Thoughts on Turquoise

The experts at Pantone (the world’s leading colour experts) have decreed that Turquoise will be the colour of 2010. It does not come as a surprise to me that this vibrant and pleasing colour has made a comeback. I have grown up surrounded by the sea and, even though it is not always turquoise, a variant of the colour is always present in the water. It is amazing just how many memories a simple colour will evoke. It is my mother’s favourite colour and whenever I see it, I think of her. Sometimes it is really hard to stop buying turquoise items for her. It is a colour I associate with my childhood because my room had turquoise curtains, my furniture had turquoise handles and my carpet was a wonderful speckled mixture of turquoise, blues, greens, yellow and white. I still think of my childhood room as a kind of oasis where I would be transported to summer in the middle of winter because I like to think that if summer had a colour it would be turquoise.

In the words of Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute® “In many cultures, Turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color. It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky.” It is a colour which evokes images of tropical islands and beautiful gems. In my mind it is as if turquoise is bound only with happy memories and calming images. The blue undertones of the colour are very soothing whereas the green undertones provide vibrancy.

I do not know whether I do it consciously or unconsciously but I find that whether it is in fashion or not, I like to surround myself with turquoise items, whether as a solid colour or as a print. I also have a small collection of turquoise jewellery most of which has been crafted by Native American Indians (from North America and Mexico ). As a semi-precious stone, the hues of turquoise can range from the lightest blue to the darkest green and the stones are usually speckled with brown, black or white. Apple green variants also exist depending on whether copper or iron is the prevalent mineral in the rock.

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Interestingly, a white coloured turquoise was discovered in 1993 and first used in jewellery in 1996.

Turquoise is reminiscent of the 60s and of the bold floral prints of designers like Prada. It is a colour which suits all skin tones and should be worn boldly; a sunny colour which should serve to brighten up these cold, grey winter days. So if any of you are having the winter blues, throw on a bright turquoise scarf or some turquoise jewellery and think of warm summer days, because the daylight hours are already getting longer and slowly, but surely, spring will be with us soon.