The Color Story For

2011

According to Leatrice Eiseman, who’s the Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, “Honeysuckle” has been named the official “2011 Color of the Year.”  Honeysuckle is a reddish-pink but closer to red and more on the warmer side.  It is perfect for all ages, both genders, and is flattering to all complexions.  In gems, intense “Honeysuckle-like” pinks include: pink tourmaline, red spinel, rhodolite garnet, and fancy pink sapphire.  The more pastel pinks topping the list are: kunzite, morganite, rose quartz, and natural pink diamonds.

Pantone chose “Turquoise” as its “2010 Color of the Year.”  Just because Honeysuckle is in doesn’t mean turquoise is out.  This is such a classic color that it’s never really out.  We suggest layering in some fuchsia gemstone pieces with your turquoise ones.  Fuchsia is a combination of red and blue, so it’s really complementary to the blue of turquoise.

This year, many of the blues are important, and in gemstone jewelry, you should experiment with one or two that you haven’t tried in the past.  These gems are labradorite, moonstone, and blue tourmaline.  These have been strong these past two years and showing no signs of slowing down.  You’ll also see some the more classic blues such as blue sapphire, blue topaz, and aquamarine.  Aquamarine looks great when layered with a new piece of jewelry with a Honeysuckle-color gem.

You should combine this year’s Honeysuckle color with a kaleidoscope of gems, such as rutilated quartz with its yellowish-brown or gold-colored needles, to zircon, smoky quartz, brown agate, tiger’s-eye, moss agate, and honey-brown chrysoberyl.  Don’t forget those beautiful cocoa-colored pearls or the varied hues of natural rough diamonds as well as champagnes and cognacs.

The bottom line is to have fun with your colored gemstone jewelry this year.  Mix and match gemstones by stacking rings and bracelets and layering different necklace lengths.

Check our Blog each week for other short articles of interest.