#009B6B
Emerald
A True Winter color
anchor color 3 of 10 in True Winter. Also called Cool Winter in other systems.
By Kathleen Olsen · Updated November 11, 2026
Emerald is green with the yellow taken out and the blue left in. It is the True Winter green, cool and clear and saturated, and it is one of the few greens that does not pull a Winter face toward sallow. Warmer emeralds belong to the Springs. Darker ones belong to Deep Winter.
Emerald is an anchor color in True Winter. Its closest relative outside the palette is Bright emerald #00A86B, a Bright Winter color, at a perceptual distance of 9. That is near enough for that season to wear it as a neutral, with the accents kept in its own palette.
At RGB 0, 155, 107 there is no red at all, and the blue sits at two thirds of the green. That ratio is what makes it cool. Most green on a shop floor has red in it, which pushes it toward olive or lime. This one has none, which is why it reads as a jewel rather than a plant.
A True Winter wears it as the accent in a black and white outfit, which is what True Winter does with most of its colors. A knit under a black coat, a dress with black shoes, a scarf against true white. It holds its own against black, which few greens do. It does not need a second color and it tends to fight one.
Retailers call it emerald, kelly, jade, jewel green, or just green, and the names drift across a wide range. Most of it is either yellower, which is Spring, or darker, which is Deep Winter. Hold the garment against a bright yellow. Emerald stays clearly blue-green. A kelly green starts to look like the yellow's cousin.
Bright Winter's bright emerald is nine points away and nearly the same color. Bright Spring's warm bright emerald is thirteen points off and has a drop of yellow in it. Deep Winter's emerald is twenty-four points off and much darker. On a True Winter, the Spring version looks faintly yellow. On a Bright Spring, this one looks faintly cold. The gap is small enough that both borrow across it.
The nearest named colors in other seasons, by perceptual distance (ΔE in CIELAB; under 10 is hard to tell apart on a screen, over 25 is a different color).
Bright emerald #00A86B
Bright Winter anchor · ΔE 9
Warm bright emerald #22B573
Bright Spring anchor · ΔE 13
Warm turquoise #16BFA6
Bright Spring anchor · ΔE 19
Emerald #006B54
Deep Winter anchor · ΔE 24
Warm turquoise #1FC3B8
True Spring anchor · ΔE 27
Warm teal #2E7A72
True Autumn anchor · ΔE 30
As of November 11, 2026, nothing in stock samples close to #009B6B. The guide below has the nearest colors that do. The dot on each card is the color we sampled from the garment itself; trust it over the photograph. Links are affiliate links: we earn a commission when you buy through them, at no cost to you.
Yes. Emerald (#009B6B) is an anchor color in the True Winter palette, and close enough to a Bright Winter color for that season to wear it as a neutral.
No. Kelly green has yellow in it. Emerald as the True Winter palette uses it is RGB 0, 155, 107, with no red and a lot of blue. Next to a bright yellow, emerald stays blue-green and kelly starts to look related to the yellow.
Yes. Bright Winter's own bright emerald is nine points away, which is inside the range of a single retailer's dye lots. The two palettes share it in practice.
As an accent. Deep Winter's own emerald is twenty-four points darker, and this one reads a touch bright near a Deep Winter face. With black and black cherry it usually holds.
For a True Winter: black, true white, charcoal, sapphire, hot pink, icy pink. Emerald and black is the standard pairing. Emerald and true white is the sharper one. Avoid camel, olive, and anything with yellow in it.
The True Winter guide · All in-stock True Winter pieces · ← Cobalt · Magenta → · All colors