Pantone Universe Colored Pencils

 

 

Pantone has long been associated with accurate color matching for the graphic arts community, and for the fashion industry. They created the PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM®, which is a fan-format book of standardized colors.

 

The fact that the pencils are being sold in sets as well as in open stock suggests that they are serious about making colored pencils. However, the 'color attributes' printed on the pencils make us wonder! For example, Brilliant Blue says it is 'scintillating, splendorous, and effervescent'. Limestone is 'logical, reserved, and efficient'. It is sort of like getting mood rings on your pencils!

 

The names of the pencils are also rather odd. Some sound pretty standard- like Lemon Yellow and Medium Green. Then there are a lot of names like Fandango Pink, Paradise Pink, Online Lime, and Mecca Orange (this WOULD be Mecca Orange if it were UT's shade of burnt orange...but it is NOT)! There are names like Limestone and Peat, which I rather like, then there is Bosphorus. I had to google Bosphorus. But so you don't have to, it is part of the barrier between Europe and Asia, also known as the Istanbul Strait. Still not ringing a bell? It is one of the Turkish Straits of course- it is therefore a GREEN! Or perhaps they spelled Phosphorus wrong?

 

 

 

 

 

Hexagonal pencils, with the exterior color matching the inside core. Some of the pencil labels (names) on the barrel are in white, some in black. The white ones are difficult to read on the light colored pencils.

 

The end of the pencil near the pre-sharpened part has the actual pencil name appears. After you sharpen it off, you have to go with the rather long number.

 

We are still trying to figure out the puzzling code on the pencils. These might be pigments, which would be nice, but we suspect it is something in their color book. For example, CP M He Pu is on the Peat.