Emerald Green: The 2013 Color of the Year

It’s out. The color of the year for 2013 is emerald green. Technically it is Pantone 17-5641 Emerald. Expect to see the color in fashion – clothes, shoes and bag, in magazine layouts, advertising spreads, accessories, gadgets, backgrounds and backdrops, and in anything that requires color change.

Even in ancient cultures, the color emerald green has been associated with luck, prosperity, healing, new life, regeneration and renewal. It is a lush color that evokes life, liveliness and radiance. It is a color associated with beauty and elegance and most often used to represent well-being, harmony and balance.

Emerald Green in Fashion

In today’s fashion, emerald green will make a statement. It is a young and perky color, but could still be used for classic and elegant styles. It blends well with other colors in the spectrum and could be used from spring to winter.

Emerald is a dramatic color for eyes, as it goes well with all eye colors. It will bring the blue on blue eyes; after all, green is a combination of yellow and blue. It will emphasize the green undertones of people with hazel eyes. Brown eyes will be intensified by emerald and will be more dramatic on people with very dark eyes. Emerald green on your nails would look fantastic. Emerald is a complementary color that goes well blush and lipstick colors such as roses, ruby reds, pinks, aubergines and peaches.

Emerald, the gem stone

Emeralds are radiant, intense and come in a wide range of green tones. Those with the highest quality are more valuable than one of the world’s most precious stones, the diamond.  The name emerald came from the Greek word, “smaragdos” from the Old French word, “esmeralde” which translates to “green gemstone.” The gem had been used by the Aztecs and the Incas of South America. The oldest emerald mines were those near the Red Sea but it was already exhausted when these were rediscovered.

It had been mentioned in the Indian Vedas and generally regarded as a gem for good luck, well-being and healing. The treasure chests of Egyptian pharaohs, Indian maharanis and maharajahs, and even ancient and current European royalty contain emeralds. One of the largest emeralds in the world is the Mogul Emerald. It weighs 217.80 carats, 10 centimeters in height and was sold by Christie’s of London in 2001 for US$2.2 million. One side of this magnificent stone had prayer texts inscribed while floral ornaments were engraved on the other side. Some of the world’s finest examples of jewelry and items made of or encrusted in emeralds are found in museums like the New York Museum of Natural History.

Colombia produces one of the finest emeralds in the world. The country also has about 150 known deposits of emeralds. Other countries were fine emeralds are mined include Russia, India, Brazil, Afghanistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Madagascar, although the colors of the gemstone vary in intensity and clarity.