Springtime Colors

Spring gives pastel colors their biggest stage of the year. The strong jewel tones have not yet developed in nature during March or April. Spring fashion has always revolved around pastel colors. That’s not a trend; it’s historical precedent.

Suite of pastel beryls

With pastels in mind, one group of minerals stands out as dominating that color tone palate: the beryls. They are perfect for this time of year. And the beryls are fairly durable, so they are safe to set in any kind of jewelry. Their color range encapsulates the sights of early spring to me. It really looks best from the middle of March through about early June. I don’t know if it’s the angle of the sun’s rays, or what, but there is something about beryl that just makes it glow in the spring sunlight.

I love jewelry. It’s a very big part of my life (obviously), and I view the world through that lens much of the time. The colors and contours of spring are no exception. Breaking out of this latest brutal winter, it’s refreshing to see the natural world come to life again, and I feel like waxing poetic. So please indulge me to give you a glimpse of spring through jewelry.

I see aquamarine surrounded by a halo of diamonds in a patch of sky peeking through a ring of cloud. But I also see aquamarine shimmering subtly in a recently thawed stream as it trickles over the rocks. So from sky blue to sea green, aquamarine covers your cool pastel tones pretty well.

When I step out into a soft spring morning, I look up and see the sun surrounded by wisps of clouds. To me, that looks like a heliodor set in a hand-engraved pendant. It’s no wonder heliodor took its name from a Greek phrase meaning, “a gift from the sun.” That soft yellow is a versatile pastel color.

The faintest touches of pink in the first cherry and peach blossoms always remind of morganite. It’s such a gentle tone, but it’s so alluring, so peaceful. It ranges from baby pink to mild, peachy orange, both of which are beautifully warm tones to accentuate any neutral wardrobe choices.

And those March mornings where the last resilient laces of frost still cling to your windowsill? That’s goshenite to me. It’s clear as crystal, almost completely colorless, and has this…shine…that’s totally unique from just about every other colorless gem.

There is something truly remarkable about how nature echoes itself from sky to sea to the earth and those things that come out of it. Being able to harness a part of that beauty through jewelry is an immense privilege. I hope you’ll visit me some time to take a look at how I can capture the way I view this wonderful season. Maybe I can even capture a piece of it just for you in a custom jewelry design.