Colour names

I was recently in a jewelry shop and saw some dazzling rubies. The saleswoman referred to one ruby as a true red. What I saw was a deep magenta.

How we see colours can differ greatly from person to person, and how we name colours can also vary. I’ve always been fascinated by the evocative names of colours: jaw-breaking candy apple red, sooty coal black, fragrant wild strawberry, and the watery eau de nile.

So next time you see a beautiful ruby, you may want to refer to it’s colour as magenta, pink, light red, blood-red. Or just ruby red – it’s all up to you.