color palettes

Sunset Color Palette - Bold & Vibrant Warmth

This color palette combines orange, red, and a reddish-violet for a look that's vibrantly warm and energetic. Red provides a fiery intensity. Orange adds inherent warmth and seems to advance, while the violet provides depth and richness. This stunning interplay of warm tones is reminiscent of a blazing sunset sky.

Sunset color palette graphic from Rebeca Mojica Jewelry with orange, red and violet swatches. Included is an extended ombre version with 2 lighter gold colors, one additional red-orange color and 2 darker purple colors. Additional swatches are shades of pink, lilac and cranberry. Bottom section displays a collage of 6 chainmaille and scalemaille jewelry pieces made in this palette.

Shown in the collage, starting from upper left and moving clockwise: 5-knot earrings, Half Persian 3-in-1 Sheet (Soft Bias), Celestial Swirl pendant, Feathered Leaves Bib Necklace, Knotted Metal Diamond Pendant, and Graduated Knotted Metal Necklace.

These colors make a particularly impressive ombre. To extend the ombre, I’ll add lighter or darker shades on either end and/or any intermediary shades as the design allows, to create a seamless ombre. If I’m not doing an ombre, I may add one or more of the “extras” colors, but I’m very particular about how they are added, as sometimes the lighter hues clash with the bright vibes or orange, red and violet.

  • lighter additions: gold, light orange/marigold
  • 4-color version: orange, papaya, red, violet
  • darker additions: reddish purple, blue-purple (indigo)
  • extras: lilac, dusty rose, hot pink, cranberry

This palette is a close relative of my Autumn Sunset colorway, but with a key difference: no brown. While the browns in Autumn Sunset create a grounded, earthy feel, the Sunset palette is all about vibrant energy. If I'm looking for a quieter look, I'll add more browns to Autumn Sunset. On the other end of the spectrum, I'll add extra orange links—the brighter the better—to make Sunset even more zesty! 

side by side comparison of autumn sunset and sunset color palettes. Both have color swatches of orange, red and violet at the top; the autumn sunset also has brown. Beneath the swatches are additional colors that can be added to each colorway, and the bottom half of the graphic shows chainmaille and scalemaille jewelry made in the colors of each palette.

The glowing colors near the horizon in the photo below are what I tried to capture in this colorway. I used no filters and did zero editing; the sky was simply that spectacular for a few fleeting moments! Of particular note: you can see some of the “extras” colors in this image. The sunset colorway I use is less realistic, leaning more into the bright and bold zone.

view of rooftops and a few palm trees, against a backdrop of a a spectacularly colorful sunset sky with bright magenta and orange shades. The skyscrapers of Century City (in Los Angeles) are visible about 5 miles away

When I first made earrings in this palette, someone at one of my shows exclaimed, “Oh wow, it looks like a sunset!” and I was thrilled as I replied, “Yep, that’s exactly what I call that colorway!” Any doubts I had about the sunset colorway not being "realistic" enough vanished, and the Sunset name stuck!

Love these colors? Any item in my shop can be customized with the Sunset colorway, or you can create your own masterpiece with a custom DIY kit from Blue Buddha Boutique in this palette. Contact me and let's bring your vision to life!

Follow this series on the dedicated Color Palette board on Pinterest.

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