Every year, Pantone chooses a Pantone color of the year and this year they chose two complimentary colors—”Ultimate Gray” and “Illuminating,” which is a bright yellow color. According to Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, the combination was chosen because it “expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude. Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encourage and uplifted; this is essential to human spirit.”
Wearing these popular colors is especially easy when it comes to your jewelry. Here are a few styles that incorporate the warmness of “illuminating” with the relaxing “ultimate gray” color, represented by platinum and white gold metals.
Platinum Yellow Sapphire + Diamond Estate Ring JESCR01296 | JESCR01296 | $6250
14k White Gold + Yellow Gold Oval Yellow Sapphire & Diamond Halo Ring | CSRSA01526 | $7150
14k Two-Tone “Love Knot” Stud Earrings | JERKT40790 | $295
14k White Gold Yellow Sapphire and Diamond Alternating Band | CSRSA01768 | $1550
14k Two-Tone Hinged Oval Hoop Earrings | JERKT38570 | $425
Since 2000, Pantone’s color experts at the Pantone Color Institute comb the world looking for new color influences. The selection process requires thoughtful consideration and trend analysis. including the entertainment industry and films in production, traveling art collections and new artists, fashion, all areas of design, popular travel destinations, as well as new lifestyles, playstyles, and socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from new technologies, materials, textures, and effects that impact color, relevant social media platforms and even upcoming sporting events that capture worldwide attention.
Twice a year Pantone hosts, in a European capital, a secret meeting of representatives from various nations’ color standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a color for the following year.
