Can Color Tell Others How We Feel?

Recently I read an interesting article on our color "sense" and how we react to different colors. Of course, colors mean different things to different people, but in general certain colors suggest a particular mood or feeling (warm vs. cool, for instance). This applies to everything from clothing and accessories to the colors you choose for your living room walls.

The colors we choose to wear may reflect how we feel on a given day. Our color selection - warm colors or cool colors may tell others a lot about how we're feeling.

Some days you feel like wearing black. That may be because you want something dramatic for a special occasion, because you like black, or because your outlook isn't too sunny today. Sometimes you feel like wearing light grey or a beige outfit. Other times you just want to express yourself with lots of color!

I still remember the liquid crystal Mood Rings of years back, so I thought I'd expand on this topic a little bit. Here's a list of popular colors and a short description of our reactions to each color. I'm also including a brief list of some gemstones in the same color family. If you like, you can match your jewelry to the feeling you want to convey to others.

Consider RED - red is a warm color. Red is generally viewed as exciting, "hot", dramatic, and rich. Red can run the gamut from blue/reds to orange/reds. Darker shades (burgundy, maroon) are no less dramatic and may impart a stately and rich feeling. Red gems include ruby, garnet, coral, and spinel.

Or BLACK - black is elegant and dramatic and provides a neutral accompaniment to any other color(s) you might choose. Examples of black gems include onyx and obsidian.

Or ORANGE - orange is cheerful, bold and exciting. Orange has been a popular accent color, but yellow seems to be replacing orange now. Some gems in the orange family are carnelian, aventurine, and coral.

Or WHITE - white is great in combination any other colors you might select and provides a sense of freshness. Hematite is an example.

Or YELLOW - yellow is bright, cheerful, and warm. Yellow is also highly visible. Your choices in yellow range from delicate pastel shades to robust vibrant hues. Yellow is a great transitional color and it doesn't take much yellow to brighten an ensemble. There are a lot of accessory items out there now in a variety of shades of yellow - shoes, bags, and also jewelry.

To accessorize your fall wardrobe you can choose jewelry containing lemon quartz, citrine, some topaz, and some jade colors, and certain diamonds and sapphires, among other stones.

Or VIOLET - purple and violet are luxurious colors that remind us of royalty. Purple can vary from a shade so deep as to be almost black to delicate lavender. Two gemstone examples are amethyst and certain sapphires.

Or BLUE - blue ranges from sky blue to turquoise to midnight blue and lots of shades in between. Blue speaks of serenity to many of us. There are a huge number of gems to choose in the blue category. A few examples are turquoise, lapis, sapphires, aquamarines, and blue topaz.

Or GRAY - gray is a neutral color that goes well with most other colors. Gray is considered soothing and elegant. Again, from light to dark, there's quite a range of shades to choose. Some gray gems include varieties of labradorite, "black diamonds," and hematite.

Or GREEN - green comes in shades ranging from delicate pastels to neon brights and deep shades such as hunter green. Green is another popular and soothing color and one that most of us associate with nature and natural things. Examples of green gems include emeralds, jade, tourmaline, beryl, and peridot.

Or BROWN - petrified wood, jaspers, tiger eye, smoky quartz and topaz are a few examples of brown gemstones. Another color that we associate with nature and natural things, brown is casual and relaxing.

Fashion colors for fall and winter include some "middle of the road" shades that aren't pastels but aren't deep colors either - gray, rose, clay, green, and barberry. The striking deep tones of blue-green, purple, red, and dark green combined with those "middle of the road" hues can evoke a tribal feeling. Three great stones to accessorize these colors are rose quartz - which may provide increased happiness and emotional healing for the wearer, garnet - thought to contribute to awareness and insight, and labradorite - thought to provide peace, clarity of thought, and increased discernment to those who wear it.

Expect to see jewelry with layers of chains, lots of pearls, and large stones - onyx, amber, and more. I will continue using more pearls of different types and colors in my new pieces and I'm also including moonstones in some of my new designs. Pearls imply purity, integrity, focus, and wisdom for the wearer. Moonstone contributes to reflection, insight and harmony.

Here are few more of my favorite gems: Jade - long considered a "sacred" stone, jade symbolizes calmness, wisdom, and serenity. There are two recognized "forms" of jade - nephrite (creamy white to green and almost black) and jadeite. The most common colors are green or white (jadeite), but jade can occur in many colors. The various colors are the result of impurities.

Jasper - is an opaque form of chalcedony that ioccurs in a number of colors. According to gem lore, Jasper fosters awareness and balances emotional, physical, and spiritual energy.

Labradorite is one of my all time favorite gems. I use both the green and the grey forms in my creations. It's a silky appearing dark grey green stone with flashes of blue, green and occasionally red. Labradorite can appear as colorless or even red, but the dark grey color is typically seen in jewelry. Labradorite is also thought to symbolize the "third eye".

Lapis Lazuli wa long thought to increase awareness and objectivity. Lapis has been considered to have healing and curative properties and in ancient times, lapis found use as a pigment, a cosmetic, and in medicines.

Malachite is a green gem requently associated with azurite. Malachite may enhance insight, clarify emotions. Moss "Agate" is a transparent to translucent chalcedony with green, brown, or black moss-like inclusions.

Obsidian - deep black volcanic glass; Snowflake Obsidian has white "snowflake" markings. Onyx is a form of chalcedony that has been thought to foster fidelity and resourcefulness, aid in realizing potential, and to promote decision making.

My aqua chalcedony pieces were big hits at the shows this Fall and there will be more designs for next year. People at the shows appeared to be drawn to the jewelry pieces I'd made with these lovely stones.

There's a luminous quality to the aqua chalcedony and everyone seems to love the color. This stone would make terrific bridal jewelry, too - perfect for a winter or a spring wedding!

Maybe our birthstone influences our feelings about color! What do you think?

When it comes to birthstones, there are a lot of choices. Some birthstones are traditional favorites while others have come along from mystical or other influences. There are a number of versions of each list, too.

Here's one version of the traditional list - January/garnet, February/amethyst, March/bloodstone, April/diamond, May/emerald, June/alexandrite, July/ruby, August/carnelian, September/peridot, October/tourmaline, November/topaz, and December/ruby. There are multiple alternative stones for some months: jasper for March, sapphire for April, emerald for June, onyx for July, or aquamarine for October.

Modern birthstones have similar lists - January/garnet, February/amethyst, March/aquamarine, April/diamond, May/emeral, June/pearl, July/ruby, August/peridot, September/sapphire, October/opal, November/citrine, December/blue topaz. Once again, there are multiple alternatives: moonstone for July, tourmaline for October, or topaz for November. According to some sources, this list is the currently preferred US birthstone list.

Don't expose your jewelry to perspiration and dirt: remove jewelry before working in the garden or engaging in other physical labor, exercising, swimming, bathing, etc. Avoid exposure to household cleaners and other chemicals that can damage your jewelry - remove jewelry before dealing with any chemicals. It seems logical that pearls and other porous stones can be damaged by chemicals, but even karat gold could be discolored by chemical exposure (to chlorine, for example).

Apply cosmetics, make-up, hair spray, and perfume before putting on jewelry. Remove bracelets and rings before applying hand lotions and creams. Remove earrings when you have your hair done, especially if you are having it colored.

Jade, turquoise, malachite, and lapis are among porous soft stones that should not be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner or soaked in jewelry cleaner solutions. Softer, more porous stones such as these require extra careful treatment. Avoid using hot water on these stones. Remember that pearls are precious gems, too. No ultrasonic or soaking in jewelry cleaners - just wipe off with damp soft cloth. If more cleaning is required try soapy water (shavings of Ivory) on a soft cloth and dry thoroughly.

The tarnish that forms on silver pieces is silver sulfide, which is black. A thin coating of silver sulfide on silver will darken the silver surface. Cleaning the silver using most cleaning methods removes the silver sulfide coating, but polishing and most jewelry cleaners also remove some silver during the cleaning process. Here's an approach to cleaning that does not remove any silver, but converts the tarnish back to silver. This approach works well to clean woven silver jewelry or silver metal jewelry.

A chemical reaction between the silver sulfide and the aluminum occurs when the two are in contact while in a baking soda solution, so the silver has to touch the aluminum foil. The silver sulfide is converted back to silver and the sulfur is deposited on the aluminum either as yellow flecks of sulfur or as aluminum sulfide. Warming the water speeds up the reaction and the solution carries the sulfur from the silver to the aluminum. Tarnish will begin to disappear within a few minutes. You may need to repeat the process for badly tarnished pieces, reheating the baking soda and water mixture.

You need a container lined with aluminum foil. The container should be large enough to totally immerse the silver you want to clean. Heat the water and mix in the baking soda at the rate of a cup of baking soda to a gallon of water (adjust the amount of water to the size of your container and silver piece, then add the correct amount of baking soda for the amount of water used). Place the jewelry directly on top of the aluminum foil and add the water and baking soda solution. Some bubbling may occur during this reaction, so you might want to place your container in a larger pan or somewhere where some overflow won't matter. As always, caution is needed when cleaning jewelry set with stones. Some stones are porous and should not be immersed in water or any cleaner. Examples are opals, turquoise, malachite, lapis, or pearls.

Store your jewelry in a clean dark dry place. Don't just toss your jewelry into a jewelry box or drawer loose. Your pieces will scratch each other. Jewelry often comes in a protective bag or box - use it or something equivalent. You can also store your jewelry flat in a plastic bag to retard tarnishing. A fabric lined jewelry box is ideal and individual bags and jewelry boxes are excellent, too. Store your silver jewelry in a tarnish resistant bag. Store pearls in soft bags away from other jewelry which might scratch the pearl's surface. Never put your jewelry away wet - wipe it off with a damp cloth and air dry.

The tarnish that forms on silver pieces is silver sulfide, which is black. A thin coating of silver sulfide on silver will darken the silver surface. Cleaning the silver using most cleaning methods removes the silver sulfide coating, but polishing and most jewelry cleaners also remove some silver during the cleaning process. Using a solution of baking soda and aluminum foil will clean silver in a way that does not remove any silver, but converts the tarnish back to silver. This approach works well to clean woven silver jewelry or silver metal jewelry.

A chemical reaction between the silver sulfide and the aluminum occurs when the two are in contact while in a baking soda solution, so the silver has to touch the aluminum foil. The silver sulfide is converted back to silver and the sulfur is deposited on the aluminum either as yellow flecks of sulfur or as aluminum sulfide. Warming the water speeds up the reaction and the solution carries the sulfur from the silver to the aluminum. Tarnish will begin to disappear within a few minutes. You may need to repeat the process for badly tarnished pieces, reheating the baking soda and water mixture.

You need a container lined with aluminum foil. The container should be large enough to totally immerse the silver you want to clean. Heat the water and mix in the baking soda at the rate of a cup of baking soda to a gallon of water (adjust the amount of water to the size of your container and silver piece, then add the correct amount of baking soda for the amount of water used). Place the jewelry directly on top of the aluminum foil and add the water and baking soda solution. Some bubbling may occur during this reaction, so you might want to place your container in a larger pan or somewhere where some overflow won't matter.

As always, caution is needed when cleaning jewelry set with stones. Some stones are porous and should not be immersed in water or any cleaner. Examples are opals, turquoise, malachite, lapis, or pearls.

I love Topaz. It has a high refractive index and takes a fabulous polish.

Topaz has wonderful gem qualities. Topaz is a fairly hard stone. Chemically, it's an aluminum silicate with chromium. Like many stones, topaz changes color when it's heated: yellow topaz often becomes reddish-pink. This pink color is stable.

Topaz of any type makes a good jewelry stone. It is safe to assume that some form of heat and/or irradiation has been used on colored topaz prior to cutting.

I recently encountered "Mystic Topaz" and I wondered exactly what that might be. I've discovered that a recent trend is topaz that displays iridescent colors. Such stones are attractive but the treatment is not permanent. The color effects are the result of diffusion coatings of thin layers of titanium dioxide deposited on the surface of the stone. These coated stones must be handled very gently as any scratch or abrasion can mar the surface layer.

Blue topaz is created by irradiation which turns the stone blue. This blue color can range from a light color to an almost electric blue. Blue topaz begins as a colorless natural topaz crystals which are irradiated to change the color to blue and then heated to stabilize the change. Bombardment in a nuclear reactor produces the deep "London Blue" topaz - a slightly greenish or grayish stone. Electron bombardment in a linear accelerator results in the light aqua-like blue known as sky blue. Combinations of both treatments produce the highly saturated "Swiss" and electric blues.

You can think of yellow as a transition from summer to fall and winter. Yellow is a great transitional color and it doesn't take much yellow to brighten an ensemble. There are a lot of accessory items out there now in a variety of shades of yellow - shoes, bags, and also jewelry. Yellow makes a terrific bridge from the cooler colors of summer to warmer and darker fall tones.


There are many shades of yellow to choose - soft delicate creamy tones to absolutely neon bright and everything in between. Yellow is particularly good in combination with grays, whites, and black. Gray with yellow is a particularly sophisticated combination. To accessorize your fall wardrobe with a touch of yellow, you can choose jewelry containing lemon quartz, citrine, and some jade colors, among other stones. Citrine is a favorite of mine and some people feel that citrine increases energy, intuition, and creativity. According to stone lore, quartz is considered to provide healing and intensify energy.