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Pure Erythrite

#a637b3
Notes

Pure Erythrite (#A637B3) is a true violet with an earthy character. It leans grounded and natural, the kind of color that plays well with wood, clay, linen, and warm neutrals. Its HSL profile (294°, 53%, 46%) places it in the balanced band at a mid lightness. It works across type, buttons, and borders, saturated enough to feel deliberate but balanced enough to not fight the rest of the palette. For a confident two-color system, pair it with its complementary green. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#a637b3
RGB
rgb(166, 55, 179)
HSL
hsl(294, 53%, 46%)
HWB
hwb(294 22% 30%)
OKLCH
oklch(54.7% 0.205 323.4)
HSV
hsv(294, 69%, 70%)
LAB
lab(44.37% 61.12 -43.81)
LCH
lch(44.37% 75.20 324.36)
CMYK
cmyk(7%, 69%, 0%, 30%)

Etymology

Pure
adjective

Latin purus, clean, unmixed — applied to color since antiquity for hues that contain only one pigment without dilution by white, black, or another color. Pure red is the textbook ideal: high saturation, mid lightness, no shift. Sits at the bold-bucket center, parallel to true and strong.

Erythrite
noun

Cobalt bloom, a hydrated cobalt arsenate mineral that forms as a secondary alteration product on cobalt-rich ores. The mineral is sometimes called cobalt arsenate hydrate. Erythrite color refers to a freshly fractured Schneeberg erythrite crystal cluster: a saturated, slightly cool deep violet with the matte finish of acicular hydrated cobalt-arsenate crystals. Named for the Greek erythros (red), though the mineral is purple-violet.

Closest matches

The nearest named color in three reference sources, ranked by perceptual distance (ΔE76 in CIELAB). ΔE < 1 is imperceptible to most viewers; ΔE > 10 is clearly different. When two sources point to the same hex they’re merged into one tile; click any to open that color’s page.

Variations

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Harmonies

Accessibility

Color-vision simulation

How this color appears to viewers with the four major color-vision-deficiency types. Computed via the Machado (2009) physiologically-based model. If a tile matches the original, the color reads the same to that viewer.

#a637b3
Original
#1261b7
Protanopia
#4b6db0
Deuteranopia
#a94c71
Tritanopia
#585858
Achromatopsia
WCAG contrast

The color used as foreground text against pure white and pure black, with the contrast ratio and WCAG 2.1 grade. Aim for AA (4.5:1) for body text and AA Large (3:1) for 18 pt+ headlines; AAA (7:1) is the gold standard for long-form reading surfaces.

The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAon White
5.50:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AA Largeon Black
3.82:1

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