Bold and vibrant; courageous and confident; a brave new color for a brave new world – this is how Pantone, LLC, describes their pick as the 2011 Color of the Year. PANTONE 18-2120, also known as "Honeysuckle," is meant to instill "confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life," according to Pantone's press release.
"Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. The color is available around the world in a variety of products, including women's clothing, wedding apparel and accessories (Dessy, manufacturer of bridesmaid and special-occasion apparel, is one brand featuring the color). Also, men's ties, shirts and sportswear are available in the hot hue as well.
Great Jewelry and Gemstones Abound in Vibrant Reds and Pinks
If you're looking for au courant jewelry to match this year's fashion color, your are in luck; there are oodles of beautiful, bold, pinkish-red jewelry gemstones from which to choose. Also, if you want to compliment rather than match the "Honeysuckle" goods you may be wearing, there are scads of sensational gems in colors that will make your "Honeysuckle" sing. Greens, blues, grays and all shades of white and off-white will look marvelous, as will tones of silver and gold. Pantone suggests warm, pinkish browns as another complimentary color choice.
Just remember, when shopping for colored gemstone jewelry, the intensity and pureness of color is everything when it comes to value, desirability and pricing. "Honeysuckle" is a very intense, rich and highly desired color in the gem world. In some gem varieties, like corundum and spinel, for example, top stones in this color may be quite expensive. Moreover, in the ruby colors of corundum prices can soar. (Luckily, the "Honeysuckle" hue in corundum is more like that of pink sapphire than top-color-ruby – ruby has a most-desired color of "pigeon's blood red" which is darker and more blued).
Look for Cabochons, Beads or Other Finishes for Budget-Friendly Gemstones
If you are shopping on a budget, there are many viable options. Rather than take a hit on color, look for pricier gems in your top-hue choice, but seek them out cut en cabochon as opposed to flat-faceted, transparent stones. Cabochon-cut gems can be quite a bit less expensive, and are very beautiful when bezel-set (a traditional and more exacting way of setting stones compared to the more modern prong-set method).
Also, polished beads often make wonderful statement pieces which offer lots of impact as well as great "bang for the buck." Another option is to mix top-colored stones with other materials; pink sapphire mixed with freshwater pearls, as in a torsade, for example.
Moreover, don't be afraid to think outside the box. Some materials which may not be suitable as faceted or polished gems make unusual, stunning, and often larger jewelry pieces than more commonly found jewels. Carvings or drusy (drusy minerals are made of fine crystal clusters on a host matrix) are two examples. Such loose material and jewelry is often easier to find online than it is to find in brick-and-mortar stores.
Gems Come in Many Color Variations
Finally, in all natural-colored gemstone varieties, Mother Nature offers a wide range of hues. That is to say, not all pink sapphire is colored the same shade of pink. Some pink sapphire gems may appear exactly like this year's "Honeysuckle" color; others not at all – perhaps some are baby pink, others more orangey reddish pink. If you can't see the jewelry or gems in person, don't be shy about about asking vendors to precisely describe or photograph a jewel's color.
In other words, if you are serious about wanting this year's "Honeysuckle" hue, do be choosy about selecting, matching and coordinating the colors of your jewelry stones and wardrobe. Subtle differences in color may make, or break, your fashionable apparel and accessories.
Pair Vibrant Hues with Soft-colored Jewels for Eye-appeal
Below is a list of natural gems that come in "Honeysuckle" hues. You may find that it is easier to source them as loose gems and then have them set as you wish. Following the "Honeysuckle" list, is tally of gems that come in hues which coordinate with "Honeysuckle." When pairing these gems with uber-vibrant "Honeysuckle," you may want to opt for less saturated, or intense hues – unless you add some white or black to the mix. That way, one gets a visual "rest" from all the eye-popping color which could otherwise cause a bit of optical overload.
"Honeysuckle" or Intense, Pinkish-red Gems of all Kinds
- Corundum: in either pink sapphire or ruby; be picky about the color – there are many choices
- Spinel: sourced from Mahenge, or from somewhere with similar color offerings
- Tourmaline: rubellite, pink or red; be choosy, tourmaline comes in just about every color
- Garnet: rhodolite, tanga, malaya; garnet is complicated combination of materials, some are dark
- Rhodocrosite: extremely rare; use experienced setter to avoid damage to stone; not for rings
- Red Beryl: most rare of all gems
- Pezzotaite: ridiculously rare from of beryl, new find, fragile
- Rhodonite: look for the right color – it is out there
- Bustamite: cabochon in "honeysuckle" is killer material, relatively inexpensive, great pendant stone
- Cherry Opal: be sure it is cherry red, not too orangy red, use care with any opal
- Cobalto-Calcite drusy: gorgeous color in a different look, good as a pendant
Gemstones in Contrasting or Complimentary Colors to "Honeysuckle"
- Tourmaline: green, chrome green, indicolite, watermelon, to name a few options
- Chrysoberyl: yellowish green or greenish yellow, great jewelry stone
- Emerald: Rich, clean grass, green (an eye popper with hot pinks and reds; add black or white)
- Green Beryl: light green
- Aquamarine: either in blue or untreated light bluish green
- Garnet: demantoid, tsavorite, merelani mint
- Peridot: green, yellowish green
- Sphene: not for heavy use in jewelry, beautiful rainbow flashes; greenish yellowish browns, complex
- Precious Topaz: pinkish brown, subtle
- Natural Zircon: green, dark blue, or pinkish brown
- Diamond: colorless, brown, or black
- Jadeite: carved or cabochon
- Nephrite Jade: carved or cabochon
- Malachite: carved or cabochon
- Pearl: great option alone or mixed with other material; white, cream, black, gold, gray, silver, peacock, pistachio
Claire Eddins - Writer/editor, award-winning photographer Claire Eddins collects gems, horses, and obsesses over home, art, and design.
