Inspiration in the color jade.
Learn the history and meaning of the color jade, named after the precious stone once considered more precious than gold.
How to use the color jade.
Jade color in fashion.
The color jade versus emerald.
Tap into the psychology of the color jade.
Combine jade with other colors.
Information about jade color.
The jade HEX code picker is #1FA774. This is the characteristic color that balances cyan and green, its fullness enhanced by a wisp of black.
The color jade can be achieved in a RGB space with 31 red, 167 green, and 116 blue. Jade can be achieved in a CMYK color space with 81% cyan, 0% magenta, 31% yellow, and 35% black.
What is the meaning of the color jade?
Jade color was named after the precious stone. The hue is a harmony of cyan and green fortified with the shadow of black. Jade stones have been highly esteemed since antiquity, and the color jade is just as well regarded. Its cool tranquility and fresh vibrance make jade a color of both mystery and meaning that brings beauty to art, fashion, décor, and design.
Neither blue nor green, the color jade provides an inherent mystique that has fascinated civilizations around the world.
The history of jade color.
The color jade came from the jade gemstone.
Jade is a precious gemstone that comes from two different formations called jadeite and nephrite. These stones have different compositions and their colors vary. There are even red, white, gray, purple, and colorless jade stones, but the color jade was named after the most sought-after blue-green color.
The color jade held its place from antiquity to Renaissance Europe.
Jade stones have an ancient history from opposite ends of the world, from Ancient China to the Mayan and Aztec civilizations. The colonial Spaniards that traveled to Central America in the 15th century immediately coveted the jade color artifacts they saw there. The Mayans and Aztecs used jade stones to cure and relieve pains of the stomach, and the Spaniards called jade piedra de ijada (or “stone of flank pain”). The Spanish name is what gave way to “jade” in English.
The color jade overshadowed two types of minerals and multiple stone colors.
A French mineralogist discovered in 1863 that jadestones came from two different minerals, jadeite and nephrite. This helped him understand how the crystalline formations of the stone took on several different colors. There were white, red, gray, purple, and green jade gemstones. Since its adoption in ornamental jewelry in Europe, however, the characteristic cyan-green jade color is what earned the name “jade,” first used as an adjective in English in 1865.
The color jade across different cultures.
The color jade in Mesoamerica.
Jade stones and the color jade were used across Mesoamerica, especially the Valley of Mexico, as a symbol of healing and in religious rituals. The Mayan, Aztec, and Olmec civilizations carved jade stones into symbolic figurines and jewelry adornments. Sometimes, they were inscribed. It was also believed that holding jade to someone’s side could ease and cure stomach pain.
China’s history of jade craft and folklore.
Jade stones and the color jade are often associated with China. Ever since the Shang dynasty (1600—1046 B.C.E.), jade has been considered one of the most precious materials for its healing power and its presence in Chinese folklore. It was said in one legend that dragon tears turned into jade. A popular turn of phrase says that “gold is valuable, but jade is priceless.” The richness of Chinese jade artifacts show the Chinese esteem for the gemstone in no uncertain terms.
Gemstones and the color jade for the Maori of New Zealand.
The gemstone and the color jade are valued by cultures around the world. In New Zealand, the Maori people still consider jade an important material used for jewelry, tools, and weapons. Some of the heirloom pendants of the Maori (called hei-tiki) are pure jade. The Maori have regarded these jade color pendants as ancestral spirit objects whose form can only be “revealed” (carved) by a Maori wizard.