The Pantone Color Institute’s colour of the year for 2026 is Cloud Dancer – an airy white that encourages true relaxation, focus and innovation. In the gemstone world, Cloud Dancer comes alive in the soft, ethereal tones of moonstones, pearls and opals, to name a few.

Described as “billowy white imbued with serenity,” Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer is a shade that can adapt, harmonise and create contrast, bringing a feeling of airy lightness to all product applications and environments, whether making a standalone statement or combined with other colours.

Cloud Dancer serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection, according to Pantone.

“At this time of transformation, when we are reimagining our future and our place in the world, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer is a discrete white hue offering a promise of clarity,” said Pantone Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman. “The cacophony that surrounds us has become overwhelming, making it harder to hear the voices of our inner selves. A conscious statement of simplification, Cloud Dancer enhances our focus, providing release from the distraction of external influences.”

Cloud Dancer is a key structural colour whose versatility provides scaffolding for the colour spectrum, allowing all colours to shine. Cloud Dancer gracefully blends into a veiled palette of softened hues that ultimately dissolve into shadowy shades, producing an easy and effortless contrast in colour.

“Similar to a blank canvas, Cloud Dancer signifies our desire for a fresh start. Peeling away layers of outmoded thinking, we open the door to new approaches. An airy white hue, Cloud Dancer opens up space for creativity, allowing our imagination to drift so that new insights and bold ideas can emerge and take shape,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of Pantone Color Institute.

In the gem and jewellery world, Cloud Dancer is reflected in refined and light palettes such as pastel and neutral tones.

The clean and calm aura of Cloud Dancer is captured in white diamond, pearl, opal, moonstone and the white variants of jadeite, topaz and quartz. Materials such as mother-of-pearl, enamel, ceramic and crystal also fall under this colour category. 

The billowy character of Cloud Dancer also naturally aligns with platinum, white gold and high-polished silver as these precious metals mirror its cool luminosity and quiet luxury positioning.