Pantone has chosen “Living Coral”, which blends orange, pink and red, as the official color of 2019. The Pantone Color Institute publishes its yearly selection every December.
According to Pantone, Living Coral symbolizes “our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits [and] embodies our desire for playful expression”. Living Coral has a golden hue, softer than red but several shades stronger than pink. Pantone added that Living Coral “is evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of color”.
Pantone’s Color of the Year influences product development and purchasing decisions in fashion and home furnishings. Every year, these design trends filter through to the diamond and jewelry sector.
Diamonds
“It’s hard to find colored gemstones at exactly that color”, says Ilan Seren from Seren Collection, “in diamonds, it will be usually expressed as mostly pink with an orange hue. As size goes, big diamonds bearing those colors are naturally very rare. When setting such diamonds, it is recommended to use a gold pink base and surround the diamond with white stones set in white gold. In this way, the unique color of the diamond is highlighted twice – through the metal and through the surrounding white diamonds”.
Gems
The gem resembling Living Coral the most is an extremely pricey, rare sapphire called “padparadscha sapphire”, which derives its name from the Sinhalese word for “aquatic lotus blossom”. Padparadscha sapphires bearing the Living Coral color are extremely rare and expensive. They usually originate in Sri Lanka and are immediately bought by collectors, then sold quickly.
Israel Elhazri of ColGem explains: “There’s another family of sapphires – not the classic blue – but an entire group of colored sapphires. These come in shades of green, purple, pink, brown, yellow and orange, as well as Living Coral. They have the same properties as blue sapphires except for their color. Since Living Coral is composed of three colors – red, orange and pink – it is hard to find a gem that answers to all three. Every stone has its shades, and they sometimes tend to the more orange or pink, depending on the minerals in the crystal”.
This year, Pantone marks the 20th year of its Color of the Year publication. Every year, Pantone brings together experts from different fields to determine the color of the year. The color chosen for last year was Ultra Violet, which did not gain in popularity. However, the green color chosen for 2017 is still trendy in fashion and home décor.
