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Glittering Brandy

#c59b2e
Notes

Glittering Brandy (#C59B2E) 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 (43°, 62%, 48%) 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 azure. For something softer, pull in its analogous neighbors on either side of the wheel.

HEX
#c59b2e
RGB
rgb(197, 155, 46)
HSL
hsl(43, 62%, 48%)
HWB
hwb(43 18% 23%)
OKLCH
oklch(71.0% 0.130 86.5)
HSV
hsv(43, 77%, 77%)
LAB
lab(66.15% 5.13 59.35)
LCH
lch(66.15% 59.57 85.06)
CMYK
cmyk(0%, 21%, 77%, 23%)

Etymology

Glittering
adjective

Old Norse glitra, to shine — present-participle of glitter. As a color modifier, glittering implies a saturated-and-multi-point-reflective quality, the bright color of sequined-and-rhinestone fabric-and-gem-decoration surfaces. Sits at the bright-and-reflective end of the grid, parallel to sparkling and glistening in usage.

Brandy
noun

The grape-distilled spirit — particularly French Cognac and Armagnac, aged in oak barrels for the warm gold-brown of Old World brandy. The color refers to a Cognac VS in a snifter: a soft, slightly red-shifted warm gold with the optical clarity of grape-distilled spirit aged 2–5 years.

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.

#c59b2e
Original
#ae9a1b
Protanopia
#b8a534
Deuteranopia
#d68d86
Tritanopia
#9c9c9c
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
2.59:1
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
8.10:1

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