Jewel tones: emerald, sapphire, ruby and amethyst codes

Jewel tones are deep, saturated colours named after precious stones: emerald #00674F, sapphire #0F52BA, ruby #9B111E and amethyst #6A3D9A are the four everyone recognises, with topaz, citrine, garnet and tourmaline close behind. They sit in a narrow band: much richer than pastels, darker than neon, and never greyed down like earth tones. That combination is why they read as valuable, and why they suit evening events, winter campaigns, wine labels and any brand that wants to feel substantial without going black.

Jewel tone hex codes

These are working codes, tuned to look like the stone on a screen and to hold up as text. Gemstones vary, so there is no single official emerald, but these values sit squarely in what people picture.

If you need these in another format, hex color codes explains how hex, RGB and HSL relate, and hex to RGB shows the conversion by hand.

What makes a colour a jewel tone

Two settings, both at once. Saturation is high: the colour is pure, with almost no grey in it. Value is medium to dark: it sits well below white. Raise the value and emerald turns into mint; lower the saturation and it turns into sage. Keep both, and you get the glow of light passing through a cut stone.

This is the same idea tints, tones and shades describes: jewel tones are mostly pure hues with a little black added, rarely with white or grey. They also sit at the opposite end from earth tones, which are the same hues pulled towards brown.

Jewel tone colour palettes you can use

A jewel tone needs something quiet around it. On its own, a page of emerald is heavy; next to ivory, it looks deliberate. These four palettes each lead with one stone and add support in the right proportion.

• Emerald library: emerald #00674F, ivory #F6EFE2, muted gold #C9A24A, ink #14141A. Classic, bookish, good for publishers and bars.
• Sapphire night: sapphire #0F52BA, midnight #0B1430, pearl #EEF0F5, citrine #E1B000 as a small accent. Calm and confident.
• Ruby supper: ruby #9B111E, garnet #6F1D2B, cream #F4EADB, olive #5E6B3A. Warm, generous, made for food and wine.
• Amethyst studio: amethyst #6A3D9A, plum #3B1F4F, linen #F2ECE4, teal tourmaline #0E7C7B. Creative and a little unexpected.

Use the 60 30 10 rule as a starting split: the neutral covers most of the surface, the jewel tone takes the large shapes, and the accent gets a sliver. Gold works best muted; a bright yellow gold next to emerald quickly looks like a costume.

Jewel tone gradients

Jewel tones make some of the richest gradients there are, because each one can fade into its own shadow without turning muddy. Keep neighbours close on the colour wheel, and let a dark ground do most of the work.

Avoid blending ruby straight into emerald. They are complementary, so the midpoint turns brown; muddy gradients explains why and how to route around it through a third colour or a dark ground.

Where jewel tones work best

Jewel tones carry weight, so they suit moments that should feel considered: an invitation, a seasonal menu, an annual report cover, a launch for something that costs real money. Set the type in ivory or a pale tint of the same hue, and keep the layout spare.

Plenty of brands reach for jewel tones in autumn and winter, which is exactly why a seasonal campaign can blur into everyone else's. If you want the richness without the sameness, a Gradiently Mark gives you a jewel toned background that only you can export with once you claim it, and it keeps your words readable wherever they sit.

Common mistakes with jewel tones

• Using four stones at full strength. Emerald, sapphire, ruby and amethyst together look like a box of sweets. Pick one lead.
• Pairing with pure white. It works for contrast but looks clinical. A warm ivory makes the colour look deeper.
• Putting light jewel tones under white text. Citrine and topaz need dark text; white on citrine fails contrast badly.
• Printing without a proof. Saturated blues and purples often fall outside the CMYK range and dull on paper. Read RGB vs CMYK before you send a file.