I couldn’t be happier with Pantone 2023 official color of the year, Viva Magenta, this raspberry pink is by far my favorite color. It embodies passion, excitement, positivity and warmth in my book! In Pantone’s own words:
Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute
Let’s dive into exactly what is a Pantone color, how Viva Magenta can be applied to your jewelry selection and how to pair it harmoniously with other colors.
A brief history of Pantone
Pantone’s current mission and direction was given in 1963 by Lawrence Herbert. He basically developed the Pantone Color Matching System, a standardized method that revolutionized print colors. It allowed the reproduction of consistent, accurate color anywhere in the world.
It is used in a variety of industries, mostly graphic design, fashion design, product design, printing and manufacturing. His company primarily produces color guides in the form of flip books that contain coded detachable color chips. Each chip is defined by a unique PMS: Pantone Matching System.
The Pantone Color Institute
The Pantone Color Institute™ is a consulting service within Pantone that forecasts global color trends and advises companies on color in brand identity and product development, for the application and integration of color as a strategic asset.
Recognized around the world as a leading source of color information through seasonal trend forecasts, custom color development, and palette recommendations for product and corporate identity, Pantone Color Institute partners with global brands to leverage the power, psychology and emotion of color in their design strategy.
Viva Magenta, 2023 Pantone Color
The Pantone Color Institute introduces 2023 Pantone color of the year: 18-1750 Viva Magenta. It “vibrates with vim and vigor” and “balances boldness with a feeling of fun”
In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real. PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta descends from the red family, and is inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known.
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director Pantone Color Institute.
Viva Magenta in gemstones
Viva Magenta is found in several gemstones such as pink sapphire, pink spinel, pink tourmaline, rhodolite garnet, rubellite tourmaline and ruby. They present subtle variations in hues but are all very luscious and I would even say delicious colors. Below are examples of these 6 different gems.
Pairing Viva Magenta with other colors
A harmonious color combination can be achieved in several different ways: by marrying complementary colors together, by associating analogous colors or by letting a main color shine and adding only neutral tones by its side. Below I depict some illustrations on the color wheel and with jewelry examples of how these three different combinations can be successfully accomplished.
Complementary colors
By looking at the color wheel, we can see that Viva Magenta sits at the direct opposite of green. This combination is particularly pleasing to the eyes because it creates a complete harmony.
One can often find it in Nature: a pink flower with its green stem and leaves for example. It can also evoke holiday festivities: green Christmas trees and ruby red ribbons. Additionally, architects know how to take advantage of this complementary combination to please the viewers.
The example of Barragan's Fuente de los Amantes in Mexico pops in my mind. Here is the video I took while visiting in 2022: the pink contrasts with the luscious greenery surrounding it.
From a jeweler's perspective, a perfect pairing with a fuchsia pink gemstones like the ones mentioned above is found with vibrant green tsavorites, emeralds or tourmalines for example. It just so happens that Nature had already made such a combo in my favorite gemstones: the bicolor tourmalines also called watermelon tourmalines for obvious reasons.
Featured on this example are the bicolor tourmaline studs, the flower ring and the Mad Hatter necklace.
Analogous colors
Another type of harmonious combination consists in pairing a color with its direct neighbors in the color wheel or with tint (more white) or shade (more black) variations of the same hue. If you need some color theory refresher, there is a very clear and instructive post here.
Viva Magenta pairs very nicely with red, its primary color neighbor on the color wheel, and with purple, its secondary color neighbor. Purple happened to be Pantone color of the year 2022, Very Peri, it might not be a coincidence to see matches between these two as a soft transition from a year to the next. While Very Peri has a more relaxed vibe, Viva Magenta evokes excitement so one can see how well they balance each other out.
Matching analogous colored gemstones is probably the most recurring theme in my collections. I have both used the association of pink neighbors: purple amethyst and blue sapphire, but also variations in tints: starting with a red ruby and following with a fuchsia pink sapphire and a light pink sapphire.
Featured on the schema are the gradient rings both in gold and silver, the ombre gold ring, the pink crescent studs, the pink cluster gold necklace and the pink gemstones trio studs in gold.
Neutral Pairing
Sometimes one can agree with the popular saying "less is more" and simply let the color shine for itself by only pairing neutral tones that won't throw any shade (pun intended) to our main color.
In jewelry it means either having only one enamel color or one type of gemstone with gold or silver. This is the case of the ruby beaded gold ring or of the fuchsia pink silver flamingo necklace. Another possibility is to pair the pink gemstone with a neutral one such as a white diamond, sapphire, moissanite, topaz etc. This is what I did in the pink tourmaline and white diamonds drop earrings in gold below.
According to the Pantone Institute, 2023 is all about "boldness and a feeling of fun". I hope this article has inspired you to be playful and to incorporate some touches of the vibrant and optimistic Viva Magenta in your wardrobe! If you had any question about the pieces featured in this article feel free to get in touch with me here.
If you are feeling empowered and ready to have a custom Viva Magenta piece of jewelry custom made for you, please reach out and describe your dream project here: