colour standards and digital solutions to the design community, releases an annual report to announce the shades that are trending. These are the colours that reflect global fashions and demonstrated through clothing and accessories, cosmetics, interior and graphic design, and packaging. In 2021, these colours are PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating, two different hues that come together to create an inspired pairing, combining a sense of depth and thoughtfulness with the optimistic promise of a sunny day.
“The choice of two separate colours highlights how contrasting elements can unite to convey a message of strength and hope that is both enduring and inspiring, one that highlights the importance of different colours, like different people, coming together. The conjunction of the long-lasting Ultimate Gray with the bold yellow Illuminating is an expression of positivity backed by fortitude,” says Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. “Practical and durable, yet warm and upbeat, this colour combination offers us endurance and hope. We need to feel encouraged and inspired – this is fundamental to the human spirit.”
A Graff yellow and white diamond necklace
Graff oval-shaped yellow diamond earrings with white diamonds
Two yellow diamond and white diamond trilogy rings by Graff
As someone who believes in the eloquence of the language of colours and supports the idea of unification and optimism, I am going to take you on a journey through the mineralogical palette of these colours. In which jewellery and precious materials can these colours be found? First, look for stones that have the colour of a ray of sunshine: yellow diamonds and sapphires, heliodors (yellow beryls), some forms of topaz and apatite, citrines and zircons. The main thing is that they have a colour which matches the shade of Illuminating, so one that’s not too saturated and one without an orange tint.
A yellow diamond and white diamond suite by Ronald Abram
A grey hue is primarily one that white precious metals, with their characteristic sheen, can produce. This may also take the form of various coatings, such as rhodium plating or a steely patina, formed over time. Although jewellery’s grey colour palette is the smallest of any colour, it is also the most impressive: it includes grey smoky diamonds, some spinels and natural Tahitian pearls, whose cost exceeds the price tag of their classic white counterparts.
Messika Voltige Trapezistes ring from the Voltige high jewellery collection, set with a 10.19 carat pear-shaped fancy yellow diamond
The diamond-shaped pavé frame, accompanied by baguette-cut diamonds, serves as a trapeze for the yellow diamond in this Messika Voltige ring
With their blend of strength and optimism, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating do not have to be used in equal measure. Either of these colours can take priority. It is for you to decide which of them to focus on in your own way. To give you some food for thought, here are some of the most attractive representations of these shades in jewellery.
John Hardy
John Hardy
Classic Chain Sungai Biang Lalah necklace from the Cinta collection with rainbow moonstones, hematite and yellow diamonds
Messika
Messika
Radiant Firebird ring with a yellow diamond and marquise-cut diamonds in white gold
Piaget
Piaget
Extremely Piaget Twisted Decoration ring in rose gold, set with a grey moonstone
Picchiotti
Picchiotti
Xpandable yellow diamond ring
Anna Hu
Anna Hu
Papillon ring with yellow and white diamonds
Madly
Madly
Spunky Sparkler ring with a grey spinel centre stone
Harry Winston
Harry Winston
Loop earrings with yellow sapphires and diamonds
Fernando Jorge
Fernando Jorge
Surrounding bracelet with carved serpentine and diamonds in yellow gold
Jahan Jewellery
Jahan Jewellery
Yellow diamond earrings with fancy cut white diamonds
Pasquale Bruni
Pasquale Bruni
Bon Ton earrings with flower-shaped grey agate cabochons
Levuma
Levuma
Yellow diamond and white diamond necklace
Chaumet
Chaumet
Joséphine Eclat Floral ring in platinum with a cushion-cut fancy intense yellow diamond
De Beers
De Beers
Old Bond Street yellow diamond ring
Chaumet
Chaumet
Chaumet Parade from the Les Ciels de Chaumet ring with yellow sapphires and diamonds in yellow gold
Levuma
Levuma
Yellow and white diamond flower earrings
Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels
Butterfly pendant with yellow sapphires and a marquise-shaped diamond 'body'
Carol Kauffmann
Carol Kauffmann
Petit Pois ring in yellow gold, set with a grey tourmaline and diamonds
Calleija Aurielle
Calleija Aurielle
Ring with a 5.53ct radiant-cut yellow diamond surrounded by white diamonds
Assael
Assael
Tahitian pearl necklace with a carved lilac jade clasp
Feng J
Feng J
Calla Lily Butterfly earrings with grey spinel
Forevermark
Forevermark
Forevermark 12.96 carat fancy yellow diamond earrings with a frame of pink diamonds
Assael
Assael
J. Hunter for Assael necklace with Fijian keshi pearls with a white gold and diamond clasp, alongside a necklace of baroque Fijian pearls with a white gold clasp
Anna Sheffield
Anna Sheffield
Eleonore Delicate ring with a 1.00ct pear-cut grey spinel centre and white diamonds in white gold
Antonini
Antonini
Extraordinaire ring with a mosaic yellow sapphires and diamonds
State Property
State Property
Fine Jewellery Allegory Major Noir bracelet from the Unfold Collection with black Akoya pearls in white gold
Boghossian
Boghossian
'Kissing Diamond' ring with a fancy vivid yellow diamond atop a larger white diamond
IVY
IVY
Earrings with more than 10 carats of grey spinel in addition to sapphire and diamonds in yellow gold
Neha Dani
Neha Dani
Kephi ring with a yellow sapphire centre stone surrounded by purple sapphires in white gold
Jahan Jewellery
Jahan Jewellery
Choker necklace with 297 round yellow diamonds and a 26 carat cushion-cut diamond drop
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Voyage dans le Temps Dentelle de Monograme ring in white gold with a 9.50 carat grey spinel from Tajikistan and 2.59 carats of diamonds
Van Cleef & Arpels
Van Cleef & Arpels
Beauté Céleste ring with a 4ct yelllow diamond centre stone
WORDS
Katerina Perez is a jewellery insider, journalist and brand consultant with more than 15 years’ experience in the jewellery sector. Paris-based, Katerina has worked as a freelance journalist and content editor since 2011, writing articles for international publications. To share her jewellery knowledge and expertise, Katerina founded this website and launched her @katerina_perez Instagram in 2013.
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