New Swarovski Colours Coming!

The new colours and shapes from Swarovski are rolling out and we got to see the official launch last week - although we had already seen the new colours. You may have already seen them around on the interwebs, and we have our initial shipment and I'm a busy little beaver, madly photographing and processing them.

The second thing that goes through our minds here when we see the new colours - the first thing is "Ooooooh, aaaaah." - the second thing we think is, where does it fit in the existing spectrum of colours? Is this new colour really close to ... X? Will we get the two colours mixed up? Will folks see it as different enough to want it? Does it have staying power?

So - here we go - colour comparison - or - why you might want these!

New Colour: Denim Blue

Denim Blue - like a faded pair of comfy jeans - this colour is cool, comfortable and ready to wear.

Is it the same as, say, Montana? Compare, Montana on the left - a deeper shade of the same colour, Denim in the middle, and Indian Sapphire on the right. The Indian Sapphire - while it may not show well on your monitor, is a slightly greener shade of blue - in comparison with the Denim - it leans a little toward Aqua.

Crystal Antique Pink - a soft, but sophisticated colour with a lot of complexity - is it a purpley pink, or a pinky purple? In either case - it has none of the cloying, precious-ness of a baby pink, but is the refined pink of a elegant woman how knows what she wants and how to get it.

Crystal Antique Pink is actually an "effect" - not a colour - which is to say that it is a coating applied to the crystal bead after manufacture. Other "colours" which are actually "effects" include Crystal AB, Crystal Silver Shadow, Crystal Copper, Crystal Golden Shadow, Crystal Vitrail Medium, Crystal Bermuda Blue - and many more. Because "Effects" are generally applied to one side of the bead - it gives a rather shaded and multi-hued effect.

At first blush - it seems to resemble Light Amethyst - but when compared side by side, the Crystal Antique Pink is dusky shade of pink - more sophisticated and complex than the very open and uncomplicated Light Amethyst. The Amethyst Blend is also mostly darker and a bit red - being more of a red-purple.


And, here we have a new pearl colour - Crystal Petrol Pearl (Think Petrol the bird, not Petrol the gasoline, before you start gagging on the name.)


It's a deep blue with a hint of green to it, here you see samples flanked by Night Blue on the left (much darker and a purer blue) and Tahitian-Look on the right, dark, and grey - with just a hint of green to it. (The green in the Tahitian-Look is more obvious when next to the Night Blue than the Petrol.)


And finally - one of the new shapes that I think you will all cheer for - the oval - a flat, faceted oval bead - initially available in limited colours - but hopefully - this useful shape will expand to a wider range of colours.


Hope you are as excited about these new colours as we are - and we are plenty excited!