Blush Up Your Jewels with Pantone’s Color of the Year

Feeling peachy: Padparadscha sapphires, moonstones, garnets, tourmalines, spinels, and diamonds are some of the stones that lend themselves to the chosen hue of 2024.

January 24, 2024
By Rachael Taylor

Peach Fuzz, which Pantone has declared the color of 2024, is “a velvety, gentle peach whose all-embracing spirit enriches heart, mind and body,” according to the color arbiter. Whereas last year’s hue was bold and energetic, this is soft and subtle — and offers jewelers plenty of ways to play into it.

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“Peach Fuzz has a gentleness that we haven’t seen in a lot of the recent Colors of the Year, so it’s an opportunity to highlight some of the sentimental reasons people love jewelry,” says Sophia Macris, creative director of fine jewelry at bridal brand Verragio. “There’s a vintage warmth [to it], like the lace of a family wedding gown.”

Morganite is the obvious gemstone choice for tapping into this trend, but many others also fit the bill, including padparadscha sapphires and peachy tones of moonstone, garnet, tourmaline, spinel and diamond. The right shade of pearl or enamel works, too.

In metals, rose gold evokes the Pantone Color of the Year as well. “This blushing hue corresponds beautifully to fine jewelry, as rose gold tones have made a major comeback in recent years,” says Stephen Silver, CEO of the eponymous west coast retailer. “Anyone can incorporate a Peach Fuzz tone in a classic gold hoop earring, stackable ring, or bangle.”

Accessible though it is, the hue doesn’t necessarily suit everyone, cautions Peggy Grosz, senior vice president and creative director of pearl brand Assael. “It is not a color that complements a wide range of skin tones, [so] we do not expect significantly increased demand. If you look at gems and jewels historically, peach has never played a significant role.” Assael’s dealings in peachy Angel Skin coral have informed Grosz’s opinions on that score.

But history be damned, as far as Ananya Malhotra is concerned; she’s crushing on peach. “I have always loved this tone,” says the designer behind the Ananya brand, which has released two Magnificent Jewels collections that center on hand-carved peach tourmalines, peach diamonds, and rose gold. “The color has a beautiful warmth and femininity to it.”