Why Red Is Emerging as the Jewelry Trade’s Most Compelling Color Story for 2026

By Victoria Gomelsky | January 28, 2026

While Pantone’s Color of the Year has long served as a facto guide to the gemstone hues expected to trend in any given year, it’s safe to say the self-described color authority has received more criticism than usual for its 2026 choice, Cloud Dancer, its first-ever white pick (critics have labeled it “uninspired,” “tone deaf,” even “racist”).

That isn’t why the jewelry supply behemoth Stuller opted to introduce red as its own 2026 color of the year (“It was already in development before Pantone’s announcement and was guided by industry trends and research,” Stuller tells JCK), but it does highlight the growing emphasis on vivid, opulent, unapologetically crimson hues.

As the Tucson gem shows get under way in the Arizona desert, all signs suggest that gems in various shades of red deserve top billing. Building in popularity since last year, the hue feels especially resonant right now. Veranda named “Silk Road red” as its 2026 color of the year. The magazine wasn’t alone. Citing growing sales of red pieces (“already up by more than 50% as of October 2025”), the online styling service Stitch Fix opted for “chili red” as its 2026 pick.

The main challenge for jewelers will be choosing which gems best align with their preferred shade.

Ruby, especially in its most Platonic hue (the classic pigeon’s blood), embodies the gem world’s purest form of red, while red spinel, as most jewelers know, is a ruby doppelganger. The same goes for rubellite, a tourmaline sought after for its raspberry, purplish-red hues.

The garnet family is home to arguably the largest variety of reds, from traditional and commonplace brownish-red almandine garnets to rarer, more exotic rhodolite, Malaya, and spessartite.

For more offbeat tastes, consider reddish-orange Madeira citrine, orangey-red Mexican fire opal, and Oregon sunstone in its richest, most saturated form (aka “spinel red”). Fans of gemstone esoterica might even gravitate to cherry-colored red beryl, found in only one location: a mine, closed since 2001, in the remote Wah Wah Mountains of Utah.

Whichever version of red you choose, rest assured that the color’s renewed momentum means it’s all but certain that consumers will soon be seeing, and seeking, red, too.

Top: A 3.21 ct. rhodolite garnet from Anza Gems