We think everyone can agree that 2021 was…tumultuous, to say the least. With pandemic restrictions waffling back and forth, with events canceled, rescheduled, and canceled again, all peppered with some absolutely bizarre celebrity moments, it’s no wonder that Merriam-Webster declared the 2021 word of the year to be “chaotic”. That year was so chaotic, in fact, that Pantone, the company at the heart of color-matching in the print industry, picked colors known for their reliability, familiarity, and warmth for the 2021 color of the year. Firmly believing that color is a form of communication, Pantone chose classic “Ultimate Gray” and sunny “Illuminating” to combat the chaos of the pandemic-consumed world in 2021.
2021, thank goodness, is over, and in acknowledgment of the end of a chaotic year, Pantone has chosen a color for 2022 that reflects the hopefulness, confidence, and creativity that a world scarred by a pandemic so sorely needs. 2022’s lively new color is PANTONE 17-3938, also known by the catchier name of “Very Peri”. A vivid periwinkle, “Very Peri” toes the line between red, violet, and blue, resulting in a color that embodies all eagerness and passion of reds while also manifesting the deep thinking, inquisitiveness, and open-mindedness of blues. When Pantone challenges us to be pretty in periwinkle in 2022, they aren’t simply predicting the color trends for the year; they are also asking all of us: Are you ready to embrace this entirely new world? Are you prepared to emerge from the past year of isolation and flourish? Are you, in 2022, daring enough to be the new you?
Here at Deutsch, we also believe that color is both a muse and a medium for communication. By wearing a certain color, you can have a meaningful conversation without saying a single word. To help you express your periwinkle perspective in 2022, we’ve rounded up our favorite pieces of jewelry featuring misty opal, mystical moonstone, deep labradorite, and mysterious tanzanite.
Periwinkle necklaces
Equal parts blue and purple, periwinkle has a tendency to be misidentified by people as lavender, lilac, turquoise, or, perhaps most offensively, just plain blue. The magic of periwinkle, of course, is that it straddles the line between all those colors. Just like no one hue can define periwinkle, no one gemstone can match the shade perfectly all the time. Still, a great starting point for your hunt for periwinkle-colored gemstones is Tanzanite. What allows Tanzanite to often exhibit the special qualities of periwinkle is the stone’s pleochroic properties; in other words, Tanzanite has the ability to appear to be three different colors depending on which direction it is viewed from. This quality makes for an intriguing Tanzanite jewelry design, especially when paired with a unique or contrasting setting, such as the 18k yellow gold setting of Rudolf Friedmann's Rudolf Friedmann Gold Tanzanite Necklace. Stations of cool-toned tanzanite beads are strung along a warm-toned 18k yellow gold chain in this gemstone fashion necklace; as these two colors are completely opposite each other on the color wheel, the striking contrast imbues the necklace with a sense of liveliness and boldness. Plus, the simplicity of the necklace’s yellow gold setting allows the lustrous quality of the Tanzanite gemstone to speak for itself. Talk about a conversation piece!
Periwinkle Bracelets
Tanzanite’s periwinkle prowess isn’t limited to yellow gold settings; when set in silvery white gold, Tanzanite adopts a sense of serenity. With the blue tones of the gemstone brought out by the cooler setting, gemstone bracelets like Ashi's white gold Oval Shape Gemstone & Diamond Bracelet encourage the softer side of Tanzanite to emerge. Ashi’s choice of an oval cut for their Tanzanite accents means that the gemstones possess the same fire and brilliance of a classic round cut gemstone, but their elongated shape appears more graceful. Additionally, an oval cut enables the gemstone to reflect more light, and appear larger than it really is. In a tennis bracelet design, the ability to appear larger and brighter is very important, because intrinsic to the tennis bracelet design is a clean, dainty, and feminine appearance. A physically larger stone would disrupt this dainty design, so a vivid, cleverly cut, and well-accented stone is a must. With tiny diamond accents added to contribute even more light and radiance into the design, this gemstone tennis bracelet is periwinkle perfection.
Periwinkle Earrings
Tanzanite is not the only gemstone lucky enough to emulate the charming complexity of periwinkle, however. Labradorite, for instance, exhibits a unique property called “labradorescence”, which, as you may have guessed by the name, sets Labradorite apart from other stones. Because of the particular way labradorite is formed, with multiple layers of feldspar growing over one another, it has what is called a “play of color” effect; the different layers of feldspar have different chemical compositions, and reflect light differently, resulting in a flash of multiple colors in a pattern similar to the Northern Lights! This makes labradorite jewelry, like the exquisite Bezel Set Labradorite Earrings by John Apel, ideal for showcasing the unique violet and blue overlap of periwinkle. Set in 18k yellow gold, these gemstone earrings pair 2 ct of light periwinkle moonstone with a whopping 43 ct of breathtaking bezeled labradorite, cut beautifully to highlight the dark blue and violet feldspar layers of the gemstone.