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Symmetrical Sphene

#b9a27f
Notes

Symmetrical Sphene (#B9A27F) is a true amber with a warm character. It leans warm, pulling light toward red, orange, and yellow. Naturally inviting, it suits editorial and hospitality contexts. Its HSL profile (36°, 29%, 61%) places it in the muted 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 azure. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#b9a27f
RGB
rgb(185, 162, 127)
HSL
hsl(36, 29%, 61%)
HWB
hwb(36 50% 27%)
OKLCH
oklch(72.4% 0.055 78.1)
P3
color(display-p3 0.7106 0.6386 0.5145)
HSV
hsv(36, 31%, 73%)
LAB
lab(67.79% 3.12 21.33)
LCH
lch(67.79% 21.56 81.67)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 12%, 31%, 27%)

Etymology

Symmetrical
adjective

Greek symmetría, due-proportion — adjectival suffix -al, derived from sym-metron (with-measure). As a color modifier, symmetrical implies a clear-and-balanced-and-mirrored quality where the hue carries the visual register of bilateral-or-radial proportional symmetry. Sits at the crisp-and-balanced end of the grid, parallel to balanced and aligned in usage.

Sphene
noun

A calcium-titanium silicate gem — also called titanite — known for its high dispersion (more than diamond) and its yellow-to-greenish-yellow body color. Mined principally in Madagascar, Brazil, and Pakistan. The color refers to a faceted Madagascar sphene: a saturated, slightly cool yellow-green with the gem's signature internal fire.

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

Click any swatch to explore

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.

#b9a27f
Original
#aca27d
Protanopia
#b1a780
Deuteranopia
#c39b99
Tritanopia
#a4a4a4
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).
Failon White
2.46:1
The quick brown foxSample body text at normal size. The wcag minimum for body contrast is 4.5:1 (AA) or 7:1 (AAA).
AAAon Black
8.54:1

Wide gamut

Display P3 representation

The CSS Color 4 wide-gamut form of this color. Both swatches render the same color on every display — the P3 form only diverges from sRGB when a designer pushes channels outside sRGB's reach.

sRGB hex
sRGB hex
##B9A27F
Display P3
Display P3
color(display-p3 0.7106 0.6386 0.5145)
Inside sRGBOKLCH chroma 0.055

This color sits well within the sRGB cube. P3 and sRGB share the gray axis and most desaturated tones, so a P3 display renders this identically to an sRGB display.

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